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Post by RN69 on Dec 31, 2021 6:58:14 GMT
I wonder how many Catholics still practice this New Year's blessing of the home. Growing up in a Catholic home my family never did this. It was introduced to me and my husband at a Catholic military parish. The priest provided a piece of chalk, the instructions and prayer to say and a small bottle of holy water all put into a sandwich type of baggie for any family interested in this tradition. We adopted and adapted it. Although it commonly is associated with the feast of the Epiphany and the Magi, it also can be done on New Year's day. That was when the Catholic military Chaplin handed out the little house blessing kits so it became a traditional way for us to bring in the New Year. Instead of the initials of the Magi, we put JMJ. It made more sense to our children as we were asking the Holy Family to watch over our family in the coming year. Last year on January 1st, I chalked over every door that opened up into the outside from my home. This coming New Year it will have to wait until I can get back home after my 2nd cataract surgery and recovery. I found a good Catholic web site that explains in detail how to go about chalking the lintel of your door if anyone is interested in this tradition. Have a blessed and Happy New Year! onepeterfive.com/the-chalking-of-the-doors-an-epiphany-tradition-explained/#:~:text=Epiphany%20%28also%20known%20as%20Twelfth%20Night%2C%20Theophany%2C%20or,B%20%2B%2020.%20The%20letters%20have%20two%20meanings. |
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Post by tisbearself on Dec 31, 2021 17:52:58 GMT
I started doing it a few years ago. No one in my neighborhood or extended family did it when I was growing up, and my mother also hadn't done it growing up Catholic in the 20s, 30s. 40s etc. I think it was a cultural tradition my nationality did not share.
Nowadays you can sometimes find RC churches providing Epiphany water and blessed chalk. So I will likely be doing it again this year, but on Jan 6. I prefer to go by the old calendar. I am not a fan of moving Epiphany to Jan 2. Also, the parish blessing the Epiphany water is traditional and follows the 1962 calendar so their Epiphany is on Jan 6 and the water will be blessed Jan 5.
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Post by tth1 on Jan 1, 2022 14:08:37 GMT
We don't do this and haven't done it. Our parish doesn't bless chalk or holy water at Epiphany. I think it's a nice idea because many sacramentals seem to me to have disappeared from Catholic life. However, as our door and its frame are made of uPVC we've nowhere to chalk. We could do it on the brickwork but I think the idea is this is done over the entrance to your house.
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Post by tth1 on Jan 1, 2022 14:11:10 GMT
I started doing it a few years ago. No one in my neighborhood or extended family did it when I was growing up, and my mother also hadn't done it growing up Catholic in the 20s, 30s. 40s etc. I think it was a cultural tradition my nationality did not share. Nowadays you can sometimes find RC churches providing Epiphany water and blessed chalk. So I will likely be doing it again this year, but on Jan 6. I prefer to go by the old calendar. I am not a fan of moving Epiphany to Jan 2. Also, the parish blessing the Epiphany water is traditional and follows the 1962 calendar so their Epiphany is on Jan 6 and the water will be blessed Jan 5. I understand from your post that in the US the Epiphany is moved to a Sunday. Here in England & Wales the bishops have repeatedly messed around with the Epiphany. Currently, we celebrate the Epiphany and observe it as an HDO (currently at one's own choice) on 6 January unless that date falls on a Monday or Saturday. If it falls on one of those two days its transferred to the Sunday. |
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Post by RN69 on Jan 1, 2022 14:12:14 GMT
Yes tisbearself the traditional day to do an annual house blessing is on the feast of the Epiphany. But I feel that you have misconstrued what I was relating about conducting a house blessing on New Year's day. It is not to "change" the feast day of the Epiphany from January 6th. That isn't even a remote possibility anyway. It was to switch the emphasis of the blessing towards the Holy Family and to conduct it on the first day of the New Year to invite them to travel with us on our journey through it. As our companions during the next 365 days we invoke their guidance and protection. The simple JMJ above my doors is a prayer every time I see it or walk through the door. It is a quiet, evangelization for anyone entering/exiting my house. Friends know that I am Catholic and usually don't inquire about the the chalk markings on the lintel but I have had a repairman look up and ask. The Church doesn't restrict us from blessing our domiciles whether it is a house, apartment, dorm room or military quarters to just one day a year. I gave the traditional feast of the Epiphany as an example because that is how it was introduced to our family and more Catholics might be aware of that ritual. It is an old practice that hopefully some may choose to adopt. We can bless our homes for whatever reason whenever we choose to do so, if we've just moved in or have lived there several years. So Happy New Year's to you all and celebrate this gift of time and promise by invoking God's blessings on our dwelling places whether it is today the first day of January or on the 6th. |
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Post by tisbearself on Jan 1, 2022 18:38:29 GMT
Yes tisbearself the traditional day to do an annual house blessing is on the feast of the Epiphany. But I feel that you have misconstrued what I was relating about conducting a house blessing on New Year's day. It is not to "change" the feast day of the Epiphany from January 6th. That isn't even a remote possibility anyway. It was to switch the emphasis of the blessing towards the Holy Family and to conduct it on the first day of the New Year to invite them to travel with us on our journey through it. As our companions during the next 365 days we invoke their guidance and protection. The simple JMJ above my doors is a prayer every time I see it or walk through the door. It is a quiet, evangelization for anyone entering/exiting my house. Friends know that I am Catholic and usually don't inquire about the the chalk markings on the lintel but I have had a repairman look up and ask. The Church doesn't restrict us from blessing our domiciles whether it is a house, apartment, dorm room or military quarters to just one day a year. I gave the traditional feast of the Epiphany as an example because that is how it was introduced to our family and more Catholics might be aware of that ritual. It is an old practice that hopefully some may choose to adopt. We can bless our homes for whatever reason whenever we choose to do so, if we've just moved in or have lived there several years. So Happy New Year's to you all and celebrate this gift of time and promise by invoking God's blessings on our dwelling places whether it is today the first day of January or on the 6th.  I'm not sure how you got the idea that I was telling you when to do your blessing or complaining that you were changing a day. House blessings are a private devotion; you can do yours when you want. On New Years, Epiphany, your birthday, or Christmas, or a random Wednesday in May if you like. Or all of the above. My post was directed to the fact that the US calendar moved Epiphany to Jan 2 this year. Too early for me. But if someone wants to do their blessing then or on Jan 1, it's their house, their blessing, and there are no Church rules and restrictions on private devotions. Perhaps your post was actually asking if people do the custom of a blessing on New Years Day, in which case my answer is no, I don't, I personally prefer to do it on Jan 6 for the reasons I already stated. This is my personal preference and like I said others are entitled to their own private devotional practices and preferences. It's a nice custom whenever we do it; Happy New Year. |
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Post by tisbearself on Jan 1, 2022 18:43:51 GMT
I started doing it a few years ago. No one in my neighborhood or extended family did it when I was growing up, and my mother also hadn't done it growing up Catholic in the 20s, 30s. 40s etc. I think it was a cultural tradition my nationality did not share. Nowadays you can sometimes find RC churches providing Epiphany water and blessed chalk. So I will likely be doing it again this year, but on Jan 6. I prefer to go by the old calendar. I am not a fan of moving Epiphany to Jan 2. Also, the parish blessing the Epiphany water is traditional and follows the 1962 calendar so their Epiphany is on Jan 6 and the water will be blessed Jan 5. I understand from your post that in the US the Epiphany is moved to a Sunday. Here in England & Wales the bishops have repeatedly messed around with the Epiphany. Currently, we celebrate the Epiphany and observe it as an HDO (currently at one's own choice) on 6 January unless that date falls on a Monday or Saturday. If it falls on one of those two days its transferred to the Sunday. This sort of "if it falls on X then it's transferred to Y" always confuses the heck out of me except in certain cases of some big national feast coinciding with a Sunday or other HDO so they move the national feast to the Monday to avoid its getting pre-empted entirely. I realize there are usually practical reasons for the change, such as priests having to handle multiple parishes that may be at a distance from each other and additionally there are limits on how many Masses each priest can say in a day. But I have difficulty keeping up with how different dioceses handle the days. Yes, in USA Epiphany is on Sunday, Jan 2 this year (tomorrow). I feel like the Wise Men must have made their camels run all the way in order to arrive 4 days early. |
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Post by StellaMaris on Jan 1, 2022 20:44:21 GMT
Interesting custom. I also have never experienced or heard of it in my Catholic upbringing. It does sound like something the Irish would do, but the Australian Church never picked it up.
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Post by iagosan on Jan 2, 2022 22:12:01 GMT
I started doing it a few years ago. No one in my neighborhood or extended family did it when I was growing up, and my mother also hadn't done it growing up Catholic in the 20s, 30s. 40s etc. I think it was a cultural tradition my nationality did not share. Nowadays you can sometimes find RC churches providing Epiphany water and blessed chalk. So I will likely be doing it again this year, but on Jan 6. I prefer to go by the old calendar. I am not a fan of moving Epiphany to Jan 2. Also, the parish blessing the Epiphany water is traditional and follows the 1962 calendar so their Epiphany is on Jan 6 and the water will be blessed Jan 5. Yes, my church will hold a blessing the Epiphany Water on the evening of Wednesday 5 January as per usual. The service usually lasts about 45 minutes and includes The Exorcism against Satan and the Apostate Angels, Exorcism of Salt and Water and A Te Deum. The link below provides a description and videos of the water blessing with a link to the propers that are likely to be used in such a service. It is a very popular service, well attended and is greatly appreciated. sensusfidelium.com/2020/01/05/blessing-of-epiphany-water/ |
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