House blessings (also known as house healings, house clearings, house cleansings and space clearing) are rites intended to protect the inhabitants of a house or apartment from misfortune, whether before moving into it or to "heal" it after an occurrence. Many religions have house blessings of one form or another. [1]
In Christianity, house blessing is an ancient tradition, that can be found in Roman Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and some branches of Protestantism. In Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Methodism and Orthodoxy, they are usually performed by a pastor who may sprinkle holy water (depending on denominational tradition) as he walks through every room of the house, accompanied by the occupants of the house, whilst praying for the occupants. [1] [2]
House blessings date back to the early days of Christianity, [1] and in Catholicism, the rite takes the form of a prayer, with intercessions and several benedictions. Blessed salt and incense may also be used. [3] The Methodist The Book of Worship for Church and Home (1965) contains "An Office for the Blessing of a Dwelling". [4] Matthew 2:11 says: [5]
"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh."
Consequently, Anglicans, Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists and Orthodox Christians often have their homes blessed at Epiphany, on January 6; this blessing often starts with the Christian custom of chalking the door and prayer at the home altar. [6] The custom of the Epiphanytide house blessing commemorates the visitation of the Magi to the child Jesus. [7] The rite may also be accompanied by a home enthronement, although this is a separate ceremony and is more focused on the consecration of the occupants of the home.
House blessings in the Pennsylvania Dutch Country take the form of printed cards, framed and hung on the walls of the sitting room, and trace their origins to similar practices in The Netherlands and Belgium. Blessings, employed by Catholics and Protestants alike, usually incorporate a picture of Christ's crucifixion and a prayer "to the Sweet Name of Jesus and His dear saints". Many of these were printed in Belgium, and Turnhout. [8]
In Alsace, such blessings have origins in the Pestbriefe (pestilence letters) of the Middle Ages, sold at fairs to those wishing to protect themselves from disease, and the Feuerbriefe (fire letters) brought back by pilgrims from Cologne and containing intercessory prayers to the Three Kings (usually with the letters "CMB", for Caspar, Melchior, Balthasar, incorporated somewhere into the design) for God protecting their homes from fire and disaster. Other blessings, found in Alsace and brought to Pennsylvania, include blessings of the entranceway to a house, stable blessings invoking Saint Leonard or Saint Blasius, blessings against Feuer und Brand addressed to Saint Agatha, and even blessings for house pets addressed to Saint Florentius. [8]
In the Hinduism, a house blessing is conducted always before the people move in. With a new house, this is after construction is finished, but in a purchased house it will be done after purchase but before moving in. The blessing is performed by a Hindu priest and varies greatly throughout India. In Gujarat, the blessing mainly consists of performing abhisheka to a murti, often of Lord Ganesha, which is performed by the house-holders while the priest chants mantras. In Tamil Nadu, the traditional house blessing comprises the chanting of mantras, the escorting of a cow through all of the rooms, and (finally) the boiling of some of the cow's milk in the kitchen. Cow urine (komiyam) is also used for bathing. [9]
Mahayana Buddhism In Han traditions of Mahayana Buddhism—practiced in China, Taiwan, and the rest of the Sinophone world—house blessings involve asperging the new residence with water that is consecrated with the Great Compassion Mantra (cn. 大悲咒); this ritual is known as sajing (cn. 灑淨) and may be conducted by lay believers or invited monastics. [10] In addition, before inhabiting the new residence, believers may arrange for a special memorial service (chaojian, cn. 超薦) to be conducted at a temple for the new property's landlord deity; this is done in hopes that the landlord god may convert to Buddhism, become a benevolent spirit if he is not already, and be reborn into Amitabha's Pure Land. [11]
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The Kojangi house blessing ceremony requires one fresh whole red fish, rice with azuki beans (sekihan), a small bottle of sake, an unopened bag of rice, and a new bag of rock salt. [12] `
In the Gurung culture of Nepal most families have a house blessing twice a year in March and October performed by a Lama priest. At the October blessing a new set of prayer flags are hung at the house (typically on a bamboo pole) with a blessing scarf tied at the top of the prayer flags and a mixture of grains in a bag tied at the bottom.
On Dehwa d-Šišlam Rabba ("Festival of the Great Shishlam, on the 6th-7th days of Daula, corresponding to Epiphany in Christianity), Mandaean priests visit households and give them myrtle wreaths to hang on their houses for the rest of the year to protect against evil. The households also donate alms to the priests. [13]
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the "priesthood", a term which also may apply to such persons collectively. A priest may have the duty to hear confessions periodically, give marriage counseling, provide prenuptial counseling, give spiritual direction, teach catechism, or visit those confined indoors, such as the sick in hospitals and nursing homes.
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ancestor. More generally, prayer can also have the purpose of thanksgiving or praise, and in comparative religion is closely associated with more abstract forms of meditation and with charms or spells.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to religion:
Mass is the main Eucharistic liturgical service in many forms of Western Christianity. The term Mass is commonly used in the Catholic Church, Western Rite Orthodoxy, Old Catholicism, and Independent Catholicism. The term is also used in some Lutheran churches, as well as in some Anglican churches, and on rare occasion by other Protestant churches.
Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of sinful thoughts and actions. This may occur directly to a deity or to fellow people.
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharistic host in the monstrance and the blessing of the people with it.
Ritual purification is a ritual prescribed by a religion through which a person is considered to be freed of uncleanliness, especially prior to the worship of a deity, and ritual purity is a state of ritual cleanliness. Ritual purification may also apply to objects and places. Ritual uncleanliness is not identical with ordinary physical impurity, such as dirt stains; nevertheless, body fluids are generally considered ritually unclean.
In religion, a blessing is the impartation of something with grace, holiness, spiritual redemption, or divine will.
Making the sign of the cross, also known as blessing oneself or crossing oneself, is a ritual blessing made by members of some branches of Christianity. This blessing is made by the tracing of an upright cross or Greek cross across the body with the right hand, often accompanied by spoken or mental recitation of the Trinitarian formula: "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."
The Anglican Use, also known as Divine Worship, is a use of the Roman Rite celebrated by the personal ordinariates, originally created for former Anglicans who converted to Catholicism while wishing to maintain "aspects of the Anglican patrimony that are of particular value" and includes former Methodist converts to Catholicism who wish to retain aspects of Anglican and Methodist heritage, liturgy, and tradition. Its most common occurrence is within parishes of the personal ordinariates which were erected in 2009. Upon the promulgation of Divine Worship: The Missal, the term "Anglican Use" was replaced by "Divine Worship" in the liturgical books and complementary norms, though "Anglican Use" is still used to describe these liturgies as they existed from the papacy of John Paul II to present.
Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from Christianity to Sikhism. The use of holy water as a sacramental for protection against evil is common among Lutherans, Anglicans, Roman Catholics, and Eastern Christians.
Litany, in Christian worship and some forms of Jewish worship, is a form of prayer used in services and processions, and consisting of a number of petitions. The word comes through Latin litania from Ancient Greek λιτανεία (litaneía), which in turn comes from λιτή (litḗ), meaning "prayer, supplication".
The Epiphany season, also known as Epiphanytide or the time of Sundays after Epiphany, is a liturgical period, celebrated by many Christian Churches, which immediately follows the Christmas season. It begins on Epiphany Day, and ends at various points as defined by those denominations. The typical liturgical color for the day of Epiphany is white, and the typical color for Epiphany season is green.
A spiritual practice or spiritual discipline is the regular or full-time performance of actions and activities undertaken for the purpose of inducing spiritual experiences and cultivating spiritual development. A common metaphor used in the spiritual traditions of the world's great religions is that of walking a path. Therefore, a spiritual practice moves a person along a path towards a goal. The goal is variously referred to as salvation, liberation or union. A person who walks such a path is sometimes referred to as a wayfarer or a pilgrim.
In Christian tradition the churching of women, also known as thanksgiving for the birth or adoption of a child, is the ceremony wherein a blessing is given to mothers after recovery from childbirth. The ceremony includes thanksgiving for the woman's survival of childbirth, and is performed even when the child is stillborn, or has died unbaptized.
Abhisheka is a religious rite or method of prayer in which a devotee pours a liquid offering on an image or murti of a deity. This is common to religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
Religious use of incense has its origins in antiquity. The burned incense may be intended as a symbolic or sacrificial offering to various deities or spirits, or to serve as an aid in prayer.
A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services.
Around the World in 80 Faiths is a British television series which was first broadcast by the BBC on 2 January 2009. The series was presented by Anglican vicar Pete Owen-Jones, who was researching the various faiths from around the world.