Homily for house blessing (Luke 19:1-9)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today, as we gather for this special blessing of a home, the Gospel story of Zacchaeus speaks powerfully to us. In this familiar passage from Luke, we witness a profound transformation that begins with a simple invitation: "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house."

Let us listen to this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus from the Gospel of Luke:
> "He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.' And he came down quickly and received him with joy. When they saw this, they began to grumble, saying, 'He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.' But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, 'Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.' And Jesus said to him, 'Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham.'" (Luke 19:1-9, NABRE)

In this beautiful Gospel passage, we see three movements that mirror what happens in a house blessing: seeking, welcoming, and transformation.

First, there is seeking. Zacchaeus, despite his wealth and position, felt something missing in his life. He was searching for meaning, for something more. This led him to seek out Jesus, even climbing a tree—an undignified act for a man of his status—just to catch a glimpse of the Lord. Similarly, when we ask for our home to be blessed, we are expressing our desire to seek Christ, to have Him be part of our domestic life. We acknowledge that our material possessions, like Zacchaeus's wealth, cannot fulfill our deepest needs. We seek something more.

Pope Benedict XVI reflected on this seeking heart of Zacchaeus, noting that "his smallness of stature symbolizes the interior distance that separates him from Jesus." Like Zacchaeus, we sometimes feel small and distant from God, but that very awareness can become the beginning of our journey toward Him.

The second movement is welcoming. When Jesus invited Himself to Zacchaeus's home, the tax collector "received him with joy." This joy is the natural response to Christ's presence. Today, as we bless this home, we are essentially saying, like Zacchaeus, "Lord, I welcome You here. This place where I live, where I love, where I struggle and rejoice—I open it to Your presence."

Saint John Chrysostom teaches us that "Christ's entrance into a home brings with it every blessing." When we welcome Christ into our homes, we are not merely performing a ritual; we are inviting the living God to dwell among us, to be present in our conversations, our meals, our rest, and our relationships.

The Catechism reminds us that the Christian home is the place "where children receive the first proclamation of the faith" (CCC 1666). By welcoming Christ into your home through this blessing, you are creating a domestic church, a sanctuary where faith is lived and shared.

The third movement is transformation. After encountering Jesus, Zacchaeus was radically changed. He pledged half his possessions to the poor and promised to make restitution to anyone he had cheated. His encounter with Christ transformed not just his heart but his actions and relationships.

This is the deepest purpose of a house blessing—not just to sprinkle holy water on walls and rooms, but to initiate a transformation of the life lived within these walls. When Christ enters our homes, He desires to transform our family relationships, our use of time and resources, our hospitality to others, and our witness in the neighborhood.

As Saint John Paul II taught, "The family home is the first school of Christian life." It is where we learn to love, to forgive, to serve, and to pray. When we ask for God's blessing upon a home, we are asking Him to make it a place where these virtues can flourish.

The final words of Jesus to Zacchaeus are particularly meaningful for us today: "Today salvation has come to this house." The Greek word for "salvation" here—soteria—implies not just spiritual rescue but wholeness, healing, and restoration. Jesus announces that divine wholeness has entered Zacchaeus's home because he welcomed the Lord with an open heart.

This is our prayer today as we bless this home—that salvation, in all its fullness, might dwell here. That this house might be a place of peace and joy, of healing and forgiveness, of hospitality and prayer. That all who live here might, like Zacchaeus, continuously welcome Christ with joy, and all who visit might encounter something of His presence.

In the ritual of blessing that follows, we will ask God to send His angels to guard this home, to fill it with His peace, and to make it a place where faith, hope, and love abound. We will sprinkle holy water as a reminder of baptism, through which we first welcomed Christ into our lives. And we will pray that this physical structure might truly become a spiritual dwelling place for God.

Brothers and sisters, as we prepare to bless this home, let us remember Zacchaeus—small in stature but great in faith, wealthy in possessions but even richer after his encounter with Christ. May this home, like the home of Zacchaeus, be a place where Christ is joyfully received, where lives are transformed, and where salvation takes up residence.

May God bless this home and all who dwell within it, now and always.

Amen.