And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
--Psalm 51:7 (KJV)
Aspérges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor: lavabis me, et super nivem dealbador.
--Psalm 51:7 (Vulgate)
--Genesis 1: 2 (KJV)
...et spiritus Dei ferebatur super aquas.
--Genesis 1: 2 (Vulgate)
Water (H2O) has been viewed as sacred by numerous human cultures. We drink it. We bath in it. We eat foodstuffs from it. We use it to water crops and domestic animals. We cook in it. We make beverages (i,e. beer, coffee, tea) with it. We mix herbal infusions and other medicines with it. Natually, we celebrate water. Naturally, we pray over it and bless it.
There is a reason people state: "water is life."
Acoording to the website FISH EATERS, water is used as part of Christian sacraments. Holy water may be used in the Catholic home. Of course, this site advises a Catholic to get holy water from her/his local Church. One's parish church might even have an urn with a faucet avaible in order for parishioners fill up small flasks or bottles.
This site also gives information on the Catholic ritual for priests to bless holy water. I share it here for infomational purposes only.
Acoording to the website FISH EATERS, this is the method used by Catholic priests to santify water as holy water:
The salt which will be added to the water is exorcized and blessed with these words:
O Lord God, Creator and Preserver of all things, in whose hand is the vital principle of every living being and the spirit of all flesh, hear we beseech Thee, the prayers of those who believe in Thee. Pour out Thy blessing on this salt and fill it with the benefits of Thy invisible power. Amen.The water itself is then blessed with these words:
I exorcise thee in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Ghost, that you may be able to put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy and his apostate angels; through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.If performed in Latin, the salt is exorcized and blessed with these words:God, Who for the salvation of the human race has built your greatest mysteries upon this substance, in your kindness hear our prayers and pour down the power of your blessing into this element, prepared by many purifications. May this your creation be a vessel of divine grace to dispel demons and sicknesses, so that everything that it is sprinkled on in the homes and buildings of the faithful will be rid of all unclean and harmful things. Let no pestilent spirit, no corrupting atmosphere, remain in those places: may all the schemes of the hidden enemy be dispelled. Let whatever might trouble the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by this water, so that health, gotten by calling Your Holy Name, may be made secure against all attacks. Through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.
Exorcizo te, creatura aquæ, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, et in nomine Jesu Christi, Filii ejus Domini nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti: ut fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici, et ipsum inimicum eradicare et explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis, per virtutem ejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christ: qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et sæculum per ignem.If performed in Latin, the water itself is then blessed with these words:
Deus, qui ad salutem humani generis maxima quæque sacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti: adesto propitius invocationibus nostris, et elemento huic, multimodis purificationibus præparato, virtutem tuæ benedictionis infunde; ut creatura tua, mysteriis tuis serviens, ad abigendos dæmones morbosque pellendos divinæ gratiæ sumat effectum; ut quidquid in domibus vel in locis fidelium hæc unda resperserit careat omni immunditia, liberetur a noxa. Non illic resideat spiritus pestilens, non aura corrumpens: discedant omnes insidiæ latentis inimici; et si quid est quod aut incolumitati habitantium invidet aut quieti, aspersione hujus aquæ effugiat: ut salubritas, per invocationem sancti tui nominis expetita, ab omnibus sit impugnationibus defensa. Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum filium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti, Deus, per omnia saecula saeculorum. Amen.Occultists will note that the wording of the Catholic method for creating holy water is altogether different from those of Wiccans or ceremonial magicians.
--copyright 2010 Myth Woodling