Is it wrong to sprinkle holy water in other churches?

[j_kelsch]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

 

[bpbasilphx]

Why would you want to bless the site of a polytheistic fertility cult?

 

[Philothea53]

Why would you want to bless the site of a polytheistic fertility cult?

How about that those who enter will see the error of their ways? That their hearts and minds will be opened to the truth? That they will see that their eternal salvation is in jeopardy?

 

[Mirdath]

Oh, it’s disrespectful alright – about exactly on par with the Mormon practice of rebaptizing the deceased of other faiths. Odds are good you’ll see at least some Catholics saying it’s fine and defending stuff like the green scapular trick, but from the perspective of someone outside the religion – if we want to be evangelized, squirted, anointed, or given little scraps of cloth and/or metal, we can ask you just fine. Please don’t be a passive-aggressive weasel about it; you’d just be degrading yourself and your faith.

What you are going to do, do brazenly – if politely. Want to spread the gospel? Go right ahead! Ask first though, it’s only common courtesy. But stuff like secretly planting holy water or green scapulars takes the idea of hiding your light under a bushel basket to ridiculous extremes. It’s cowardly, it’s unworthy of someone claiming to be a follower of a preacher and prophet, and it’s at best straddling the line between veneration and magic since you’d basically be using it as a talisman or fetish to get things to work your way.

Needless to say, I recommend against sacrilege, even if you think false religions can’t be violated in quite the same way yours can. I wouldn’t waltz up the communion line if you told me they switched the wine out for 30-year-old tawny port (which I’d ordinarily give someone else’s left arm to get a single sip of), simply out of respect for the Catholic belief that it is a reserved sacrament which I, as a non-Catholic, should not receive. It’s just basic etiquette.

 

[swariffin]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

Dear brother,

The blessed water is good for us who believe The One who gave His blessing to the water. If the water is used to those who does not believe it, sure it is just an empty actions. Irresponsible use of blessed water, may caused others to perceive us falling into idolatry.

 

[Philothea53]

Dear brother,

The blessed water is good for us who believe The One who gave His blessing to the water. If the water is used to those who does not believe it, sure it is just an empty actions. Irresponsible use of blessed water, may caused others to perceive us falling into idolatry.

I guess I saw this differently. I imagined going to the building site and quietly saying a prayer and sprinkling the water on the site as part of my prayer for the people of the ‘church’ to see the truth.

The weekend before 4rh of July my city had a ‘Pride’ fest on the lawn of our old court building. A good sized group of us got together and walked the blocks around the gathering praying the rosary out loud. As we walked I sprinkled “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” every so often. As we walked the people around us got quiet and some even blessed themselves. (Catholics at a pride fest???)

There wasn’t even one negative comment about my doing this.

 

[emeraldcoast]

I guess I saw this differently. I imagined going to the building site and quietly saying a prayer and sprinkling the water on the site as part of my prayer for the people of the ‘church’ to see the truth.

The weekend before 4rh of July my city had a ‘Pride’ fest on the lawn of our old court building. A good sized group of us got together and walked the blocks around the gathering praying the rosary out loud. As we walked I sprinkled “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” every so often. As we walked the people around us got quiet and some even blessed themselves. (Catholics at a pride fest???)

There wasn’t even one negative comment about my doing this.

Actually Anglican Priests also sprinkle Holy Water and you will see us Anglicans bless ourselves. episcopalhospitalchaplain.blogspot.com/2006/09/of-water-and-holy-spirit-and-walking.html
I hope that you do understand that there are Gay Catholics and straight Catholics that would attend a Pride Fest. Are you familiar with the history of New Ways Ministry? newwaysministry.org/History.html

God Bless!

 

[ralphinal]

If you are blessing the job site so as to pray for a injury free process, I say fine.

If you are blessing an area such as around an abortion clinic that lives may be saved, I say fine.

FOr some reason, however, I would have a problem with blessing the ground so that the building that is built will not serve its intended purpose but that God would use it to send people to Jesus. I cannot explain way, but there is too much subtrafuge for my liking on this.

 

[Philothea53]

Actually Anglican Priests also sprinkle Holy Water and you will see us Anglicans bless ourselves. episcopalhospitalchaplain.blogspot.com/2006/09/of-water-and-holy-spirit-and-walking.html
I hope that you do understand that there are Gay Catholics and straight Catholics that would attend a Pride Fest. Are you familiar with the history of New Ways Ministry? newwaysministry.org/History.html

God Bless!

I hadn’t heard of New Ways Ministry. From what I understand these people are working to have homosexuals AND homosexuality accepted? It seemed to go against ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ that we are taught.

 

[dessert]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

I would say you are speaking as if this is a charm or a spell you are putting on the site. This is a misuse IMHO of God’s blessings. Just what I think.

 

[Gottle_of_Geer]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

It’s superstitious to leave scapulars or holy water or statues around (as well as under-handed) because such things have no power in themselves. They have effects (as sacramentals) only if used with faith; & faith is exercised by persons: it does not become a permanent quality of objects.​

Using holy water as a weapon in one’s absence, as proposed, is “Dracula theology”; it’s not Christian at all. It reduces sacramentals to being “Catholic ju-ju”

 

[ELDEN_S_WIFE]

I say it all depends on the state of ones mind when leaving a “blessing”.

If you are thinking, "I’ll show them, this holy water will ruin this church, no good will come from this building, just you wait and see, ha, ha! (I know, bad acting, but you get my point)

vs.

Thinking: “I pray that this site may be blessed, that they may come to know and love the Holy Catholic Church that Jesus created, etc.”

One shows a belief that the holy water will be like a spell cast on the place. The other shows good will for those there and I believe would be the proper use of holy water and perfectly acceptable.

If one can bless their own house with holy water, why not any property? If we are truly called to love each other as we love ourselves, and as Jesus loved us, shouldn’t we do whatever is at our disposal to assist those brothers?

Just my honest opinion.

 

[Ghoti]

Needless to say, I recommend against sacrilege, even if you think false religions can’t be violated in quite the same way yours can. I wouldn’t waltz up the communion line if you told me they switched the wine out for 30-year-old tawny port (which I’d ordinarily give someone else’s left arm to get a single sip of), simply out of respect for the Catholic belief that it is a reserved sacrament which I, as a non-Catholic, should not receive. It’s just basic etiquette.

Mmmmm…old tawny port.

One summer I was a boot camp instructor. Had a real hard day of it once…needed to unwind. A buddy said, I know just the place.

Went to a cigar bar. We sat in wing-back chairs aside an Arts & Crafts-style lamp table among the bookcases; I had a snifter of really old port, my friend had a snifter of some really old single malt, and we each had a house cigar. We called it “Man spa”!

BTW, how can you taste an ancient tawny port and not believe there’s a God? Do I have to wing you with a teapot?

 

[Mirdath]

If one can bless their own house with holy water, why not any property? If we are truly called to love each other as we love ourselves, and as Jesus loved us, shouldn’t we do whatever is at our disposal to assist those brothers?

Because other people may not want your blessings and have a right to control what happens to their property. Would you trick someone into receiving a sacrament – say, confirmation – against his or her will? You’d bear the culpability for the sacrilege that would be committed. Such ‘assistance’ is no assistance at all: it’s disrespectful of others, denies the supposedly God-given right to free agency, and is so innately un-Christian it’s a mortal sin.

Ghoti:

BTW, how can you taste an ancient tawny port and not believe there’s a God? Do I have to wing you with a teapot?

Because I’ve never had 30-year – I’m just extrapolating from new, 5, 10, and 20-year 30 years should pretty well ruin my tongue for anything else, given the curve of the graph there.

 

[Lilyflower]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

I think it is disrespectful and therefore wrong to do it without their consent.

It is also making assumptions about their Community building which may not be correct.

Blessings and peace.

 

[swariffin]

I guess I saw this differently. I imagined going to the building site and quietly saying a prayer and sprinkling the water on the site as part of my prayer for the people of the ‘church’ to see the truth.

The weekend before 4rh of July my city had a ‘Pride’ fest on the lawn of our old court building. A good sized group of us got together and walked the blocks around the gathering praying the rosary out loud. As we walked I sprinkled “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” every so often. As we walked the people around us got quiet and some even blessed themselves. (Catholics at a pride fest???)

There wasn’t even one negative comment about my doing this.

I think the situation is different in your Pride Fest in the old court building. The entire people at that time had seen a group of Catholics. You said that a good sized group of yours reciting the rosary. There was no opposition at that time I presume. In this case, the presence of the Catholics were welcome by those non-catholics. As the Catholics are praying, I presume the non-catholics were also praying. So, altogether were in union in that prayer no matter how different the ritual was.

 

[JoeBlow]

An LDS church is in the process of being built near my home. Is it disrespectful or wrong in any way to sprinkle holy water at the site?

I’ve heard that anything can be blessed using holy water including homes, people, cars, etc. Also, I’ve heard of people leaving behind scapulars in their old home when they leave in hopes of converting the new tenants. This seems similar to what I would like to do.

Please let me know if this is alright.

We don’t believe in that, so we wouldn’t care if you did it here. We’d probably just shake our heads and laugh at some of the things people do.

However, we have a lot of wood in our sanctuary, so the only thing we’d ask is that you not do it anyplace that would leave a stain.

 

[LilyM]

Mmmmm…old tawny port.

One summer I was a boot camp instructor. Had a real hard day of it once…needed to unwind. A buddy said, I know just the place.

Went to a cigar bar. We sat in wing-back chairs aside an Arts & Crafts-style lamp table among the bookcases; I had a snifter of really old port, my friend had a snifter of some really old single malt, and we each had a house cigar. We called it “Man spa”!

BTW, how can you taste an ancient tawny port and not believe there’s a God? Do I have to wing you with a teapot?

I tell you what, minus the cigars that’d be a great spa idea for many of the ladies too. Heck, some of 'em would also go the cigar. Me, I don’t mind the smell of a good cigar but wouldn’t smoke one myself :yup: