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As Epiphany approaches and a New Year begins, we invite you to take a moment to bless this new year and all that it holds! 

the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Chalking the Doors!  

We invite you to adopt this ancient Epiphany custom in your home this year. It is an invitation for Jesus to be a daily guest in our homes, our comings and goings, our conversations, our work and play, our joys and sorrows.  

A traditional way of doing this is to use chalk to write above the home’s entrance, 20 + C + M + B + 21. The letters C, M, B have two meanings. They are the initials of the traditional names of the three figures in The Gospel of Matthew for Epiphany: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.”    

“Chalking the door” is a way to celebrate and literally mark the occasion of the Epiphany and God’s blessing of our lives and home. With time the chalk will fade, as it does, we let the meaning of the symbols written sink into the depths of our heart and be manifest in our words and actions the Latin words, Christus Mansionem Benedictat, “May Christ bless the house.”    

Instructions for Blessing the Home

Using the chalk mark the lintel of your front door (or front porch step) as follows: 20 + C + M + B + 21, while saying this or another prayer:  

Visit, O God, this home with the gladness of your presence. grant that we may manifest your love to each other and to all whose lives we touch. God of doors and homes, bless this home this year and every year. Bless all who come and go through this door, both those who live here and those who visit. May all who enter through this door come in peace and bring joy. May all who come to this door find welcome and love. May the love and joy in this home overflow and spread into the community and the world. Through Jesus Christ our companion, now and forever. Amen.