Some time ago, ‘Jill’ renovated her period house, and wanted to know why, after all her efforts, it didn’t feel like home.  I arrived at her magnificently decorated house to find that no expense had been spared, however, as aesthetically pleasing as the décor was, it really didn’t feel homey -at least not until the second martini hit me - at which point Jill shared the eerie historical details of the house - which included murder. When I suggested having the house blessed, her concern was that she’s Catholic and her husband’s Jewish (neither are religious), and she didn’t know if it was appropriate.

It’s estimated that over 79% of us believe in God, in some form, 12% don’t know, and only 9% don’t believe in god.  With those kinds of statistics, you’d think the house-blessing would come before the paint selection, especially since most of us know nothing of our home’s history.
 
For those who don’t know; there isn’t a Priest, Rabbi, Bishop or other spiritual practitioner who would refuse to bless any home, regardless of religion.  Reverend Barbara Trudel (www.cfcl.ca) suggests; “belief is not required, and it doesn’t matter which religious practitioner does the blessing because in the end, we’re all speaking the same language.”  Some practitioners charge a set fee and others accept donations, either way, they’re working for “The Man”, so be generous.

Eventually, Jill had her house blessed, and she finally feels at home, and although she’s part of the 9% who don’t believe; she’s raving about the benefits.