Holy water isn't holy water unless blessed by a traditional priest?!

[scriabin]

At the start of this thread I was ambivalent to the question’s answer–yes or no— I didn’t particularly care of the results as long as we used Church pronouncements, reason, and not just private opinion.

Although not absolute proof, by using on-line resources like the Catholic Encyclopedia and EWTN , I had just about convinced myself that water, validly blessed, was made Holy and had (or lacked) the exorcism power that the blessing specifically conferred to it.

Searching for information led me to **Gabriele Amorth’s **book entitled “An Exorcist Tells His Story,” published by Ignatius Press. In one particular chapter, “Water, Oil, Salt,” he details his experiences with these sacramentals and on page 121 ends his chapter with this quotation:

Although the new Book of Blessings, which has been mandatory since April 11, 1993, changed the formulas, it has not diminished the effectiveness of these blessings, even if it does not explicitly cite all the benefits.

I,personally, will believe this man’s professional opinion and will act accordingly until I see evidence otherwise.

I hope this information can be of further use to your own conclusions.

 

[Deacon_Ed_B]

At the start of this thread I was ambivalent to the question’s answer–yes or no— I didn’t particularly care of the results as long as we used Church pronouncements, reason, and not just private opinion.

Although not absolute proof, by using on-line resources like the Catholic Encyclopedia and EWTN , I had just about convinced myself that water, validly blessed, was made Holy and had (or lacked) the exorcism power that the blessing specifically conferred to it.

Searching for information led me to **Gabriele Amorth’s **book entitled “An Exorcist Tells His Story,” published by Ignatius Press. In one particular chapter, “Water, Oil, Salt,” he details his experiences with these sacramentals and on page 121 ends his chapter with this quotation:

I,personally, will believe this man’s professional opinion and will act accordingly until I see evidence otherwise.

I hope this information can be of further use to your own conclusions.

Thank you for this. It has certainly been of help and SHOULD answer all objections.
Prayers & blessings
Deacon Ed B

 

[bpbasilphx]

**I wanted to edit my previous post and tone some things down this morning, and could not.

However, I will point out that the Great Blessing of Water, which takes place in the Byzantine Churches on Theophany (6 January) explicitly states that by His Baptism, Christ “crushed the heads of the dragons who dwelt” in water.

Therefore, any explicit mention of giving water the power of exorcism is superfluous. Christ has already done so by His descent into the Jordan.**

** rather than “Water, please remind us of our baptism”.**
**
Does the present Latin blessing of Holy Water have the priest praying to the water, saying what you have recited here? I would be very surprised were this so.

Finally, any power Holy Water has is NOT in the water itself. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the faith of the Christian**.

 

[Jsmith17]

Does the present Latin blessing of Holy Water have the priest praying to the water, saying what you have recited here? I would be very surprised were this so.

It was just a bit of exaggeration on my part

New: “Father, You give us grace through sacramental signs, which tell us of the wonders of Your unseen power. In baptism we use Your gift of water, which You have made a rich symbol of the grace You give us in this sacrament. At the very dawn of creation, Your Spirit breathed on the waters, making them the wellspring of all holiness. The waters of the great flood You made a sign of the waters of baptism, that make an end of sin and a new beginning of goodness. Through the waters of the Red Sea, You led Israel out of slavery, to be an image of God’s holy people, set free from sin by baptism. In the waters of the Jordan, Your Son was baptized by John and anointed with the Spirit. Your Son willed that water and blood should flow from His side as He hung upon the cross. After His resurrection, He told His disciples: “Go out and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Father, look now with love upon Your Church, and unseal for her the fountain of baptism. By the power of the Spirit give to the water of this font the grace of your Son. You created man in Your own likeness: cleanse him from sin in a new birth of innocence by water and the Spirit. We ask You, Father, with Your Son to send the Holy Spirit upon the waters of this font. May all who are buried with Christ in the death of baptism rise also with Him to newness of life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.”

Old: "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.
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 the Lord, amen.

 

[Jsmith17]

Finally, any power Holy Water has is NOT in the water itself. It is in the power of the Holy Spirit, working through the faith of the Christian

.

This is why “juju” and efficacy are not the same thing. Juju is magical power created by a witch doctor and placed into an object. The power it has comes from itself. The object is like a flashlight and the juju like its batteries.

The power of holy water comes from God. Like a mirror which reflects the sun, without a light source it is nothing; but when used properly, it can help spread light where it was once dark.

 

[bpbasilphx]

By the power of the Spirit give to the water of this font the grace of your Son.

**The grace of the Son consists of “in His name trampling upon serpents and scorpions,” among other things.

It’s in there.**

 

[MrS]

.

Any Catholic who finds him or herself treating a sacramental like a charm should due whatever is required in order to refocus on God alone.

The Chancellor

Does that include the use of holy water? Just blessed. or with the prayers of exorcism?

 

[Chancellor]

You’ve misrepresented what I’ve said. I didn’t say Holy Water is sufficient on its own, or that it is efficacious without God, or even that it must be used. I’m saying that the use of holy water for the purpose of purifying a place is not something to be ashamed of, and is entirely in harmony with doing the will of God and praying for His help in a genuine way.

I should remind you that the prayers of exorcism for Holy Water do invoke the Trinity. We’re not talking about holy water as a magic charm, but about something which confers the effects of a prayer.

My apology. I am firmly in favor of all the tools and graces that Our Lord has given us, Holy Water being to my mind one of the most important. I was responding to what appeared to be a reliance on sacramentals absent the centrality of Christ.

I am probably hyperreactive on this issue because I was raised in a spiritualist environment in which many things, including Catholic sacramentals, were used inappropriately. Thank you for your clarification.

The Chancellor

 

[SFD]

I have not read through this entire thread but it does appear that none of the three “choices” for the new rite for the “blessing” of holy water actually bless the water itself…nor do they require the prayers of exorcism over the salt. Again, we have an instance where the old rite is clear…and the new rite(s) appear to be entirely new prayers, are unclear, ambiguous, and therefore doubtful.

SFD