What is good... WATER

WATER - Holy water and its symbolism.

Holy water is used within the Christian church. The water is held in beautiful 'bird baths', dotted around churches. I have experienced them when i visited ST. Peters Basilica in Rome. They were stunning and really took your breath away. Below are some images and information about what they symbolise. Water is a huge part of the Christian faith.

For the Christian, water, as the matter of Baptism, is life. Tertullian (b. 160), making a play on words based on the Greek acrostic ICQUS , or Ichthys, meaning "fish" and indicating "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour", wrote in "De Baptismo," "But we, little fishes, after the example of our Ichthys Jesus Christ, are born in water, nor have we safety in any other way than by permanently abiding in water; so that most monstrous creature, who had no right to teach even sound doctrine, knew full well how to kill the little fishes, by taking them away from the water!" In the same treatise, he wrote of water's symbolism:

"In the first beginning," saith Scripture, "God made the heaven and the earth. But the earth was invisible, and unorganized, and darkness was over the abyss; and the Spirit of the Lord was hovering over the waters." The first thing, O man, which you have to venerate, is the age of the, waters in that their substance is ancient; the second, their dignity, in that they were the seat of the Divine Spirit, more pleasing to Him, no doubt, than all the other then existing elements. For the darkness was total thus far, shapeless, without the ornament of stars; and the abyss gloomy; and the earth unfurnished; and the heaven unwrought: water alone -- always a perfect, gladsome, simple material substance, pure in itself -- supplied a worthy vehicle to God.

The Use of Water in the Church

The ritual use of this precious substance is ancient and rooted in the Old Testament. When the Israelites entered the Temple, they had to undergo purifcation by immersion in a mikvah (modern Jews still make use of mikva'ot on Yom Kippur, on wedding days, for purification after menstruation or coming into contact with a dead body or semen, etc.). These ritual purifications by water prefigured Christian Baptism, which we recall when we bless ourselves (cross ourselves) using holy water upon entering our churches. Devoutly blessing one's self with Holy Water remits venial sins.

When you enter a church, you might find a holy water font (or "stoup") attached to the wall at one or both sides of each door, or you might find a free-standing font. Simply dip the tips of the fingers of your right hand into the water and cross yourself while mentally contemplating the words, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." Don't rush through this; make it meaningful, remembering the meaning of your Baptism and mentally expressing your gratitude to God. Many Catholics repeat this process upon leaving the church, too. (Note: you might see one Catholic dip his fingers into the Holy Water and touch fingers with another Catholic to share it if that second Catholic can't reach the font comfortably).

This holy water is also used by the priest to sprinkle the people before the beginning of Mass. He will have a pail-like vessel called an "aspersory" to hold the holy water, and into this he will dip a stick called an "aspergillum" (or an "aspergill"). The aspergillum has holes in it to catch droplets of the water, and the priest's swinging it toward the congregation causes the drops of water to fly out. This blessing of the congregation before Mass is called "Aspérges" and the accompanying, chanted words come from Psalm 50:

Aspérges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbador. Miserére mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam

Thou shalt sprinke me, O Lord, with hyssop and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than show. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy

Holy water is blessed on the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6) and any time thereafter that holy water is needed. First, the salt to be added to the water is exorcized and blessed. Then the water itself is blessed with these words:

Exorcizo te, creatura aquæ, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, et in nomine Jesu Christi, Filii ejus Domini nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti: ut fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici, et ipsum inimicum eradicare et explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis, per virtutem ejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christ: qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et sæculum per ignem.

I exorcise thee in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Ghost, that you may be able to put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy and his apostate angels; through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.

Deus, qui ad salutem humani generis maxima quæque sacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti: adesto propitius invocationibus nostris, et elemento huic, multimodis purificationibus præparato, virtutem tuæ benedictionis infunde; ut creatura tua, mysteriis tuis serviens, ad abigendos dæmones morbosque pellendos divinæ gratiæ sumat effectum; ut quidquid in domibus vel in locis fidelium hæc unda resperserit careat omni immunditia, liberetur a noxa. Non illic resideat spiritus pestilens, non aura corrumpens: discedant omnes insidiæ latentis inimici; et si quid est quod aut incolumitati habitantium invidet aut quieti, aspersione hujus aquæ effugiat: ut salubritas, per invocationem sancti tui nominis expetita, ab omnibus sit impugnationibus defensa. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.

God, Who for the salvation of the human race has built your greatest mysteries upon this substance, in your kindness hear our prayers and pour down the power of your blessing into this element, prepared by many purifications. May this your creation be a vessel of divine grace to dispel demons and sicknesses, so that everything that it is sprinkled on in the homes and buildings of the faithful will be rid of all unclean and harmful things. Let no pestilent spirit, no corrupting atmosphere, remain in those places: may all the schemes of the hidden enemy be dispelled. Let whatever might trouble the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by this water, so that health, gotten by calling Your Holy Name, may be made secure against all attacks. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Where to get it

To get holy water to use in your home, bring a clean flask to your parish church and look for a faucet that will probably be labelled "Holy Water." If there is no faucet, it might be kept in an urn of some sort. If you can't find it, don't be shy; just ask! Unlike votive candles, there is no real cost to the church in making holy water, so there is no offering expected.


How to use it

You can keep it in decorative bottles ¹ for storage at home or in little flasks, made for this purpose, to carry with you. Most Catholics keep at least some in holy water fonts.

Holy water fonts for the home come in all sizes and shapes, some tacky and plastic, others quite lovely and made of alabaster, marble, porcelain, sandstone, or metals -- as inexpensive or as expensive as you like -- some resting on tables, most hanging on walls (one example is shown at right). You can buy one from most Catholic gift shops or make your own (consider using bivalve seashells as basins, or the shell motif in design. The seashell is a very ancient symbol of Baptism, and the shells of large molluscs -- weighing up to 500 pounds -- have been used in churches as basins for holy water). Tip: putting a thin sponge inside the font is said to make the water evaporate less quickly.

Catholics often keep a font near their front door, in their bedrooms' doorways, and near the family altar. Use the water in the same way you do at church, dipping your fingers into it and making the Sign of the Cross. Bless your children with it as you tuck them in at night, using your thumb to sign them with a cross of holy water on their foreheads.

Most Catholics pray "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" when blessing themselves with Holy Water, but this is another beautiful prayer:

By Thy Precious Blood and by this Holy Water, cleanse me (him/her) from my (his/her) sins, O Lord.

Another use of holy water is to give tiny sips to the sick or spiritually oppressed. It shouldn't be consumed as a beverage, mind you, but the ingestion of small amounts, or adding a few drops to foods, is common.