The main point to understand here is that it is the grace of the Holy Spirit that brings blessings upon our homes and other objects and sanctifies them. Although the act of the Holy Spirit during our prayers remains invisible, we use some physical actions to visually demonstrate that the blessings came upon our homes.
Blessings of homes, cars, or objects can be done by Christians themselves. But in most cases, we ask a priest to come and bless them for us simply because the priests have the authority to bless people and things on behalf of God.
Blessing of Homes or any object in the Orthodox tradition makes two main accents on the spiritual life of a Christian:
The first accent is protective.
Special Blessing not only drives away the unclean spirits from us but also helps to protect us from their attacks.
The second accent is dedicative.
During blessings or sanctifications, we dedicate those objects to God! They are not only ours anymore! They belong to God, Who has sent His grace upon the objects that we have willingly dedicated to Him.
On the other hand, after the blessing is done, nothing will change legally – your home remains your home, your car remains your car, and your business remains your business, just like before the blessing.
The change is in our attitude only – after the blessing we view our home, our car, our icon, and our business, as those that belong to God and we as good stewards are entrusted with managing them.
An opportunity to say “Thank You, God”
So, after we bless a home, a car, or anything else, we have an opportunity to thank God for helping us get them in the first place, and then for entrusting them into our care. Such thanksgiving carries great spiritual benefit: we no longer proudly boast about our achievements but humbly recognize God’s power and His will in them. We come to understand that the Lord will support what is His!
SUMMARY
So, with the blessings of homes, cars, businesses, or other objects we get:
The Priest will bring everything needed for him during the rite of the blessing.
As the owner or a renter of the house, you need to prepare:
The procedure
Part 1. The priest reads prayers of blessings and blesses the oil.
Part 2. The priest blesses the house by sprinkling the Holy Water, anoints with the blessed oil, and does the censing with a censer throughout your whole house.
Part 3. The priest reads the Gospel and says special petitions for your family and all people who live in the house.
BONUS PART: the Priest will gladly and abundantly sprinkle you and your household with Holy Water!
The Priest will bring everything needed for him during the rite of the blessing.
You need to make sure your car is clean (every service is a projection of God’s Kingdom on earth, so we make sure the objects for the service reflect this projection).
BONUS PART: the Priest will gladly and abundantly sprinkle you and your household with Holy Water.
The Priest will bring everything needed for him during the rite of the blessing.
Things to understand before blessing a business:
1. Not all businesses can be blessed. We do not bless businesses that propagate sin from the Church’s point of view.
2. Blessing cannot and is not considered as good luck or any luck for your business. It is the simple dedication of your lawful business to God and a humble request for His help.
The procedure
The procedure and the preparation are the same as for the blessing of homes. The prayers will be adjusted to your situation.
BONUS PART: the Priest might gladly and abundantly sprinkle you and your household with Holy Water.
The Priest will bring everything needed for him during the rite of the blessing.
The Priest will read short prayers and sprinkle the object with Holy Water.
BONUS PART: the Priest might gladly and abundantly sprinkle you and your household with Holy Water.
