Holy water
Holy water is water that has been
.In Christianity
In
History
The
Use and storage
Sprinkling with holy water is used as a
Holy water is kept in the
In the Middle Ages Christians esteemed the power of holy water so highly that in some places fonts had locked covers to prevent the theft of holy water for unauthorized
Proper disposal
In Catholicism, holy water, as well as water used during the washing of the priest's hands at Mass, is not allowed to be disposed of in regular plumbing. Roman Catholic churches will usually have a special basin (a
Hygiene
Holy water fonts have been identified as a potential source of bacterial and viral infection. In the late-19th century,
Christian traditions
Roman Catholics
Sacramental and sanctification
A blessing, as a prayer,[16] is a sacramental.[17] By blessing water, Catholic priests praise God and ask him for his grace.[16] As a reminder of baptism, Catholic Christians dip their fingers in holy water and make the sign of the cross when entering a church.
Fr. John F. Sullivan, writing in the early twentieth century, noted that, "Besides the pouring of baptismal water ... the sprinkling with holy water is a part of the ceremonies of
The Sunday liturgy may begin with the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, in which holy water is sprinkled upon the congregation; this is called "aspersion" (from the Latin,
The Catholic Church teaches this use of holy water and making a sign of the cross when entering a church reflects a renewal of baptism, a cleansing of venial sin, as well as providing protection against evil.[19] It is sometimes accompanied by the following prayer:[20]
By this holy water and by your Precious Blood, wash away all my sins, O Lord.
Some Catholics believe that water from specific shrines (such as Lourdes) can bring healing - although that water is not the same as typical holy water found in parishes, since it has not been blessed by a priest.[21]
Formula
The traditional Latin formula for blessing the water is as follows:
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 Christi: qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et sæculum per ignem. 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, amen.
A priest may choose from three other formulae found in the Book of Blessings for blessing water. They are to be accompanied by the priest blessing the water with the sign of the cross. They are as follows:[22]
V. Blessed are you, Lord, all-powerful God, who in Christ, the living water of salvation, blessed and transformed us. Grant that when we are sprinkled with this water or make use of it, we will be refreshed inwardly by the power of the Holy Spirit and continue to walk in the new life we received at Baptism. We ask this though Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
V. Lord, holy Father, look with kindness on your children redeemed by your Son and born to a new life by water and the Holy Spirit. Grant that those who are sprinkled with this water may be renewed in body and spirit and may make a pure offering of their service to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.
V. O God, the Creator of all things, by water and the Holy Spirit you have given the universe its beauty and fashioned us in your own image. R. Bless and purify your Church. V. O Christ the Lord, from your pierced side you gave us your sacraments as fountains of salvation. R. Bless and purify your Church. V. Priest: O Holy Spirit, giver of life, from the baptismal font of the Church you have formed us into a new creation in the waters of rebirth. R. Bless and purify your Church.
Protection against evil
In his book The Externals of the Catholic Church, originally published in 1917, Fr. John F. Sullivan writes:
"The prayers said over the water are addressed to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that through the power of the Blessed Trinity the spirits of evil may be utterly expelled from this world and lose all influence over mankind. Then God is besought to bless the water, that it may be effective in driving out devils and in curing diseases; that wherever it is sprinkled there may be freedom from pestilence and from the snares of Satan."[23]
Catholic saints have written about the power of holy water as a force that repels evil. Saint
I know by frequent experience that there is nothing which puts the devils to flight like Holy water.[25]
The 20th-century nun and mystic Saint Faustina in her diary (paragraph 601) said she once sprinkled a dying sister with holy water to drive away demons. Although this was wrong to do, since it was the priest's duty, she remarked, "holy water is indeed of great help to the dying".[26]
In Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics,
The new
Eastern Christians
Among the Eastern Orthodox and the Byzantine Rite Catholics, holy water is used frequently in rites of blessing and exorcism, and the water for baptism is always sanctified with a special blessing.
There are two rites for blessing holy water: the "Great Blessing of Waters", which is held on the
Holy water is drunk by the faithful after it is blessed and it is a common custom for the pious to drink holy water every morning. In the monasteries of Mount Athos holy water is always drunk in conjunction with consuming antidoron. Eastern Orthodox do not typically bless themselves with holy water upon entering a church as Western Catholics do, but a quantity of holy water is often kept in a font placed in the narthex (entrance) of the church, available for anyone who would like to partake of it or to take some of it home.
After the annual Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany (also known as Epiphany), the priest goes to the homes of the faithful within his parish and, in predominantly Orthodox lands, to the buildings throughout town, and blesses them with holy water.
When blessing objects such as the palms on
Throughout the centuries, members of the Orthodox Church have believed many springs of water to be miraculous. Some still flow, such as the one at
Anglicans
Although "Holy water" is not a term used in official rites of the
In the Book of Occasional Services of the Episcopal Church (United States), in the rite for Restoring of Things Profaned, the bishop or priest while processing around the church or chapel recites Psalm 118 with the antiphon Vidi aquam:
I saw water proceeding out of the temple; from the right side it flowed, alleluia; and all those to whom that water came shall be saved, and shall say, alleluia, alleluia.
A rubric directs that as each profaned object is addressed, "it may be symbolically cleansed by the use of signs of purification, such as water or incense."[38]
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
Holy water is important to the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and regarded as healing from demonic possession and for treating sick people, particularly in cases of mental illness. It can be consumed or poured over someone supposed to be afflicted by harmful things.[39][40] A majority of studies show that many Ethiopians prefer holy water for biomedical purposes, especially for treatment of HIV/AIDS.[41] Pilgrims visit different monasteries such as Tsadkane Mariam and Entoto Kidane Mehret to acquire holy water.[42][need quotation to verify][43]
Besides, holy water also used for Ethiopian Orthodox holidays such as Timkat (Epiphany) where Christians gather at notable squares and churches and priests bless holy water and spatter them.[44][45] In Gondar, the Fasilides Bath is used to bathe and represents the Jordan River.[46]
Lutherans
The use of holy water in some synods of Lutheranism is for the baptism of infants and new members of the church. The water is believed to be blessed by God, as it is used in a sacrament. The water is applied to the forehead of the laity being baptised and the minister performs the sign of the cross. Lutherans tend to have baptismal water fonts near the entrance of the church.[47]
Other synods do not use holy water, however they do typically treat the water used for baptisms in a respectful manner.
Methodists
In the
Pour out your Holy Spirit, to bless this gift of water and those who receive it, to wash away their sin and clothe them in righteousness throughout their lives, that, dying and being raised with Christ, they may share in his final victory. All praise to you, Eternal Father, through your Son Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns for ever. Amen.[50]
Other religions
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Sikhism
One of the holiest sites in Sikhism,
Hinduism
The significance of water in Hinduism is described in the hymn called the
Buddhism
The idea of "blessed water" is used in virtually all
Islam
The Muslim variety of holy water is the Zamzam water that comes from a spring near the Kaaba in Mecca.
The drinking of "healing water" (āb-i shifā) is a practice in various denominations of
The
Mandaeism
In
Others
In
In
Unofficial uses
Holy water has also been believed to ward off or act as a weapon against mythical evil creatures, such as vampires. In eastern Europe, one might sprinkle holy water onto the corpse of a suspected vampire in order to destroy it or render it inert.[61][62] Thereafter, the concept proliferated into fiction about such creatures.
Gallery
- Stoups
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Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière, Lyon, France
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Church of Santa Maria a Cintoia [it], Florence, Italy
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Church of Saints Saint Cajetan and Maximillian, Salzburg, Austria
See also
References
- ^ "Tracts on Principles of Divine Worship: No. 3. The Sprinkling of Holy Water". New York: Men's Guild, St. Ignatius' Church. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
Holy water has no power to beautify the soul here in time and the body in eternity, as Penance and the Eucharist have; but for those who reverently use it, having the right dispositions of faith and contrition, it has power to banish demons, dispel their deceits and vexations, cleanse the soul from stain of venial sins, avert earthly ills (other than those which God allows for our good), and to promote our temporal welfare.
- ^ Theiler, Henry (1909). Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics.
Ratisbon, New York: F. Puster & Co. Reprint: Sophia Institute Press, 2016. ISBN 0-7661-7553-7pp. 13-15.
- ^ Chambers's encyclopædia (1870). Philadelphia: Lippincott & Co. p. 374.
- ISBN 1-58768-013-0pp 130–133
- ^ Numbers 5:17
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Holy Water". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
As, in many cases, the water used for the Sacrament of Baptism was flowing water, sea or river water, it could not receive the same blessing as that contained in the baptisteries. On this particular point the early liturgy is obscure [...].
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church, Sacramentals, ss. 1667, 1668
- ^ The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church (1974). J. D. Douglas (ed.). "Holy Water". Grand Rapids: Zondervan. p. 478.
- ^ "Fontes sub serura clausi teneantur, propter saortilegia. Chrisma similiter et oleum sacrum sub clave custodiantur." (Wilkinson, Consilia, 1:636, quoted in George C. Homans, English Villagers in the Thirteenth Century, 2nd ed. 1991:384 and note 2).
- ^ Theiler, Henry (1909). Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics.
Ratisbon, New York: F. Puster & Co. Reprint: Sophia Institute Press, 2016. ISBN 0-7661-7553-7p. 48.
- ^ Dietetic and Hygienic Gazette, Volume 14, page 578. The Gazette Publishing Company, 1898.
- ^ J.C. Rees and K.D. Allen, 1996 "Holy water—a risk factor for hospital-acquired infection". Journal of Hospital Infection 32(1), pages 51–55.
- ^ California Catholic Daily. "Holy water should not be in fonts during this swine flu epidemic [...." ] 4 May 2009.
- ^ NPR Morning Edition. "In Italy, An Automatic Holy-Water Dispenser". 12 November 2009.
- ^ Examples as the conferences of England and Wales Archived 2021-01-27 at the Wayback Machine, New Zealand and various African conferences
- ^ a b "Catechism of the Catholic Church - In the age of the Church". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church - Sacramentals". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ISBN 978-0-615-37095-8p. 167.
- ISBN 978-1-164-09868-3page 283.
- ISBN 0-87973-999-1p.65
- ISBN 1-4086-8541-8page 38.
- ^ "Blessing of Holy Water Outside of Mass". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ISBN 978-0-615-37095-8p. 166.
- ISBN 1-59030-573-6pp 238–241
- ISBN 1-60680-041-8page 246
- ^ Liturgical Year: Divine Mercy In My Soul
- ^ Theiler, Henry (1909). Holy Water and Its Significance for Catholics.
Ratisbon, New York: F. Puster & Co. Reprint: Sophia Institute Press, Manchester (New Hampshire), 2016. ISBN 0-7661-7553-7pp. 24–31 - "The priest [...] first blesses the salt that he afterwards puts in the water. [...] 'I exorcise thee, thou creature salt, [...] that thou mayest become health of soul and body [...].' [...] In the following prayer the blessing is pronounced over the water: 'let Thy creature serving in Thy mysteries, by divine grace be effectual for casting out devils and for driving away diseases [...].'"
- ^ Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara. "Extraordinary Form; Book of Blessings". ZENIT.
- ^ "Church of England Rite of Holy Baptism, The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000–2006". Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2010-08-23.
- ^ Enriching Our Worship 5: Liturgies and Prayers Related to Childbearing, Childbirth, and Loss; Church Publishing; 2009; p. 20.
- ^ "Anglican Service Book--The Asperges and the Vidi Aquam". justus.anglican.org. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
- ISBN 978-0-8192-1768-4p. 209.
- ^ Ritual Notes: A Comprehensive Guide to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Book of Common Prayer of the English Church. (1926) [1894]. London: W. Knott & Son. (7th ed.) p.59. A tenth edition was published in 1956, and an eleventh edition in 1964.
- ^ Anglican Missal in the American Edition (1961). "The Order of Blessing Water." Mount Sinai, New York: Frank Gavin Liturgical Foundation. pp.238-240.
- ISBN 978-0-8192-1768-4
- ^ Galley, Howard E. (1989). Ceremonies of the Eucharist. "The Setting Apart of Lustral Water." Cambridge, MA: Cowley Publications. p. 232.
- ISBN 978-0-89869-701-8
- ISBN 0-89869-227-X
- ^ "Church endorses 'holy water' and ARVs as people flock to miracle mountain". The New Humanitarian. 2007-05-25. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ "HIV Prevention and Counseling at Holy Water Sites in Ethiopia". globalhealth.washington.edu. 2015-09-28. Archived from the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Tadesse, Zelalem (14 July 2022). The Practice of Holy Water Therapy for Mental Disorders (Thesis). Addis Ababa University. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
- CiteSeerX 10.1.1.966.8407.
- ^ itechadmin (2014-09-08). "Stories of Success from Ethiopia: The Tsadkane Holy Water Well". I-TECH. Archived from the original on 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
[...] The Tsadkane monastery, located within the Amhara region of Western Ethiopia. [...] The holy water site is visited daily by up to 5,000 pilgrims, all in search of a cure to their ailments by way of prayer, holy water consumption, and bathing. The majority of these pilgrims are extremely ill, and a large group have been diagnosed with advanced HIV/AIDS.
- ISBN 978-0-275-97270-7. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ISBN 978-3-8448-5884-6. Archivedfrom the original on 2022-07-14. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Hoh, Anchi (2022-01-19). "Epiphany and Timkat in Ethiopia: The City of Gondar Hosts Annual Epiphany Celebrations | 4 Corners of the World: International Collections and Studies at the Library of Congress". blogs.loc.gov. Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-07-14.
- ^ Getz, Keith (February 2013). "Where is the Baptismal Font?" (PDF). Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
By having the font at the entrance of the church, and using the font every Sunday, we are intentionally and dramatically revealing the importance of Holy Baptism and highlighting it as foundational to our life in Christ. It symbolically reminds us that we enter into the life of the church, into the life of Christ's body, through the birthing waters of the baptismal font, where we are born again from above. Dipping our fingers in the holy water of the font and making the sign of the cross, reinforces who and whose we are. We are reminded that we have been baptized; daily we die to sin and rise to new life in the Spirit. The font is also positioned so that from the font there is a direct and central path leading to the altar, highlighting how these two Holy Sacraments are intimately connected. As we leave the church, we see the baptismal font, reminding us that we have been baptized, named and claimed, to serve others in proclamation and service to others.
- ^ Hannon, Dan (2014). "Baptism" . Life Events. The United Methodist Church.
Holy Baptism is a Covenant between an individual and God. It is God's word to us, proclaiming our adoption by grace and our word to God, promising our response of faith and love. Persons of all ages can be baptized at Christ Church. We baptize by sprinkling Holy Water. The United Methodist Church recognizes baptisms from other denominations and churches and therefore does not "re-baptize".
- ^ This is your Baptismal Liturgy: A Resource for Understanding The United Methodist Ritual of Holy Baptism. The United Methodist Church. 2001.
Holy Spirit is invoked to bless and use the water, in anticipation that God will act again, even now.
- ^ This is your Baptismal Liturgy: A Resource for Understanding The United Methodist Ritual of Holy Baptism. The United Methodist Church. 2001.
- ISBN 1-58340-469-4page 7
- ISBN 1-58340-466-Xpage 22
- ^ "Buddhism in Thailand: Lustral Water". Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ Smithsonian Institution. "Buddhist ritual sprinkler (kundika) <Internet>". Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
- ^ The British Museum. "Stoneware kundika (water sprinkler) <Internet>". Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
- ^ a b c Virani, Shafique. The Ismailis in the Middle Ages: A History of Survival, A Search for Salvation (New York: Oxford University Press), 2007, pp. 107–108.
- OCLC 65198443.
- OCLC 221130512.
- ISBN 0-631-15624-0page 77
- ISBN 0-8065-2455-3page 85
- ^ Bonnerjea, Biren. A Dictionary of Superstitions and Mythology, Folk Press Limited, 1927, p. 242. [1] Archived 2014-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Library of universal knowledge: A reprint of the last (1880) Edinburgh and London edition of Chambers' encyclopaedia, with copious additions by American editors, Volume 14. American Book Exchange (Original from Harvard University), 1881, p. 804. [2]
Further reading
- (Mother) Mary; Ware, (Archimandrite) Kallistos (Tr.)(1998). The Festal Menaion (reprint), pp 348–359. South Canaan: St. Tikhon's Seminary Press. ISBN 1-878997-00-9.
- Isabel Florence Hapgood (Tr., ed.)(1983). Service Book of the Holy Orthodox-Catholic Apostolic Church (6th ed.), pp 189–197. Englewood: Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese.
- Collectio Rituum ad instar appendicis Ritualis Romani pro dioecesibus Statuum Foederatorum Americae Septentrionalis. Milwaukee: Bruce (1954)
External links
- Photo of Great Blessing of Waters at Theophany (Russian Orthodox)
- Photo of Lesser Blessing of Waters (Russian Orthodox)
- St Brigid's Well, County Kildare