January is almost finished! In the Byzantine Catholic tradition, homes get blessed every year after Theophany (the Baptism of the Lord- celebrated January 6th on the Eastern calendar). Our home (actually a new rental, so it really needs to be blessed!) has not been blessed yet. My husband wanted to wait for a fellow Byzantine Catholic priest to do it. One colleague is an hour away; another is two hours away. Plans went sideways, and neither can come this season. It looks like papa will have to bless his own house. Lent is practically here!
And the photo above...this will be the beginning of our icon corner. We moved after Thanksgiving and then Christmas happened. So, the poor icon corner has been neglected. Baby steps....we are working on our 'little oratory.'
When I was young it was traditional for Catholic priests to visit homes and bless them - every room. Doesn't seem to happen these days.
ReplyDeleteGod bless you and your family.
Another possibility that happens here with the super-large Roman-rite parishes- blessed chalk for the family to take home and bless the doors. I think that is a beautiful tradition!
DeleteWe've had a similar situation. We thought we asked my husband's boss/mentor to lead the baby naming for our daughter, bu he thought he was only doing a part of it, so my husband (we're both rabbis) ended up leading our own ceremony himself. It was lovely- but not what we'd expected, as the new parents. Just a good thing I wasn't running the show- I kept tearing up, whenever I was reading or speaking. So your family is not alone in this!
ReplyDelete...and then there are the future weddings! ;) Those don't happen every year, so I'm sure they will have a different priest for the rite
Deletei have blessed chalk in my drawer for doing a house blessing.
ReplyDelete