What are the benefits of having Holy Water?

[theCardinalbird]

I am thinking about getting Holy Water one of these days.

What are the benefits of having it?

 

[redbetta]

You can take it with you whenever you rent a place or move into a dorm to sprinkle around because God knows what the previous occupants were doing in there.

 

[DeniseNY]

I always rake some with me when I travel

 

[Maximilian75]

Absolution of venial sins on-demand.

(probably a bad way of phrasing that)

 

[theCardinalbird]

How should i ask my priest for it. Seems like an unusual request??

 

[redbetta]

Some parishes have fonts you can fill a bottle with.

 

[Maximilian75]

Get it from the font.

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Surely not that unusual. Our parish has plastic bottles available for people to take when requested - not a lot, maybe 20 or so on hand at a time for a parish of 2,000-ish, but many folks will have their own bottles as well.

 

[feed_me]

remove demons with it

 

[Ann_Stanton]

My parish has a large dispenser of holy water. It is great for keeping you safe from the evil one.

 

[Pup7]

You can take it with you whenever you rent a place or move into a dorm to sprinkle around because God knows what the previous occupants were doing in there.

Oh this is a very good point. We’re about to move into our house on base (FINALLY!!! finally finally finally!!! YAY US!) and I am assuredly getting some holy water before I put one item in there.

I am so glad this thread came up…

 

[Pup7]

Absolution of venial sins on-demand.

(probably a bad way of phrasing that)

I kind of like it, actually.

 

[poche]

The following link has what St. Teresa of Avila had to say about the benefit of holy water;

http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2013/07/17/st-theresa-of-avila-on-the-power-of-holy-water/

 

[po18guy]

In addition to the above, one may obtain holy water from special places around the world. Our Lady, Lourdes and Saint Bernadette hold a very special place in my journey, so I obtained a small bottle of water from the grotto. There are several sources, but I got mine from the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America.

An anecdote: The Franciscans also have bottles of blessed water from the Jordan river - especially meaningful for me, as I was baptized as an adult. At my baptism, I took the name of Saint John the Baptist. I have a Rosary with water from the Jordan in the centerpiece. It struck me at adoration one Thursday that I was about to contemplate the first Luminous Mystery - our Lord’s baptism. Our Lord was present and, as my first Patron Saint, John the Baptist was also there. I had water from the Jordan. In a sense, I was able to transcend time and location - as if I had been there. In any event, it brought tears.

 

[theCardinalbird]

Can holy water be used to help avoid temptations from the evil one?

 

[Maximilian75]

yes, just like any other sacramental

 

[HolySpirit]

Get some salt and chalk as well.

 

[Casilda]

Can holy water be used to help avoid temptations from the evil one?

You can keep some in a font by your entryway, that way you can bless yourself as you enter (same way when you enter the church for mass). I keep mine in a covered glass sugar bowl, helps with it not evaporating too quickly.

 

[Pup7]

Get some salt and chalk as well.

Is that salt in the corners of the rooms?

 

[Autumn-Smoke]

Thanks for posting this link to St. Theresa of Avila.

I wanted to quote this part, because I have never heard this prayer before. I’m a convert to Catholicism and didn’t know there was a prayer you could say when blessing yourself with Holy Water.

St. Theresa of Avila said she would die for one drop of holy water since what gave it its effectivity was the precious blood of Jesus. She believed this because of the ancient saying that you say when blessing yourself with holy water. “By this holy water and by thy Precious Blood wash away all my sins, O Lord.”