More than words

A prayer meeting organized by the Taizé community.
Credit: Christian Pulfrich, CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED, Wikimedia 

As human beings, we are sentient creatures with the capacity to taste, hear, see, touch, and smell. God speaks to all our senses, not merely to our intellects or inner hearts. When we receive and taste what appears to be bread and wine in the Eucharist, we participate in something sacred and real. When we hear the Word of God proclaimed, we are listening to words of both divine and human authorship. Saint Paul reminds us that ‘faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17). When we see beautiful works of art in a church, we are often moved to awe, praise and thanksgiving.

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.