Why Is Water Blessed on the Feast of the Epiphany?
The blessing of water is celebrated on the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, that is, the feast of the Epiphany (the Theophany, or Denh), for two reasons: to sprinkle the heads of the faithful and their homes, and to call us to repent of our sins, to wash our hearts and prepare them to hear the Word of God. This blessed water is used throughout the year in homes to bless them and drive away all the powers of evil. We also find it in churches, at the entrance near the door: we sign our foreheads with it as a kind of washing and preparation for prayer, to purify and calm our minds so as to listen to the Word of God.
Among the customs of the Epiphany, people bring bottles of water to be prayed over during the Mass of the feast and then use them to sprinkle their homes, the Christmas tree and crib, and their fields with holy water, so that the Lord may pour out his blessing on them. After the feast, priests visit homes to sprinkle holy water on the crib, the Christmas tree, the threshold and every room, so that the Lord may bless them and protect them from the entry of evil. We have inherited these customs from our ancestors, and we pass them on so that they stay rooted in our children’s memory from generation to generation.
Lord, strengthen our faith; grant that we may pass this faith on to our children, learn from you, and bear true and faithful witness to you in our homes and in our society. Amen.
