The use of holy water in preparation for Mass

The font, which dates to pre-penal times is outside the Church of the Annunciation in Rathfarnham, County Dublin, where I brought to mass every Sunday as a young infant. My parents would have blessed me on the forehead with holy water on the way into the church.

The present heatwave is taking its toll on humans, animals, and the natural world—on land, sea, plants, buildings, and machinery alike. The conservation, purification and responsible use of water within the cycle of nature are vital to human life. That precious gift we can so easily take for granted – clean, safe and drinkable water - now seems scarce or hugely valued.

It is customary to bless ourselves with holy water when entering a church. This is a reminder of our baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The baptistry – the large font where infants and adults are baptised - is often deliberately located near the entrance of the church, highlighting the central importance of baptism at the beginning of the Christian journey—a journey along which we are nourished by the Eucharist.

On Sundays - especially during the Easter season - a Rite of Sprinkling with holy water may be used. In this rite, the priest blesses the water and sprinkles it over the congregation. This was traditionally known as the Asperges, from the opening words of the Latin text taken from Psalm 51.9: ‘Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
 wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow’

The full text of the Rite contains these words:

Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor. Miserere mei, Deus, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.

Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy.

The prophet Ezekiel likewise declares:

 I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. (Ezekiel 36:25).

This rite has very ancient roots. It serves to prepare the faithful for Mass, to stir repentance and reverence and to remind us of our baptism. It is a sign of purification as we prepare to celebrate the sacred mysteries. In some ancient rites, such as the Sarum Rite used in medieval England, it was celebrated with greater ceremonial richness, including music and processions. In the post-Vatican II liturgy, the rite takes place within the Mass, whereas in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite it remains a separate ceremony before Mass.

We do well to set aside time - individually, or as a family or community - before each Mass to prepare through stillness, meditation, and heartfelt prayer.

My own introduction to a form of home ‘Asperges’ was a simple ritual practiced by my late grandmother when I was going to bed as a child in the early 1960s. She would sprinkle holy water around the bedroom and say a prayer with me. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.