Cleansing of a Home

Fr. Dale Matson
1-26-11
“Almighty and everlasting God, grant to this home the grace of your presence, that you may be known to be the inhabitant of this dwelling and the defender of this household; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God forever and ever. Amen” (Celebration of a Home, Book of Occasional Services).

My grandfather built our home and when he died and my grandmother moved, my father bought the home from his family and our family moved into my grandparents’ home. My older brother and I slept in the same room and during the night I would sometimes awaken to see spirits hovering around. I would call out to my older brother who never saw them and was always irritated with me for awakening him. I don’t know if I had sensitivity about this because of God’s eventual call to Holy Orders but I have reflected on this and two other episodes in my life. In this case I believe that my grandparents who had embraced Mary Baker Eddy and the teachings of Christian Science had unwittingly encouraged these spirits to enter their home. After adolescence I never saw them in our home.

I was a visitor in a friend’s home that had initially been a mansion then a nunnery then it was moved to a large vacant country location. I awakened with a feeling that I was being watched and the hair stood up on the back of my neck. I have never had this reaction before or since. My friend stated, after the fact, that they did have doors open that had been closed and a dog that would begin barking furiously during the night for no apparent reason. In this case I do not mean to imply that Roman Catholic Nuns who formerly resided there were the reason for this experience. I don’t have any idea why this house would be affected.

I had a small home built in the early nineties and after moving in, had a similar sense that I was not the sole occupant in the house. It was as if I was a resident but not the owner. My spiritual advisor recommended that I light a candle and say a prayer in each room. She thought that it was possible that one of the construction people may have been involved in occult practices. After doing as she instructed, I became the sole occupant. I have lived in ten other locations over the course of my life without these experiences. In the house in which we currently reside our priest at the time we moved in offered the “Celebration for a Home”. I also performed this for my son and his family in their home. It is fairly standard practice in both the Christian and Hebrew faiths to do this for the new occupants of an existing or a new home.

It is easy to pass this off as nonsense not fit for the 21st Century. I do not believe that it is nonsense and recommend that everyone take advantage of the opportunity for the blessing of a home. This is a service offered by the church.

“Let the mighty power of the Holy God be present in this place to banish from it every unclean spirit, to cleanse it from every residue of evil, and to make it a secure habitation for those who dwell in it; in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ibid). Amen