Blessing a House...

I have read about blessing a house, but have never participated in a house blessing. The first time I heard of the practice was in an account by Catherine Marshall (one of my favorite authors). She felt a strong desire to have a rental property owned by her family blessed before renting it out, after several tenants living there had experienced a lot of unhappiness. She asked friends to come to the house and join her in praying that future tenants would find the house a blessing.

Interesting... I remember thinking...

More recently, in Liturgy of the Ordinary, author Tish Harrison Warren mentions how, if one of her priest friends is asked to bless a house, he doesn't leave out the bathroom! When he gets there, people gather around to hear what he'll say. 

He anoints the bathroom mirror with oil and prays that when people look into it, they would see themselves as beloved images of God [made in God's image and] that they would not relate to their bodies with the categories the world gives them...[seeing only] what is lacking or wrong about our bodies.

I really love that prayer!