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There are two types of blessings for homes and work places; one for when you move into a new place, and one for the beginning of a New Year. If you are interested in receiving these ministries, please, contact the Parish Priest, Father Diego ([email protected]).
Blessing of your New Home Moving can be both extremely exciting and very stressful. And once the dust settles and the cardboard boxes have been emptied, you are encouraged to pray for God’s blessing over your household. The Parish Priest would happily assist you with this, and to bless your new home (or work place). On his visit, the Priest will pray with you, bless your dwelling, and sprinkle it with holy water, as a sign of God’s blessing upon it. New Year Blessing
In the days following the Solemnity of the Epiphany (6th January), we are encouraged to seek God’s blessing on our households for the New Year through prayer and the “chalking of doors”. This centuries-old blessing can be done by anyone who is baptised, but if you wish, the Parish Priest would be happy to do it for you and sprinkle your house with holy water. Chalking the door is a way to celebrate God’s blessings, and to mark our homes with symbols of our faith. As the year goes by, the chalk will probably fade, but we are encouraged to let the meaning of these symbols sink into the depths of our heart and manifest in our words and actions. The traditional way of doing this is to use chalk blessed at Epiphany to write the following above (or near) the entrance of your home, 20 + C + M + B + 25. The four digits stand for the New Year; while the letters C, M, B have two meanings. On one hand, they are the initials of the names attributed to the wise men who visited Jesus: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar; and as we mark our doors with their names, we ask their intercession. On the other hand, the letters are also an abbreviation of the Latin phrase “Christus Mansionem Benedicat”, meaning, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the Cross of Jesus. |
'The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.' - Psalm 121:8 For enquiries about Blessings please visits us at the Parish Office on Mondays between 6:00pm and 7:00pm, or call the Parish Office on 01582 551397 
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Thinking about Blessings
God's intention and desire to bless both humanity and all creation is central to the Christian understanding of salvation in Jesus Christ. God’s blessing prepares us to receive his grace and help us to cooperate more fully with. For this reason, Christians have asked God’s blessing on people and objects since the very beginning of the Church.
When we bless objects we give thanks to God for them and we ask him to help us furthering his glory and praise through their use. So, when we bless our homes we do two things; we give thanks to God for the place we live in, and we ask that he many help everyone in our household to know his incredible love for them. This blessing is also personal invitation for the Lord to be a daily guest in our home, to watch over our comings and goings, and to be present in our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.
When we bless objects we give thanks to God for them and we ask him to help us furthering his glory and praise through their use. So, when we bless our homes we do two things; we give thanks to God for the place we live in, and we ask that he many help everyone in our household to know his incredible love for them. This blessing is also personal invitation for the Lord to be a daily guest in our home, to watch over our comings and goings, and to be present in our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.
