Resolution Epiphany and a Home Blessing

I’ll be honest. I have mixed feelings about New Year’s resolution season. Between the guilt-ridden goals to look better or do more, the temptation for self-centered navel-gazing, and the thinly veiled marketing gimmicks, I’m not excited to set goals on a prescribed January timeline. A natural southerner, I also lack winter motivation for pretty much anything. I’d much prefer hiding under a blanket fort with my kids and a good cup of tea until at least April.

Despite my hesitations, I do recognize that this is a fresh start for many of us. I’ve watched friends accomplish some amazing things for themselves, their families, and for God, thanks to the intentionality that this turning of the calendar provides. The act of reflecting and growing is certainly graced by God.

With this in mind, how is the Lord guiding our steps in 2024?

Rather than set our expectations for the year, we need to humble ourselves enough to accept that maybe we don’t know everything we need, but others with different perspectives and wisdom might. The one person who knows all these things is our Lord. Thanks be to God!

God seeks our dependence. I was both challenged and comforted by this proverb:

All one’s ways are pure in one’s own eyes, but the measurer of motives is the Lord. Entrust your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. (Proverbs 16:2-3)

What can I accomplish? What do I need to add or subtract in my life? These questions are best answered by the God who loves me and not my own guilt, attachments, or wishful thinking. We get much further when we depend on God to set our course.

In this attempt to leave my heart open to the Lord’s will, I stumbled across an attic box with an Epiphany blessing in it. Our parish had blessed chalk and sent it home to families during the pandemic for us to bless our homes. As I perused the language of the prayer, God spoke His resolutions for my family:

May all who enter this home find Christ’s light and love … Fill us with the light of Christ, that our concern for others may reflect your love. (from Catholic Household Blessings & Prayers, USSCB Publishing)

Home Blessing Prayer

LEADER:  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

LEADER:  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us. It is Jesus who enlightens our hearts and homes with his love. It is Jesus who is our source of hope, joy and comfort. May all who enter this home find the light and love of Jesus Christ. Let us listen to the word of God:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling place among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of an only Son coming from the Father, filled with enduring love.

ALL:  Our Father, who art in Heaven…

LEADER:  Lord God of heaven and earth, you revealed your only son to every nation by the guidance of a star. Bless this house and all who live here. May the light of Jesus shine from this house so that others may find their way to your light and your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

We sprinkle holy water in each room of the home.

We conclude by using the blessed chalk to mark, above the doorway, the initials of the three Magi, surrounded by the numbers of the current year and separated by small crosses:  20+K+M+B+24

~ Copyright 2016 Barb Szyszkiewicz, OFS

What does faithful hospitality mean in a family context?

We think of the cooking and cleaning, the planned events, or the physical things, but the hospitality that Christ asks of us is a disposition.

If someone knocked on your door this very second, would you be able to serve them willingly? Or was your first thought the panic of what your house looks like, the state of your marker-covered children, your teenager’s still-asleep death gaze, or even your well-planned to-do list for the day that you would need to surrender? Perhaps it’s the fact that you did not make it to the grocery store and have nothing impressive to feed anyone, or that you feel unworthy to serve.

None of these conditions that we place on “proper” hospitality matter to the child Jesus and his Holy Family. They should not matter to you either. Can your family provide the opportunity for Christ’s light and love? Is there a neighbor in need of attention—someone who lost a spouse, lost their way, or simply someone who needs a break? Does your family need to invite someone in to challenge you all to new ideas and deeper faith?

Your family has a mission to be open to the community needs around you, and to offer Christ’s light whenever the opportunity presents itself (Hint: There’s always an opportunity!).

Let the kids set the table askew. Sit and chat with the neighbor in need, even if it means calling in some takeout for dinner. Linger at coffee and donuts after Mass with a fellow parishioner who needs to interact with some sugar-filled children. When your kids notice someone suffering, help them to act on that observation. Let the routine run amuck. Open your hearts to how Christ wishes to reflect His love through your family this year. As the proverb states, His plans will succeed if you let them.

Wishing you a blessed 2024, dependent on God and open to His will in your family’s life.

House Blessing Image, copyright 2023 Megan Cottam, all rights reserved.

Inset Contributor: Barb Szyszkiewicz, editor at CatholicMom.com, is a wife, mom of 3 young adults, and a Secular Franciscan. Find Barb's blog at FranciscanMom; she is the author of The Handy Little Guide to Prayer and The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours, available from Our Sunday Visitor.