Holy Sanitizers

 I was visiting my sister, in a different town. I decided to go to Mass there. I knew tomorrow, Sunday, would be crazy, so I chose to go to church, Saturday night. 

I saw this hand sanitizer, as soon as I walked into the church.  I used it immediately.  I was rubbing my hands together with the sanitizer, until I was told that it wasn't hand sanitizer.

Oh, Catholics bless themselves with water that's been blessed to remind them of their baptism.

Water

 One time after an Interfaith service, we were going downstairs for a collation.  As I was leaving the churc h, I dipped my fingers in the holy water font and blessed myself.  I heard a little voice behind me ask his mother, "why is she doing that?"  The mother said, "Why don't you ask her?"  I turned around and explained, "I do that to remind me of my baptism."  

Don't ask me where I got that answer.  It's true; it does remind me of my baptism.  Today, I read Luke 21: 14-15.

Settle it therefore in your minds, not to meditate beforehand how to answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

I rememered this occasion when I read this, today.  Thank you, Jesus.

Simon Magus

 Acts: 8: 18-24.  I thought of this passage when I passed a holy water tank in a church with a price tag on it for holy water -- $ 1.50.  Isn't this simony?

It's my container; I'm only getting holy water.

Holy, Holy, Holy

Don't ask me why but I have several bottles of Holy Water.  I bless myself every morning and evening with holy water.  I sprinkle the room of my home with holy water.

I usually fill a bottle as soon as it's empty, but for some reason lately, I've been lazy.  That's why I had a few empty bottles on my dresser.  The other day when my granddaughter was over my house she was playing in my bedroom.  I saw her playing with my statues and didn't say anything; I didn't want to discourage her budding piety.  Later when I looked in the room she was on her knees mumbling her prayers very devoutly.

That night when I was straightening out my dresser I saw that she had made a little shrine.  She had statues and crosses and holy pictures surrounded by candles.  Plus all my bottles of holy water.  They were ALL filled with water.

There was no way to tell which bottles had tap water and which had holy water!

I'm bringing them ALL to a priest to bless them.

The Hidden Power of Holy Water

 Holy Water Font from Royal Tara Fine Bone China, Galway, Ireland.
I hope to come home with this when I visit Galway, next month.

The Hidden Power of Holy Water: Many people have forgotten about holy water.  I haven't.  I love to sprinkle it upon each bed in my home.  I have a small font of holy water on my kitchen window sill.  (No my cooking isn't that bad!)  I bless myself often during the day.  This reminds me of my baptism.  I am a child of God.  I need Him.  To quote this article in Aleteia:



In theological terms, holy water is a sacramental. It is a mixture of blessed salt and blessed water, and, although, by its use, sanctifying grace is not conferred, actual grace is obtained. 



Every church has a container of holy water.  Most people don't even notice it.  Every time I fill my bottle with holy water from St. Mary's container, I see people look at me quizzically.  One time a lady asked me after Mass, "What were you doing?"  I jokingly quipped, "Worshipping the radiator."  Don't worry; I laughingly explained that I was getting holy water out of the little tank.  This was an opportunity to evangelize to that segment of the population who need it the most--Catholics.  She learned more than she ever wanted to know about holy water.



She learned something that day.

Water Made Holy

In Bible Sharing, Frank asked, "Why would Jesus need to be baptized?"  We offered different reasons, but this morning I read one we never imagined.  This is from a sermon by Saint Maximus of Turin, bishop.

Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched.  For the consecration of Christ involves a more significant consecration of the water.  For when the Savior is washed all water for our baptism is made clean, purified at its source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people of future ages.  Christ is the first to be baptized, then so that Christians will follow after him with confidence.

We did think that Jesus was giving us an example to follow.  He always obeyed the religious rules.  But the Hebrews weren't baptizing.  Jews don't get baptized.  So, Jesus was giving us an example of new rules.  Water will change us, wash us clean, so to speak.  True, the church teaches that baptism takes away Original Sin.  It signifies that we are now on the road to Christ.  We are now Christians.  All this because of water.

Think of this when you hear this Sunday's gospel, The Baptism of the Lord.

Second Sunday of Lent

Day of rest.  One thing I wouold like you to do is when you go to church is to bring along a small bottle.  Locate the holy water storage container (your church may have a pool).  Fill your small bottle with holy water and bring it home.  Put the holy water someplace where you will use it.  Bless yourself with holy water every day.  Mine is beside the coffee pot.

Why do Catholics Bless Themselves?

Holy Water Font

The question took me by surprise.  I hesitated a minute before answering the little boy.  I said,
"I say in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, while I dip my fingers in the holy water.  The prayer and the water are to remind me of my Baptism.  The reminds me that I am a child of God."

He didn't say anything.  He just ran over to his mother.

I think I answered his question in a way he could understand.  Just to make sure, I asked my Google app, "Why do Catholics bless themselves with holy water?"

My iphone answered back,  "People have religion.  iPhones have silicon."

More Questions

Still haven't got a grasp on the Eucharist.

Don't worry. It's a mystery. Pray for the grace to understand.

I have lot's of other questions. Let me start at the beginning. Why did you and everybody else, stick your fingers in that dirty water and make the sign of the cross?

Well...in the first place, it's not dirty water; it's called holy water. We don't drink it. Don't worry. Catholics dip the tips of their fingers in it, and bless themselves by making the sign of the cross, i.e.," In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen" This is a prayer. The holy water is changed often. A drop of bleach may be added for cleaning the font. Sometimes a font will have a liner that is changed often. But in any case, like I said, no one drinks it.

This prayer is called "The sign of the cross." It's so easy to learn and the gestures make a cross to reinforce that it was our Trinitarian God who died on the cross for us.

You may wonder why or what the symbolism is. Water has always been a sign of cleansing. Many Old Testament references a cleansing with water. Other religions also have some sort of cleansing ritual. The Bible is full of them. (Ex 14:15-22, Ex 17:6-7, Josh 3:14-17, Ezek 47: 1-12, Mt 3:13-17, Jn 5:1-9, Jn 19:34, Jn 3:5) So it isn't surprising that in our Baptism, we use water to cleanse ourselves of Original Sin. Hence, when a Catholic enters the Church, you'll see him remind himself of his Baptism, by dipping his hands in holy water, and saying a prayer--the Sign of the Cross.

What makes it holy? The priest boils the hell out of it--just kidding. A priest will bless it. That's it. I've seen people touch their fingers in the holy water, then touch their child's fingers, so the child can then bless himself with holy water.

Some people have small fonts at home, so that they can bless the family as they leave the home. Kinda beautiful, huh?

This holy water is called a "sacramental." The catechism definition of a sacramental is "every baptized person is called to be a blessing and to bless...Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the same way the Sacraments do but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose us to cooperate with it...They include blessings of persons, meals, objects and places." (Catechism verse 1669-71).

IOW, a sacramental is a reminder of something important. You've seen TV Healers put oil on people's hands to heal them. This would be considered a sacramental. A prayer shawl one puts on to pray, too. See--something to remind you of something important.

Ah! You got it.

Addendum

This morning I wrote a post asking why Jesus would bother with baptism.  A bigger question would be why He would bother with the crucifixion, but that question is for another post.  I was pleasantly surprised to hear Fr. Frank (Fr. Frank is in the picture) ask the same question, in his homily.  He thought the best answer he ever heard was from an elderly priest in a nursing home.  The priest said that Jesus was making water holy.

Yup, that simple.  Don't dismiss that explanation.  Look what Thomas Aquinas has to say.

Article 1. Whether it was fitting that Christ should be baptized?

Objection 1. It would seem that it was not fitting for Christ to be baptized. For to be baptized is to be washed. But it was not fitting for Christ to be washed, since there was no uncleanness in Him. Therefore it seems unfitting for Christ to be baptized.

Objection 2. Further, Christ was circumcised in order to fulfil the law. But baptism was not prescribed by the law. Therefore He should not have been baptized.

Objection 3. Further, the first mover in every genus is unmoved in regard to that movement; thus the heaven, which is the firstcause of alteration, is unalterable. But Christ is the first principle of baptism, according to John 1:33: "He upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, He it is that baptizeth." Therefore it was unfitting for Christ to be baptized.

On the contrary, It is written (Matthew 3:13) that "Jesus cometh from Galilee to the Jordan, unto John, to be baptized by him."

I answer that, It was fitting for Christ to be baptized. First, because, as Ambrose says on Luke 3:21: "Our Lord was baptizedbecause He wished, not to be cleansed, but to cleanse the waters, that, being purified by the flesh of Christ that knew no sin, they might have the virtue of baptism"; and, as Chrysostom says (Hom. iv in Matth.), "that He might bequeath the sanctified waters to those who were to be baptized afterwards." Secondly, as Chrysostom says (Hom. iv in Matth.), "although Christ was not a sinner, yet did He take a sinful nature and 'the likeness of sinful flesh.' Wherefore, though He needed not baptism for His own sake, yet carnal nature in others had need thereof." And, as Gregory Nazianzen says (Orat. xxxix) "Christ was baptized that He might plunge the old Adam entirely in the water." Thirdly, He wished to be baptized, as Augustine says in a sermon on theEpiphany (cxxxvi), "because He wished to do what He had commanded all to do." And this is what He means by saying: "So it becometh us to fulfil all justice" (Matthew 3:15). For, as Ambrose says (on Luke 3:21), "this is justice, to do first thyself that which thou wishest another to do, and so encourage others by thy example."

Reply to Objection 1. Christ was baptized, not that He might be cleansed, but that He might cleanse, as stated above.

Reply to Objection 2. It was fitting that Christ should not only fulfil what was prescribed by the Old Law, but also begin what appertained to the New Law. Therefore He wished not only to be circumcised, but also to be baptized.

Reply to Objection 3. Christ is the first principle of baptism's spiritual effect. Unto this He was not baptized, but only in water.

Can't argue with that!