Please don't laugh

[Morwenna]

This will probably seem like a very silly question to many of you, but … here goes

I am a non-Catholic Christian who has been attending Mass for awhile now. Of course, I don’t take the Eucharist, since I have not been received into the church.

However, I’m wondering whether it would be ok for me to ‘bless myself’ (is that the correct terminology?) with the holy water from the font in the entryway, as others do when leaving Mass. I’ve never done it, since I don’t know whether an unbaptized person such as myself should do so.

Any advice is appreciated

 

[brigid12]

This will probably seem like a very silly question to many of you, but … here goes

I am a non-Catholic Christian who has been attending Mass for awhile now. Of course, I don’t take the Eucharist, since I have not been received into the church.

However, I’m wondering whether it would be ok for me to ‘bless myself’ (is that the correct terminology?) with the holy water from the font in the entryway, as others do when leaving Mass. I’ve never done it, since I don’t know whether an unbaptized person such as myself should do so.

Any advice is appreciated

Sure! And welcome! If you want, speak to the priest as to whether you can come up to the altar during communion, with crossed arms, for his blessing, too. You could, if you want to, e-mail the parish, call him or just walk up and ask him. I would imagine he will feel honored to be asked and will be more than happy to help in whatever way he can (so will the church secretary, for that matter).

 

[Tim_Kirchoff]

The holy water fonts are meant to help remind us of and renew our baptismal promises. So I don’t think it’s necessary for a non-baptised person to bless themself:shrug: In fact, for an unbaptized person, it is totally meaningless:shrug: IMO, you shouldn’t do it.

May God bless you.

 

[brigid12]

The holy water fonts are meant to help remind us of and renew our baptismal promises. So I don’t think it’s necessary for a non-baptised person to bless themself:shrug: In fact, for an unbaptized person, it is totally meaningless:shrug: IMO, you shouldn’t do it.

May God bless you.

Yes, it is to help remind us of our baptismal promises. That doesn’t mean that in the OPs case it would be meaningless - in fact it might be even more meaningful since the lack of baptism would be felt more strongly. Besides, there is nothing that says that non-catholics (even unbaptized ones) shouldn’t use sacramentals, only the Sacraments. I think a person should get any sort of help they can and if blessing themself with Holy Water moves them closer to Jesus and full communion with His Church than When I was in catechetical training sacramentals were also spoken of as a positive for those who weren’t able to avail themselves of the Sacraments (non-catholics, non-christians), as long as there was respect and as much reverence as they had the Grace to have.

Morwenna,
BTW, praying the Rosary is good, too and is the main reason for my own conversion.

 

[Claire_from_DE]

This will probably seem like a very silly question to many of you, but … here goes

I am a non-Catholic Christian who has been attending Mass for awhile now. Of course, I don’t take the Eucharist, since I have not been received into the church.

However, I’m wondering whether it would be ok for me to ‘bless myself’ (is that the correct terminology?) with the holy water from the font in the entryway, as others do when leaving Mass. I’ve never done it, since I don’t know whether an unbaptized person such as myself should do so.

Any advice is appreciated

Making the sign of the cross with water that has been blessed reminds us of our baptism into Christ. However, it would be fine for you to do this also. In your case it could be a sign to you of your desire to become closer to Christ.

If you wish to go forward for a blessing at communion time, you should ask if that is the custom in your parish. My pastor doesn’t do this because, strictly speaking, it isn’t proper to do so at that time. A blessing is given to everyone at the end of the mass before the dismissal.

If you wish, you may kneel and stand during mass when the others do so. Also, we genuflect toward the tabernacle before entering the pew in respect to Jesus’ presence and you may also do this.

You should feel free to fully participate in the mass except for receiving communion. I hope you will soon decide to take the next step into full communion with us.

 

[Linda_Marie]

As others have said, using holy water to cross oneself on entering the church is a sign of the renewal of our baptismal promises. When I was in RCIA, I would use it because I was promising these things even though I wasn’t yet baptised. I would encourage you to continue to cross yourself with holy water in anticipation of being Baptised.

Another thing I would suggest is that you make An Act of Spiritual Communion while everyone else goes up.

The Sign of the Cross has been around a long time.

fisheaters.com/sign.html
When Catholics undergo the Sacrament of Confirmation, the Bishop (sometimes a priest) seals the sign on our foreheads with holy chrism. St. John of Damascus wrote:

“This was given to us as a sign on our forehead, just as the circumcision was given to Israel: for by it we believers are separated and distinguished from unbelievers.”

Crossing one’s self recalls this seal, and the invocation that is said while making this holy sign calls on our God – the Father, His Son, and the Holy Ghost – and is a sign of our of belief; it is both a “mini-creed” that asserts our belief in the Triune God, and a prayer that invokes Him. The use of holy water when making this sign, such as we do when we enter a church, also recalls our Baptism and should bring to mind that we are born again of water and Spirit, thanks be to God.

Because of what the Sign indicates – the very Cross of our salvation – Satan hates it, and our using it makes demons flee. Make the Sign in times of temptation and confusion for great spiritual benefit!

The Sign of the Cross is made thus: First choose your style:

Option A. With your right hand, touch the thumb and ring finger together, and hold your index finger and middle finger together to signify the two natures of Christ. This is the most typical Western Catholic practice.

Option B. Hold your thumb and index finger of your right hand together to signify the two natures of Christ

Option C. Hold your thumb, index finger, middle finger of your right hand together (signifying the Trinity) while tucking the ring finger and pinky finger (signifying the two natures of Christ) toward your palm. This is the typically Eastern Catholic practice.

Option D: Hold your right hand open with all 5 fingers – representing the 5 Wounds of Christ – together and very slightly curved, and thumb slightly tucked into palm
Then:

touch the forehead as you say (or pray mentally) “In nomine Patris” (“In the name of the Father”)

touch the breastbone or top of the belly as you say “et Filii” (“and of the Son”)

touch the left shoulder, then right shoulder, as you say “et Spiritus Sancti” (“and of the Holy Ghost”). Note that some people end the Sign by crossing the thumb over the index finger to make a cross, and then kissing the thumb as a way of “kissing the Cross.”

An optional prayer to pray after signing yourself in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is this one, said to be favored by St. Benedict:

By the Sign of the Cross, deliver me from my enemies, O Lord.

 

[VociMike]

The holy water fonts are meant to help remind us of and renew our baptismal promises. So I don’t think it’s necessary for a non-baptised person to bless themself:shrug: In fact, for an unbaptized person, it is totally meaningless:shrug: IMO, you shouldn’t do it.

Umm, the OP is a non-Catholic Christian.

 

[drafdog]

We give out holy water and collection envelops for free.

Matthew

 

[Jenny_Z]

As others have said, using holy water to cross oneself on entering the church is a sign of the renewal of our baptismal promises.

That’s beautiful

 

[ethelzguy]

Please, by all means, bless yourself with the Holy Water. At our parish, we have a huge font as you walk in. I am unaware of any church teaching that stipulates that the Holy Water is for Practical Catholics only.

And my Christ be with you on your journey.



TBL

 

[1ke]

The holy water fonts are meant to help remind us of and renew our baptismal promises. So I don’t think it’s necessary for a non-baptised person to bless themself:shrug: In fact, for an unbaptized person, it is totally meaningless:shrug: IMO, you shouldn’t do it.

May God bless you.

This is INCORRECT.

An unbaptized may bless themselves with holy water. Fro the unbaptized it is both a reminder of their Baptism and a sacramental by which they prepare themselves to hear the Word of God and receive his grace in the Mass. It is a blessing in the name of the Trinity.

For an unbaptized person, it is a sign of their faith and desire for baptism, a blessing in the name of the Trinity, and a sacramental to prepare them to enter the sanctuary and hear the Word of God.

 

[CB_Catholic]

Umm, the OP is a non-Catholic Christian.

The OP has stated that she is not baptized. She also said she is a non-Catholic Christian. So my guess is that she may come from one of the Protestant denominations that doesn’t believe one needs to be Baptized in order to call themselves a Christian, which of course is not what the Catholic Church teaches, but I really cannot assume her background. In any case, since we Catholics have a tendency to sprinkle holy water on just about anything, including animals, plants, and objects, and it is perfectly acceptable to do that, I cannot see why an unbaptized person cannot use it. The symbolism may be different from the font for Catholics, but the water is the same.

 

[twosweetgirls]

Absolutely, go for it! As the others have mentioned, it reminds us of our baptismal promises–but since you haven’t been baptized yet, bless yourself with the Holy Water in anticipation of your future baptism.

God love you! How cool of you to share your journey in and to the Catholic Church.

 

[Tim_Kirchoff]

Umm, the OP is a non-Catholic Christian.

The OP is also not baptized

This is INCORRECT.

An unbaptized may bless themselves with holy water. Fro the unbaptized it is both a reminder of their Baptism and a sacramental by which they prepare themselves to hear the Word of God and receive his grace in the Mass. It is a blessing in the name of the Trinity.

For an unbaptized person, it is a sign of their faith and desire for baptism, a blessing in the name of the Trinity, and a sacramental to prepare them to enter the sanctuary and hear the Word of God.

I was going on what I already knew. I would have conjectured that the act could have meaning for the unbaptized that would make the action a valid option, but I was speaking in light of what I knew, which is apparantly less than you knew. That’s why I used so many of the shrugging smilies- I wasn’t entirely sure:shrug:

 

[Morwenna]

Thank you all for your warm and wise responses

Reading the replies here really made my day … not just because it is apparently ok for me to use the holy water, but most of all for the caring and concern shown by the posters to this thread

Thank you! :heaven:

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Thank you for sharing your walk with us and asking your question. Nobody here would laugh at you, because it was a really good question. May the Lord bless you in your journey, and you’re always welcome in the Catholic Church.

 

[brigid12]

 

[consumedconvert]

Hello,

I would encourage you to not only cross yourself with holy water, but get some sacramentals as well! Pray a rosary–websites or brochures can help you! And pray to some saints! Becoming a Catholic was an agonizing decision for both me and my wife. Now mind, I’m not necessarily suggesting that you ask a saint for something so that you may have evidence of the communion of the saints…

On second thought, I think we got the idea from the awesome theologian Scott Hahn, so go ahead! My wife was worried that since she had endometriosis she wouldn’t be able to get pregnant. So as a Baptist she prayed to Mary to ask for her help, if she could hear her. And guess what? Today my wife is a Catholic, and so is our Baby Anthony!

BTW, might also suggest visiting a priest. My priest was awesome, and he didn’t pressure me at all. By the time I first visited our local Father I already had my mind made up – I wanted to be a Catholic! Not understanding this, Father spent a long time explaining different concepts to me, like the economy of grace, and then finally said, “Well, it’s getting late. I enjoyed talking to you! Let’s discuss this again sometime–let me know if you have any questions!”
I said, “Yes Father, I have one–how do I become a Catholic?”
He was floored. He said, “Well here I am trying to sell it to you and you’re already sold!”

He’s my favorite confessor now

 

[Sam_Maloney]

May you find much peace on your journey towards God…

Might I gently suggest you try to attain the habit of saying ‘receive’ Communion, rather than ‘take’?

It’s a small thing, and even many Catholics have fallen into ‘take’ [much as the trendy ‘did’ lunch, back in the 80s], but it is inferior to the older formulation of ‘receive’.

Why? Imagine you overhear two boys talking. One says, “I received a priceless ring from my father!”
The other says “I took a priceless ring from my father!”-- the first is expressing gratitude for a gift; the second is admitting to a felony.

We do not have a right to the Eucharist, is is not something we are due. Therefore, we receive, not take.

As I said, its a small thing, and I mention it more for the benefit of my fellow Catholics than the original poster.

 

[rpp]

The OP is also not baptized

Tim, what leads you to that conclusion?

Morwenna, have you been baptized?

In either case, using Holy Water to bless yourself is a pious practice and is certainly a good thing. Whether you are baptized or not.