Jesus went to the house of Zacchaeus. This is the usual gospel used in the rite of blessing a home. What happened to this visit of Jesus? What kind of change happened? Did Zacchaeus' house turned into a temple? No. Zaccheaus promised Jesus, "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." What was previously a man who took everything he can in exacting taxes from his fellow Jews, now commits half of his possessions and would return what he amassed four times more. Jesus' visit inspired a change of heart, a return to the Lord, a genuine and commited turning away from sin, and turning towards God.
This is the real fruit of blessing - conversion of the heart. Oftentimes we asked our homes to be blessed because there are evil spirits. We want them vanished. We asked rosaries, prayer books, and crossed to blessed because we want place them in our pockets or in our bags to force away danger, accidents and bad luck. But the real fruit of blessing, of homes or any other equipment of man, is the return of man to God. Everytime we bless "something," we also bless the person who own's that something, or the one who will us it. Everytime we bless things, we also bless the person.
God's blessing is not a talisman that protects us from danger; nor a feng shui gadget that puts in order the flow of nature in order to let good luck in; nor a lucky charm that will makes our wishes or prayers come true. Blessings remind us ther no material thing in this world that cannot be of use to the conversion of the human; a conversion that turns away from sin and turn towards God, whole-heartedly, in faith and trust.
