EPIPHANY BLESSING

Epiphany - also known as Three Kings' Day - is a Christian festival, which starts on 6 January. It is a special date in the Christmas story as it's when people celebrate how a star led the Magi - also known as the Three kings or the Wise Men - to visit the baby Jesus after he had been born.  - Wikipedia 


The Epiphany of the Lord


One tradition celebrated by many families:

Using chalk, write "20+C+M+B+22" on the outside of your house or inside above the front main entrance, above or next to an entrance. Details below:

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EPIPHANY BLESSING




20 + C + M + B + 22




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 “+” represent the cross and 2021 is the year.




All make the Sign of the Cross.




Leader: Peace be to this house and to all who dwell here, in the name of the Lord.




All: Thanks be to God.




Reader:

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” After their audience with the king they set out. And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them, until it came and stopped over the place where the child was. They were overjoyed at seeing the star, and on entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother. They prostrated themselves and did him homage. Then they opened their treasures and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way.




The word of the Lord.




All: Thanks be to God




Using chalk, write on the outside of your house or inside above the front main entrance, above or next to an entrance:




20 + C + M + B + 22




All: Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only begotten Son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who live here and all who visit. May we be blessed with health, kindness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.



Amen.

Powerful Prayer for Protection

Dear Heavenly Father, full of grace and love,
I ask your angels to send protection from above.


Please protect my mind, body and spirit from illness and abuse.
Divert ill will and evil intentions from myself and others who wish to do me harm. Keep me safe all my days and extend this protection to all whom I love. Amen


Amen.

Prayer For A New Beginning

Heavenly Father,

I am about to embark on new beginnings as I face an end to this chapter of my life.

So, I ask that You lead and direct me as I go through new challenges.

Father, will You stay close to me so that I do not stray from You. You are my Good Shepherd and I am Your sheep; so help me to keep my eyes fixed on You as I trust You in all things.

Grant me provision for all that I need, in order to start this new journey, through the directing of Your Holy Spirit.

Thank You Father, Amen.

— Psalm 22:11, John 10:11, Hebrews 12:2

PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR

May the Lord make my New Year a happy one...




Not by shielding me from sorrow and pain, but by strengthening me to bear it if it comes.




Not by making my path easy, but by making me sturdy enough to tread any path.




Not by taking hardship from me, but by taking all cowardice and fear from my heart as I meet hardships.




Not by granting me unbroken sunshine, but by keeping my face bright even in the shadows.




Not by making my life always pleasant, but by showing me where men and His cause need me most and by making me zealous to be there and to help...



God, make my year a happy one.




— from Guideposts magazine

Holy Innocents Day

Innocents Day 

HOLY INNOCENTS DAY -DECEMBER 28

The day commemorates the execution of the innocent, male children in Bethlehem as told in Matthew 2:16. Also known as the Feast of the Holy Innocents (and referred to as Childermas), the day refers to King Herod's order found in Matthew's account of the king's reaction to the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

Massacre of the Innocents is the incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem. The Catholic Church regards them as the first Christian martyrs, and their feast – Holy Innocents' Day (or the Feast of the Holy Innocents) – is celebrated on 28 December.

According to the New Testament, Holy Innocents’ Day was the massacre of some 20,000 boys, two years old and below. It was ordered by a furious King Herod more than 2,000 years ago, after he learned that he was tricked by the Three Kings, whom he asked to drop by at his Palace in Bethlehem so he would go with them to visit the newly born child, Jesus Christ. But deep inside Herod was his sinister plot to kill Baby Jesus, whom he considered a rival to his throne. 

In the reading of Matthew 2:16-18, it says: “When Herod realized that the visitors (Three Kings) from the East tricked him, he was furious. He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and neighborhood who were two years old and younger.

Matthew also wrote that the Holy Family fled to Egypt after “an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph and said, ‘Herod will be looking for the child in order to kill him. So get up, take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you to leave.”

According to the Gospel of Matthew, Herod ordered the execution of all young male children in the vicinity of Bethlehem, so as to avoid the loss of his throne to a newborn King of the Jews, whose birth had been announced to him by the Magi.

The slain children were regarded by the early church as the first martyrs, but it is uncertain when the day was first kept as a saint’s day. It may have been celebrated with Epiphany, but by the 5th century it was kept as a separate festival. In Rome it was a day of fasting and mourning.

Prayer to the Holy Family

THE HOLY FAMILY OF JESUS, MARY AND JOSEPH

Scripture tells us practically nothing about the first years and the boyhood of the Child Jesus. All we know are the facts of the sojourn in Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and the incidents that occurred when the twelve-year-old boy accompanied his parents to Jerusalem. In her liturgy the Church hurries over this period of Christ's life with equal brevity. The general breakdown of the family, however, at the end of the past century and at the beginning of our own, prompted the popes, especially the far-sighted Leo XIII, to promote the observance of this feast with the hope that it might instill into Christian families something of the faithful love and the devoted attachment that characterize the family of Nazareth. The primary purpose of the Church in instituting and promoting this feast is to present the Holy Family as the model and exemplar of all Christian families.




The Holy Family Prayer

JESUS, Son of God and Son of Mary, bless our family. Graciously inspire in us the unity, peace, and mutual love that you found in your own family in the little town of Nazareth.


MARY, Mother of Jesus and Our Mother, nourish our family with your faith and your love. Keep us close to your Son, Jesus, in all our sorrows and joys.


JOSEPH, Foster-father to Jesus, guardian and spouse of Mary, keep our family safe from harm. Help us in all times of discouragement or anxiety.


HOLY FAMILY OF NAZARETH, make our family one with you. Help us to be instruments of peace. Grant that love, strengthened by grace, may prove mightier than all the weaknesses and trials through which our families sometimes pass. May we always have God at the center of our hearts and homes until we are all one family, happy and at peace in our true home with you. Amen.




CONSECRATION OF OUR FAMILIES TO THE HOLY FAMILY.


Jesus, Mary, Joseph, we consecrate our Hearts and Souls in Your Hands.


Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Be With Us till our Last moment on this earth.



Jesus, Mary, Joseph, fill our families, with the Heavenly joy and peace. Amen.

Chaplet of the Holy Family

 The chaplet is prayed using a beaded chaplet chain or a rosary in the following manner:

1. Start by seeking the presence of the Holy Spirit; “Come, Holy Spirit, renew my family in your love.”
2. Say one Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be.
3. On each of the 10 beads, say the following prayer after recalling the particular intention you are praying for:
   
   Mary, mother of faithful love; Joseph, gentle and humble man of God;
   Jesus, Son of Mary, Bless, Guide and protect the families you created.
   
   
4. Close with the following prayer for families:
   
   Jesus, Mary, Joseph, model for all Christian families, I entrust my family to your care and protection. Bless each member of my family. Help me and the members of my family to love, listen to, support and accept one another. Encourage us to challenge one another to be compassionate, merciful and forgiving as we struggle with the difficulties of our lives. 
   
   Guide us to seek goodness and holiness in our everyday choices, actions and attitudes. Encourage us when our faith is weak and when we fail to lead one another to Christ. Make our home a real dwelling place of peace, joy and love, where you are ever present among us. May we work to uphold each one’s dignity, integrity and unique contributions to the well-being and growth of our family. And when our time on earth is complete, bring us all safely home to you in the company of heaven. Amen.

PRAYER TO MARY MOTHER OF GOD

O Mary, my Mother and my Lady, I offer you my soul, my body, my life and my death, and all that will follow it. I place everything in your hands. O my Mother, cover my soul with your virginal mantle and grant me the grace of purity of heart, soul and body. 

Defend me with your power against all enemies, and especially against those who hide their malice behind the mask of virtue . Fortify my soul that pain will not break it. Mother of grace, teach me to live by God's power.

O Mary, a terrible sword has pierced your holy soul. Except for God, no one knows of your suffering. Your soul does not break; it is brave, because it is with Jesus. 

Sweet Mother, unite my soul to Jesus, because it is only then that I will be able to endure all trials and tribulations, and only in union with Jesus will my little sacrifices be pleasing to God. 

Sweetest Mother, continue to teach me about the interior life. May the sword of suffering never break me. O pure Virgin, pour courage into my heart and guard it. Amen. 

Morning Offering Prayer

 

In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
I will begin this day. I thank you, Lord, for having preserved me during the night. I will do my best to make all I do today pleasing to You and in accordance with Your will. My dear mother Mary, watch over me this day. My Guardian Angel, take care of me. St. Joseph and all you saints of God, pray for me. O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart. ~ Amen

NOVENA PRAYER TO THE HOLY TRINITY

Novena to the Holy Trinity

God Eternal Father, bless me through the love with which You have begotten Your only Son from all eternity and shared with Him the fullness of Your Divinity. Bless me through the love which has adopted us as children, and made us partakers of the treasures of Your Divinity. Bless me through the love which sent us Your Son and the Holy Spirit to work the miracles of Your power and mercy in us. Grant that I may always revere and honor You as my great God, and love You with my whole heart as the best of fathers. Eternal Father, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

God Eternal Son, image of the splendor of the Father, bless me through the love with which You surround us, Your poor creatures. You have become our Brother according to the flesh to make us Your brothers according to Your Divinity, and an image of Your splendor. Bless me through the marvelous goodness of Your Sacred Heart which chose death to bring us life. Bless me through the love with which You plead for us before the throne of God, in the Blessed Sacrament, and with which You give Yourself to us in Holy Communion. Grant that all this love and bitter pain may not be lost on me. Eternal Son, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

God Holy Spirit, mutual Love of the Father and the Son, bless me through the love with which You proceed from the Father and the Son and unite Them in eternal unity. Bless me through the love with which You give Yourself to us as our greatest Gift, dispensing Your Divine graces to us and transforming sinners into children of God. Bless me through the love with which You dwell in the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through Whose merits the earth is filled with grace, and made a dwelling place for the God of heaven. Grant that I, Your faithful servant, may always allow You to lead me so I may advance in virtue and reach eternal happiness. Eternal Holy Spirit, grant my petition:

(Mention your request)

Most Holy Trinity, Godhead indivisible, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, our first beginning and our last end, You have made us after Your own image and likeness. Grant that all the thoughts of my mind, all the words of my mouth, all the affections of my heart, and all my actions be always conformed to Your holy Will. After having seen You here below in Your manifestations and by faith, may I come at last to see You face to face in the perfect possession of You forever in heaven. Amen.

Prayer:

Almighty and Everlasting God, by the profession of the true faith, You have given us, Your servants, grace to acknowledge the glory of the Eternal Trinity, and in the power of Your Divine Majesty to worship the Unity. We beg You to grant that, by our fidelity in this same faith, we may always be defended from all dangers. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

Pray 3 Our Fathers...