Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, JESUIT SJ, POETRY, PRAYERS for VARIOUS NEEDS, PRAYERS of the SAINTS, QUOTES on FAITH, QUOTES on HOPE, QUOTES on LOVE, QUOTES on LOVE of GOD, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on SELF-DENIAL, REDEMPTORISTS CSSR, THE EPIPHANY of the LORD, The EPIPHANY Prayers, THEOLOGICAL

Quote/s of the Day – 6 January – Its Epiphany! Remember to Chalk the Door!

Quote/s of the Day – 6 January – The Epiphany of the Lord

Chalk the Door – Epiphany House Blessing
20 C+M+B 24

Christus mansionem benedicat”
Peace be to this house
and to all who dwell herein.
From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem
to adore the Lord – “and opening their treasures
they offered precious gifts –
Gold for the Great King,
Incense for the True God
and Myrrh to symbolise His Burial.

The equation is written to be the first two digits of the year,
followed by the initials C, M and B,
followed by the last two digits of the year.
Each portion is split by plus signs (being the Sign of the Cross).
For this year, the equation would be written as
“20 + C + M + B + 24”
The chalking holds two meanings.
The C, M and B, refer to the traditional names
of the Magi: Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.
The letters also stand for the Latin phrase
“Christus Mansionem Benedicat” which means
“May Christ Bless this House”
The plus signs represents the Cross
and the 20 and 24 simply refer to the year.

Three gifts they bring,
three gifts they bear away,
For Incense, Myrrh and Gold,
Faith, Hope and Love
And with their gifts,
the givers’ hearts do stay,
Their mind from Christ,
no parting can remove,
His humble state, His stall, His poor retinue
They fancy more than all their rich revenue.

St Robert Southwell SJ (1561-1595)
Priest and Martyr

(Excerpt from the Poem “The Epiphany”)

Oh Jesus, My Love
By St Paul of the Cross (1604-1775)

Oh Jesus, my Love,
may my heart be consumed
in loving Thee.
Make me humble and holy,
giving me childlike simplicity,
transform me into Thy holy Love.
O Jesus, Life of my life,
Joy of my soul,
God of my heart,
accept my heart as an altar,
on which I will sacrifice to Thee,
the gold of ardent charity,
the incense of continual,
humble and fervent prayer
and the myrrh
of constant sacrifices!
Amen

Epiphany Prayer

“Give me, therefore, I pray Thee,
this gold, this incense and this myrrh.
Give me the gold of Thy holy love,
give me the spirit of holy prayer,
give me the desire and strength
to mortify myself in everything
that displeases Thee.
I am resolved to obey Thee and to love Thee
but Thou knowest my weakness,
oh, give me the grace to be faithful to Thee!”

St Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor of the Church

Posted in CATHOLIC-PRAYERS OF THE CHURCH, FEASTS and SOLEMNITIES, MORNING Prayers, PRACTISING CATHOLIC, SAINT of the DAY

Blessing of a Home at Epiphany – 7 January – The Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Blessing of a Home at Epiphany – 7 January – The Solemnity of the Epiphany of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Priest:  Peace be to this house.
All:  And to all who live here.

Priest:  Bless, O Lord, Almighty God,
this home, that in it there may be health,
chastity, strength of victory, humility,
goodness, and industry,
a fullness of law and the action of graces
through God the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit and that this blessing
may remain on this home
and on those who frequent it.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen..

After the blessing,
the initials of the Magi
(traditional names: Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar) but which can also be interpreted to mean Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means ” May Christ bless this house
are written with chalk over the main door way of the house, like this:
20 + C + M + B + 18
(the + is the Cross of our Salvation; the “18” stands for 2018;
change the year accordingly).house-blessing-7 jan 2018