Is there a point to laity having Holy water?

[LordHaveMercy]

Thank you, I’ve already listened to most of his online talks/sermons.

Oh great! His work is a gift to our Church in this age. I’m currently reading his book The Binding Force of Tradition.

I ask because I am down to my last few drops of Holy Water blessed with the traditional blessing with no way of getting any more.

Ah, bummer. All Priests are able to use either book of blessings (“old” or “new”) and I know two Priests at parishes who do not offer the EF or use anything else that is “old” except the Roman Ritual for blessings, so there may be some at any parish you go to. However, holy water that is blessed without the exorcisms is still blessed, so I’d just fill up with that in the mean time. Also, you could take a container of water to a Priest and print out the blessings and ask him if he would bless the water for you, I do not think this is a controversial request like asking for the Traditional Mass can be. If someone has more insight as to whether a Priest would find this offensive or not, please chime in!!

If you do find more, you can try to make sure it doesn’t fall below half and refill it so you have a full bottle of Holy Water again! Where did you find it before?

 

[FrDavid96]

…Also, you could take a container of water to a Priest and print out the blessings and ask him if he would bless the water for you, … If someone has more insight as to whether a Priest would find this offensive or not, please chime in!!..

No harm in asking.

I would suggest that if a person already knows that the priest is going to say “no” then don’t do it. Even if one is not sure, there’s no harm in asking.

 

[FrDavid96]

Thank you, I’ve already listened to most of his online talks/sermons.

I ask because I am down to my last few drops of Holy Water blessed with the traditional blessing with no way of getting any more.

I would hope you can find a priest to do it for you. I don’t know your situation, but I do hope that you’re able to somehow find some priest willing to do the blessing.

Print out the ritual if you think you might need it.

Make sure you bring some salt as well as water.

I do hope you can find a priest who will help you.

 

[Lormar]

I would hope you can find a priest to do it for you. I don’t know your situation, but I do hope that you’re able to somehow find some priest willing to do the blessing.

Print out the ritual if you think you might need it.

Make sure you bring some salt as well as water.

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Only if I travel a distance, which I cannot do. Locally, if I brought the old blessing printed out (which I can’t do anyway because we do not own a printer, and we do not have cell phones, so I couldn’t put it on that), I don’t think it would go over too well.

 

[Dove1]

When there is a funeral, at the blessing, the priest sprinkles the coffin with holy water in a plastic bottle. He then asks the family members and close friends to do the same. So in that case, the laity also do the blessing.

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

Not to cause a controversy on this thread, but do those of you who use Holy Water on a daily basis have any opinion as to the efficacy of the old vs. the new blessing of Holy Water the priest uses? In other words, do you think the water blessed with the old rite prayer is more potent and effective, or do you find both equally so?

Holy water blessed according to the Roman Ritual his exorcized. The Book of Blessing doesn’t have the exorcism. According to our priest, this exorcism makes a significant difference.

 

[twf]

Holy Water in the possession of the laity is a fantastic sacramental. Here’s another: Blessed salt. Ask your priest to bless a small container of salt, and then use it to invoke the protection from evil of the Holy Spirit. Sprinkle it especially around your doors and windows. A very powerful and fantastic Catholic practice. Your office / work place as well.

The wonderful thing about Catholicism is all these wonderful rich faith traditions and practices that are both folkloric as well as imbued with spirituality and outward expressions of piety.

Better yet, have the salt exorcised rather than simply blessed. There are power in words and the exact wording of the prayer of blessing does matter. The old rite of exorcism of salt is still valid even if not in the current book of blessings. I had a container of exorcised salt some years back…sprinkled it all over my apartment. Powerful stuff.

 

[Lormar]

Holy water blessed according to the Roman Ritual his exorcized. The Book of Blessing doesn’t have the exorcism. According to our priest, this exorcism makes a significant difference.

The only place I can get Holy Water blessed with the traditional ritual is a sedevacantist chapel. No priest nearby in my diocese would touch the traditional Roman Ritual. I would love to get some salt too. At this point in time, I am in desperate need.

 

[FrDavid96]

The only place I can get Holy Water blessed with the traditional ritual is a sedevacantist chapel. No priest nearby in my diocese would touch the traditional Roman Ritual. I would love to get some salt too. At this point in time, I am in desperate need.

I won’t try to tell you that I know your situation better than you know it, however, allow me to share something from my own experience.

We had a deanery meeting where the guest speaker was a certified exorcist. As part of his talk, he told us to always use the traditional blessing for Holy Water, and do it completely, with the exorcisms of the salt and water and blessings of both. He then gave us a printout of the ritual. To my great surprise, the priests who are most liturgically far left (even one who is rather radical far left) were actually won over (at least to the Holy Water blessing—small steps). The older ones (retirees) still scoffed at it, but the younger ones, and that’s a relative term since I mean those in their 50s and 60s, actually expressed willingness to use it.

My point is to say that what (to me) seemed an impossibility (Father so-and-so would never go near the Roman Ritual) actually happened. They had to actually see the words and “their eyes were opened.”

What I mean is “don’t give up.” and “don’t think that it’s impossible.” If one approaches things the right way, it might be more realistic than one would think at first.

 

[Lormar]

I won’t try to tell you that I know your situation better than you know it, however, allow me to share something from my own experience.

We had a deanery meeting where the guest speaker was a certified exorcist. As part of his talk, he told us to always use the traditional blessing for Holy Water, and do it completely, with the exorcisms of the salt and water and blessings of both. He then gave us a printout of the ritual. To my great surprise, the priests who are most liturgically far left (even one who is rather radical far left) were actually won over (at least to the Holy Water blessing—small steps). The older ones (retirees) still scoffed at it, but the younger ones, and that’s a relative term since I mean those in their 50s and 60s, actually expressed willingness to use it.

My point is to say that what (to me) seemed an impossibility (Father so-and-so would never go near the Roman Ritual) actually happened. They had to actually see the words and “their eyes were opened.”

What I mean is “don’t give up.” and “don’t think that it’s impossible.” If one approaches things the right way, it might be more realistic than one would think at first.

Father, our last parochial vicar told me that the bishop wanted nothing to do with exorcists or exorcisms. I can’t PM you, so I have to state that here.

 

[CJsmommy]

I haven’t checked this in a few days… wow it took off. I don’t know how the Holy Water at my parish was blessed. Since it’s used by people attending both the NO and the EF (and I think we might be the only parish around that does the EF) the priests might use the old blessing.

I did discover an interesting side effect. It’s dry as a bone around here in the winter and when I got some Holy Water and put it in a little rosary font that I have, it evaporated really quickly. So now the very air we breathe is blessed.

It works that way too, right?

 

[adamhovey1988]

I’ve seen a lot of threads about the use of Holy water on this site, and it always seems the bottom line is that only those with Holy Orders to do so can really “bless” something. Laity simply ask God’s blessing.

Having said that, my parish has a container full of Holy water that anyone can put into containers for their own use. But since laity can’t bless, what is the point? Does using Holy water make it more likely that God’s blessing will come upon someone’s home/children etc.?

Crossing yourself, emergency baptisms, keeping the vampires away

 

[FrDavid96]

Crossing yourself, emergency baptisms, keeping the vampires away

I can attest to that: never in my life have I seen a vampire hanging out near the Holy Water font. Not one single time.

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Unfortunately, experience here tell me that I must mention this: I am kidding folks. It’s just a little joke, don’t take it seriously.

 

[CJsmommy]

I can attest to that: never in my life have I seen a vampire hanging out near the Holy Water font. Not one single time.

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Unfortunately, experience here tell me that I must mention this: I am kidding folks. It’s just a little joke, don’t take it seriously.

My husband played in World of Darkness as a vampire. But then again he’s not Catholic and won’t touch the Holy Water, here or at Mass… hmm…

 

[adamhovey1988]

I can attest to that: never in my life have I seen a vampire hanging out near the Holy Water font. Not one single time.
Then I guess it works! Hmm, I am thinking maybe I should keep it on me more often.

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Unfortunately, experience here tell me that I must mention this: I am kidding folks. It’s just a little joke, don’t take it seriously.

 

[Faith1960]

What do you do with I when it gets old and icky? Pour it into the ground?

 

[FrDavid96]

What do you do with I when it gets old and icky? Pour it into the ground?

yes

 

[Faith1960]

yes

I’ve had mine in a plastic bottle for about five years so it’s probably germy by now.