Bless This House

Right before the first day of spring, as nature renews its spirit and strength, so goes the renewal of spirit and strength in our home. Every year we invite our priest over to our home and perform a "House Blessing" ceremony, or "Service of the Blessing of Water".

The best analogy I have for describing this ceremony is an orange being juiced. The fruit is the home, and the bad vibes of the home, the fears, the anxiety, are squeezed out while leaving the skin in tact. The ceremony is meant to ask for God's blessings for those living in the home. As the home is blessed with the Holy Water brought by the priest, family life is again given opportunity for redemption of sin by the grace of God. It's also meant as a request (ask and you shall receive) to the Almighty that He will send His holy angels to protect, save, watch, visit and safeguard the family members.

The Father visits each room of the home, sprinkling the Holy Water using a bundled bouquet of wheat. The Father brings with him a myriad of props for this special service and I wish I took pictures of the beautiful ornamentation of each item used during the ceremony, as they are hundreds of years old. Unfortunately, I couldn't very well whip out my camera as he was conducting the ceremony and excuse myself from praying while he chanted verses. Could you imagine: "Father, I'm sorry, could you please hold that shot right there as you were coming down my stairs. My first photo was a bit blurry. Go back to the top of the stairs and try again, please." Not gonna happen.

Do you have any ceremonial traditions you do each year to help pave a clearer path to your Spirit?