Emptying out the holy water stoups in Lent

[Leon_Bloy]

Why blame the sacristan specifically?
It is the sacristan’s duty to obediently serve the interests of the priest.

When I was sacristan for almost ten years I knew my duties and never took it upon myself to carry out tasks without the expressed wishes of my parish priest without informing him. When I was told to fill the fonts and stoups with sand during one season of Lent it wasn’t my position to argue with the priest I was serving. Any different sentiments I felt aside about it were irrelevant. My job was strictly one of obedience, humility, and loyalty to my priest.

I thought I just explained that in the post you quoted! I never blamed the sacristan at all!

 

[Leon_Bloy]

My job was strictly one of obedience, humility, and loyalty to my priest.

And if the priest told you to pour the precious blood down the drain - and I do not mean the sacrarium… ?

 

[mfrances]

As far as I know, that is the traditional and proper name, font.

The old/traditional name for a holy water font is stoup.

From the Middle Ages, fonts called “stoups” consisted of a small niche somewhat resembling a piscina and containing a stone basin partly sunk in the wall, the niche being either under the porch or inside, but always near the entrance to the church.

 

[centurionguard]

And if the priest told you to pour the precious blood down the drain - and I do not mean the sacrarium… ?

Well; don’t you think there’s a far cry of being asked to share the guilt of filling the fonts and stoups with sand for Lent at request of your parish priest and doing what you propose in your question above?

However; if you should need an answer, the answer is definitively NO! to either the sewer drain or the sacrarium. But I suspect you already knew that.

Maybe I can propose a question to you. Would you tell your priest off by reprimanding him for asking you as sacristan to remove the Holy Water from to stoups and fonts and replace them with sand?

 

[Leon_Bloy]

Centurion, from the beginning, I never said that I assumed it was the fault of the sacristan or the priest. I said one might approach the sacristan about it. That does not mean that I said I thought the sacristan came up with the idea on his own! I thought I made that completely clear. I guess not.

 

[Leon_Bloy]

Maybe I can propose a question to you. Would you tell your priest off by reprimanding him for asking you as sacristan to remove the Holy Water from to stoups and fonts and replace them with sand?

I would start by saying, “Um, Father, I read that the Congregation for Divine Worship in Rome said that we should not remove the holy water from the fonts in Lent - not until Holy Thursday, that is… if you would like, I could show you the letter. I realize that many parishes have made the practice of removing it during all of Lent, so maybe you were not aware…” Depending on his reaction, I would then decide what to do next, relying on all the prudential resources I may or may not have.

Also, come on. “Telling off” and “reprimanding” are a far cry away from other possibilities, such as “inquiring further,” or “asking if I can share some information I happened to come across recently.”

I really think you are being pretty unfair to me. Just read what I wrote in the first place.

 

[Brendan]

Why blame the sacristan specifically?
It is the sacristan’s duty to obediently serve the interests of the priest.

When I was sacristan for almost ten years I knew my duties and never took it upon myself to carry out tasks without the expressed wishes of my parish priest without informing him. When I was told to fill the fonts and stoups with sand during one season of Lent it wasn’t my position to argue with the priest I was serving. Any different sentiments I felt aside about it were irrelevant. My job was strictly one of obedience, humility, and loyalty to my priest.

Technically, it is not.

Aquinas defined the virtue of obedience to be that of conforming one’s will to the one in authority.

Since the Church has ruled against the emptying of the Holy Water fonts during Lent, the priest, by definition, has no authority to ask you do that.

The virtue of obedience does not, and cannot, entail following instructions that go against the one who has the actual authority in the matter.

A priest cannot legitmately order an employee or minister to do an act that the Church has prohibited.

 

[centurionguard]

Technically, it is not.

Aquinas defined the virtue of obedience to be that of conforming one’s will to the one in authority.

Since the Church has ruled against the emptying of the Holy Water fonts during Lent, the priest, by definition, has no authority to ask you do that.

The virtue of obedience does not, and cannot, entail following instructions that go against the one who has the actual authority in the matter.

A priest cannot legitmately order an employee or minister to do an act that the Church has prohibited.

I would agree with you in every way. However; it doesn’t change the fact that the priest misused his authority and position having me to carry out his directions.

This happened many years ago. Today I would have challenged a priest with such intentions in a tactful respectful way. If such risk in challenging him warranted me getting fired from my position than so be it. It easy to sit back to judge and access this scenario from an outside vantage point; especially when another Catholic “is not” the sacristan caught in the middle of the situation with a priest you respect, requesting you to carry out his wishes on this matter. And sometimes it not always easy to say no to the priest.

 

[Anna_Claire]

dsj.org/being-catholic/worship/removing-holy-water-from-the-baptismal-font-during-lent-0

 

[Splagchnizomai]

If your parish is removing holy water, ask them to remove other sacramentals too. Get rid of the beads in rosaries, for example.

I’m glad our parish stopped doing this a couple of years ago.

 

[thomasf]

The Holy Water was gone at our Parish on Ash Wednesday. Made me mad.

I sent the priests and deacon an email about this with the link to fr z’s blog. Hopefully it doesn’t get me in trouble.

No trouble, but when I went to mass Sat the fonts were filled again, and father didn’t mention it to me.

 

[CatholicZ09]

I think my parish stopped the practice of removing Holy Water from the fonts all during Lent a few years back. My parish has to use a silver salad bowl to contain the Holy Water at the main font because it’s broken, though.