There is a long-standing Catholic tradition of blessing the home on the Feast of Epiphany. This year, we invite you to adopt this custom in your family. It is a wonderful way to begin the New Year, with the family gathering to ask God’s blessing on their home and all those who visit. It is an invitation for Jesus to be a daily guest in our home, and to be with us in our comings and goings, our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.
The most common way of doing this is to use a stick of chalk provided by the parish to write above the home’s entrance, 20 + C + M + B + 23. The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.” The “+” signs represent the cross and 2023 is the year.
Blessed chalk will be distributed the weekend of January 7th and 8th, 2023 after all the Masses.