My granddaughters are twelve and eight years old. They are being brought up in the Catholic tradition. By that I mean they are sent to CCD, which stands for Catholic Christian Doctrine, sometimes called Religious Education, or Faith Formation, or Sunday School, even when it's not on Sunday. Recently they came home with chalk and holy water. Both items had been blessed by an ordained minister to use in an Epiphany blessing for their homes for the new year.
Over the front door, they wrote with the chalk, 20 + C + M + B + 23. It is written in chalk because next year the blessing will be for 2024. There are two possible meanings for this inscription. The one the girls used was a Latin blessing of Christus Mansionem Benedicat, which means May Christ bless this house and all who pass through this door.
This is called the Epiphany blessing because the blessing is written during Epiphany. This feast is sometimes called Little Christmas. It calls to mind the time when the three Magi or Wise Men came and found the baby Jesus and gave him their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The other meaning of the blessing is using the initials that tradition says were the names of the 3 Magi: Caspar, Malchior, and Balthazar.
But two girls very solemnly wrote 20 + C + M + B + 23 and asked Jesus to bless this house. Then the 8-year-old walked through the house, room by room, sprinkling holy water, while her older sister read the blessing prayers.
I know a sacrament when I see one.
Let those who have eyes see, and those who have ears hear, and those who have hearts understand.
The catechism defines a sacrament as
Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ, and entrusted to the Church, to give grace.
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