Video Transcript
If you’ve ever been inside of a Catholic Church, you’ve probably noticed the water. It’s usually in a big basin called a baptismal font towards the front of the Church, it’s in what’s called holy water fonts. You can dip your hand in and make the sign of the cross. It’s used at baptism. It’s used at particular Masses. Sometimes the priest will take it and sprinkle it over everybody.
You can use this in the Church, but did you know you can also take holy water home with you to supplement your own spiritual life and make it a part of your daily spiritual life? Let’s talk about that today. In fact, most churches actually have a place where you can take these little holy water containers and fill them up with holy water yourself.
So what is holy water? Holy water is what’s called a sacramental in the Church, but it’s also used during the Sacrament of Baptism. It’s water that’s been blessed by the priest, and we can use this in our own lives. And the Church calls this a sacramental.
The catechism reminds us in paragraph 1667, that “sacramentals are sacred signs, which bear a resemblance to the sacraments.” Holy water reminds us of the Sacrament of Baptism. Later, the catechism reminds us in paragraph 1677, “sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.”
But you might ask, well, sacramentals, help us be prepared to receive the sacraments. What about holy water? How does it prepare us to receive the sacraments if we can only receive baptism once?
We can find the answer in the specific prayer that the Church recommends a priest use when blessing water in this part of the blessing, the priest prays, “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 can bless ourselves with holy water and remind ourselves of the sacramental grace that we received from our baptism.
And because through baptism, we’ve been born into Christ and this new life, this sacramental also opens us up and helps us to receive the other sacraments like Reconciliation and the Eucharist. This is what’s really cool about walking into a church and seeing those holy water fonts. It reminds us that we’re able to come here and worship and participate in the Eucharist and the Body of Christ because of the Sacrament of Baptism that allowed us to be born into this new life in Christ.
St. Teresa of Avila said this about the power of this sacramental of holy water. She said, “from long experience I have learned that there is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have a great virtue. For my own part whenever I take it, my soul feels a particular and most notable consolation.”
You can use holy water as much as you want. You can use it to bless yourself throughout the day. And when we use it, we often will make the sign of the cross to remind us of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection that won us this new life in him. Sometimes people will put these little holy water fonts towards the front of their home for when they enter or leave their house. Sometimes I keep one of these little holy water containers near my computer when I’m working, and every now and then I just try to take a break and bless myself with holy water. You can even use this holy water to bless things in your life like your car, or the place where you work.
In this way, holy water can be a powerful support to our life in Christ. Because God showers us with grace and prepares us to receive the sacraments through sacramentals.