Catholic Caucus: Removing Holy Water During Lent

blog.aquinasandmore ^ | 03.14.03

[Coleus]

Due to several requests we have received since the Catholic Liturgical Library went down about the practice of removing holy water from fonts during Lent, I am reposting the official answer here. The Library should be back up tomorrow.

Can the holy water be removed from fonts during Lent?

No. Here is a letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship responding to this question on 3/14/03:

Prot. N. 569/00/L

Dear Father:

This Congregation for Divine Worship has received your letter sent by fax in which you ask whether it is in accord with liturgical law to remove the Holy Water from the fonts for the duration of the season of Lent.

This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons:

1. 1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being praeter legem is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts.
   2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the [sic] of her sacraments is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The “fast” and “abstinence” which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil, and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturda).

Hoping that this resolves the question with every good wish and kind regard, I am,

Sincerely yours in Christ,
Mons. Mario Marini
Undersecretary

[Coleus]

it's very dry by me, I am not liking it...Remove the rocks and sand in NJ, no, not at the Jersey Shore, in the Holy Water fonts in the Catholic Churches.

BTW, using sand is dangerous as the particles can get into your eyes when you make the sign of the cross.

[HighSierra5]

Why not bless a small vile of purified water? And then use it?

[Coleus]

Removing Holy Water Fonts During Lent Is Diabolical

Is it appropriate to empty the holy water fonts during Lent?

6 Liturgical No-No's During Lent

praeter legem ("outside of the law")

[FreshPrince]

Numbers 5:17

[Campion]

If we did, would you listen in good faith, or just argue with it? I'm tired of being asked for "basis of X in Scripture," and providing it, only to be told "but the Scripture doesn't mean that!" by people who think they are somehow entitled to tell me what the Bible means, while rejecting the idea that anyone else is entitled to tell THEM what the Bible means.

It's a symbol of the water of baptism. See also the Wikipedia article on "Water of lustration".

[EC Washington]

Holy Water was removed because of Covid - The mask wearing Biden voters in our Diocese said that Holy Water would spread the virus. Same with Palms Distribution on Palm Sunday - according to the Covidians, Palm Distribution would spread Covid!

Same with Ashes on Ash Wednesday...It goes on and on - the Covidians now run the church.

[chajin]

Holy Water

[Campion]

Fr. Z tells the story of being in seminary, and having some liberal liturgy director fill the holy water fonts with sand. Seminarians then added little umbrellas and miniature beach furniture ... :-)

[Coleus]

Can someone point to any basis for “holy water” in Scripture? >>

this is not a sola scriptura thread and “It is not from Sacred Scripture alone that the Catholic Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed. Therefore, both Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture are to be accepted and reverenced with the same sense of devotion.”

[Deo volente]

Right, I’m with you. So tired of playing “Bible Ping Pong” with protestants who like to come back with a ‘witty’ (in their minds) rejoinder to our reasonable explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. I remember multiple threads here with 10,000 replies, and most of them were the same old, same old nonsense. No real dialogue, just mud thrown around and gross distortions of the truth. I admit I lost my temper on a few occasions. Then I said, “No more” and moved on. A waste of time and energy.

[ferret_airlift]

Interesting. So, it’s something of an “in remembrance” like Communion?

[Campion]

Of course. But we don’t think Communion is only a symbol.

[Campion]

More sad anti-Catholic crazy crap ...

[higgmeister]

The very worst was not letting Priests, Preachers, Rabbis and Families sit with dying loved ones.   Spiritual comfort is much more important than concerns for a virus with less than a 98 percent mortality rate.

These vile acts were truly Satanic.

[EC Washington]

Rotten Cardinal Cupich would not allow Priests to administer the Last Rites or Baptize infants - Those families left the church and will never return.

[MDLION]

Wasn’t outlawed to sit with my dying mother as she was overwhelmed by leukemia (Immune system collapse because of 3 “vaccine” shots?) because I refused the “vaccine”. Evil. Dumb sheeple, lemming family members, TV/phone/parrot doctors/
went along with this.

[MDLION]

During Lent we should give up sinful habits and non-sinful things we’re too attached to. What poor theology, give up a sacramental that can remove venial sins.

Why do non-Catholics come on Catholic Caucus threads and start trouble? Remove their comments Moderator. Tired of it. Never have gone on a closed caucus thread I’m not allowed on and started trouble. Not that hateful or shaky in my beliefs. Problem with many Bible only Christians is that they have no penetration of the Scriptures. Read the Word in a shallow, surface way like it’s a newspaper. Seemingly no understanding of the different writing styles in the Bible or that you can’t read it like a history book, science book, or a newspaper.

[Coleus]

More sad catholic crazy crap...>>

you are full of crap