A reader writes:
I hope you will answer my question concerning the uses of Holy Water. I to like have and use holy water at home. So when I travel I like to pick up holy water from different churches. Its a nice way to visit other churches, the priest, parisherners and to collect holy water.
Recently I was in my home town. There is more than one chuch in this particular city. I went to one particular church there and I was
very much disappointed in the way I was treated because I wanted holy water. Never in all the years I have been catholic, and I am cradle born have I been so disppointed by the way I was treated by the church secretary and even the deacon himself because I wanted holy water. I was told that they had found that people were using holy water for sacriliege purposes. Upon hearing that I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh. I could understand a secretary being ignorant to the use of Holy Water but I can’t understand the ignorance of a church deacon. They even had the nerve to ask me if that was my intended purpose.My question is, Can holy water be use sacrilegiously? My mind, heart and soul says "No Way!"
Well eventually I did get my holy water but not after I had recieved the third degree. I finally had to ask, Are you going to deny me taking holy water from this church? I had to ask three times. Each time they said no but they were not too happy because I wanted holy water. I don’t understand. I was really confounded by their behavior.
You certain encountered a very unusual circumstance and it’s understandable that you’d feel confused and disappointed.
It is at least possible for a person to use holy water–or any sacramental–for a sacreligious purpose. For example, an evil cult might take some and (God forbid) use it mockingly in ceremonies worshipping the devil or something.
Hypothetically, the local parish may hae turned up such a group–or perhaps just a couple of rebellious teenagers–using it for a genuinely sacreligious purpose.
I also wonder if there might have been a communications problem here. It also is possible for people to use holy water superstitiously–as if God were definitely going to use it to accomplish certain miracles or as if it had magical powers or needed to be used in all kinds of circumstances where it doesn’t. It is much easier for me to imagine people using holy water supertitiously than sacreligiously.
If the parish staff–including the deacon–were not used to having folks show up and ask for holy water and someone showed up and asked for a significant quantity, they may have wondred–out of a misplaced and possibly puritanical sense of zeal–wondered whether it would be used superstitiously, even if not sacreligiously. The deacon might have then misspoke and said "sacreligious" when he meant "superstitious."
I don’t know that this is the explanation. It’s just conjecture. But it’s something that might lead to the kind of unfortunate experience you had.
When I first began attending Sacred Heart I was bemused to find that the Holy Water is contained in a plastic beer keg type thing (with a little tap at the bottom) in the little room next to the Sacristy … I was alarmed to discover that after purchasing a little Holy Water container (from the Piety Stall) in which to dribble my Holy Water…I couldn’t turn the blooming tap off and ended up with a puddle on the carpet below. (there was no one but myself and the children around, so I apologised to the Lord and managed to turn it down to a slight dribble, which eventually stopped…PHEW!)
As for the ignorance of the parish secretary remark…I may be taking on that role myself at some future point…and speaking for myself, I would expect the Staff of a parish (myself included) to have a ‘working awareness’ (in other words, brief. correct and brief) of most things pertaining to the Catholic faith, though perhaps not a significant knowledge of any depth.
God Bless.
What are the properties of holy water in daily use? What does it actually do?
Maybe the church was saying that to conserve the water. I know my church has Poland Springs water brought in to bless. I’m sure it cost some $. There’s nothing wrong with using regular tap water, is there?
I remember a show on Catholic answers about this topic.
http://www.catholic.com/radio/calive.asp?date=1/1/2005 See Monday the 3rd.
Also Father Corapi has some good tapes on this topic
+J.M.J+
Devotees of Santeria (an Afro-Caribbean animist religion that makes liberal use of Catholic symbols and holy objects) sometimes take large quantities of holy water from churches to use during their rituals. Since they worship false gods, that would qualify as sacreligious use.
Perhaps the parish in question was in an area where Santeria is practiced? (often found in big cities with a significant Cuban population, like Miami or New York).
In Jesu et Maria,
I have heard stories of people baptizing random non-Catholic newborns in hospitals without their parent’s knowledge. I know you do not necessarily need holy water to perform a baptism — just clean water — but someone ignorant to do this, may be tripping on some perceived superstitious (and therefore sacrilegious) power of holy water.
And no, I will not tell you who it was who was performing the secret baptisms — lest the shock make you shriek like Flanders.
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I’m not as smart as you. I can’t figure all this out the way you can. Fortunately, for stupid people like me, Jesus gave us a way to know we are following His Church; he gave us Peter and his successors. He made Peter the rock on which he built His Church, gave him the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and guaranteed that Peter and his successors would never lead His Church into error. So I, simpleton that I am, will follow Peter, knowing that, in doing so, I am following Christ. Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia.
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“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, by your love for one another.”–John 13:35.
Your hate is coming through loud and clear. Also your spiritual pride.