The occasion provides a special opportunity for a gathering of the members of the community to mark the joyful event and to thank God, from whom all blessings come, for the gift of a new home.

The leader may use these or similar words to introduce the blessing: This tree is a blessing to our home. It reminds us of all that is beautiful, all that is filled with the gentleness and the ...

Using passages of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the official rubrics of sacramental rites as the basis for their writing, the contributors to this collection of texts highlight the ...