Bulletin Q&A article, published 3-12-23:
How is Holy Water made and how can we use it in our daily lives? – Part 2
Holy water and blessed salt are powerful sacramentals. The Baltimore Catechism states: “Holy water is water blessed by the priest with solemn prayer to beg God’s blessing on those who use it, and protection from the powers of darkness.” (#301)
To understand the intent and purpose of using holy water and blessed salt, it is fruitful to look at the prayers used in the old rite to bless salt and holy water. In the prayer of blessing of the salt, the priest says: “May all who use it find in it a remedy for body and mind. And may everything that it touches or sprinkles be freed from uncleanness and any influence of the evil spirit.”
And in the prayer of blessing over the water, the priests says: “May this creature of yours, when used in your mysteries and endowed with your grace, serve to cast out demons and to banish disease. May everything that this water sprinkles in the homes and gatherings of the faithful be delivered from all that is unclean and hurtful; let no breath of contagion hover there, no taint of corruption; let all the wiles of the lurking enemy come to nothing. By the sprinkling of this water may everything opposed to the safety and peace of the occupants of these homes be banished, so that in calling on your holy name they may know the well-being they desire, and be protected from every peril.”
Holy water is a powerful weapon to repel the evil one. But it is also a reminder of our baptisms. We dip our fingers into the holy water fonts as we enter and leave church and we make the sign of the cross. We can recall our baptismal promises, our renunciation of sin and Satan. These holy water fonts, or stoups, are counterparts of the baptismal font. It is a good practice to have a holy water stoup at the entrance to our homes. We can bless ourselves before we go into the world. We can have small bottles of holy water available for sprinkling to bless a variety of things. We can bless our home, our family, our workplace, our car, our garden, the sick, our pets. The possibilities are endless. Jenni adds holy water to the tank of water she uses to water the garden. I use it to bless the grapes after they have been crushed and begin to ferment into wine. We have small vials of holy water attached to our key rings so that we usually have holy water wherever we go.
The person who asked this question had a particular concern about using holy water and blessed salt in cooking. We can drink holy water and eat blessed salt used to season and prepare our food, but the salt and water should be consumed. Adding blessed salt to pasta water, and then pouring the water down the drain after cooking the pasta is not acceptable.