Questions to fellow Catholics about our faith.

I was raised Jehova's Witness and converted to Roman Catholicism when I was 21, took weekly theology classes for six months, had a baptism, confirmation and such. What I still don't get, though, is what is appropriate in relation to holy water and the rosary. I love praying the rosary but I've seen them hanging in rear view mirrors and that seems strangely innappropriate to me. What's appropriate handling of the rosary. As for holy water, I love the idea of blessed water but am unsure as to what's appropriate for it's use. Can I just walk in and fill up a flask with it? Can I make it into a tea or herbal preparation for a sick person or just give it to drink as it is? Can I use it to bless someone who's ill?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.

but when I lived in California, some Hispanics hung it from the rear view mirror. It was a new tradition to me (I'm from Iowa).

And Holy Water was not to be used for drinking! It was for ceremonial use only, placing a drop on the fingers before the Sign of the Cross, Baptism, etc.

for show. Holy water is not for drinking or bathing.

But how about layity using it to annoint the sick? There's a container of holy water in my local church that has a spigot and so I figure it's there for us to pour into a container to take with us. I know I should probably ask a priest but I'm curious and I know we have many bretheren on the borad.

many people use it at home when making the sign of the cross when beginning prayers etc.

YOu can also use it to bless your home by sprinkling it around and similar issues.

The use of the water is a reminder of our baptism.

n/t

and I'm happy to hear you saw the light :-)

Once upon a time it was not uncommon for Catholic homes to have a some kind of small wall ornament mounted that Holy Water in them. My Grandma always had one by her front door, one of my friends mothers put them by the light switch in all the bedrooms so everyone could bless themselves with it before they went to bed.

I have a jar of Holy Water that my Grandma sent home with me once, probably 20 years ago. It's sealed so tight that is hasn't evaporated and I have no idea what to do with it. Lapsed though I may be, I can't throw it out.

If you want to feel safe when driving, get a medal of the patron saint of travelers (can't remember his name, I get the saints confused on a regular basis) and hang that from your rear view mirror.

Ditto on the holy water. I haven't known anybody that has it around the house, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.

is Saint Christopher. Though the Church has recently called into question the historical reality of the person of St Christopher.

The Saint of the traveler is St. Christopher. How could you forget that?? Every one from Baptists to devil worshipers hang that one in thier rearview.

As far as the rosery goes, it should be used for prayer. Not a nice looking set of Martigra beads that you earnd for....well.... you know.

The Holy water is used in the church to bless yourself upon entering and exiting the church.

It doesn't bother me to see them hanging from a mirror though - I imagine the same sentiment that makes some people put a plastic Jesus or Mary on their dashboard is what makes others hang a rosary from the mirror.

Same with Holy Water - only use it for blessing something, though not necessarily in a strictly ceremonial manner (like when Grandma would sprinkle the car with Holy Water before we drove back to New York from Minnesota each summer). Unless as Sister taught us, if you were in the desert and dying of thirst and it was the only water you had, then it was okay to drink it. My second grade Catechism nun could always come up with the wildest scenarios for when it was okay to bend a rule. (She even told us under what dire circumstances it would be okay to use spit to baptize someone).

n/t

... I can only say that you might be missing some of the, uh, "catholic" small-c essentials. The greatest benefit afforded to mankind by the church is neither the rosary nor holy water, but, rather, the church's general appreciation of and respect for the common weal, the recently ascendant tradition of liberation theology, and the church's mandate to inculcate in others the fundamental desire to help those in need of help.

The rest is smoke and mirrors and showmanship.

You might also ask to have this transferred to the Lounge, as it's a more appropriate topic there than here.

Cheers.

represent two different types of religious items. Holy water is a sacramental - something that is an item used in or representing a sacrament - in this case Baptism. The rosary is a holy devotion dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Holy water is put on our foreheads in the sign of the cross as we enter Church and again as we leave to remind us of our baptism. You can drink it if you want but it holds no supersicious value. Chemicaly it is water in the same way that, chemicaly the Holy Eucharist is bread. As to rosaries - this is a devotional used to bring us to meditate on the gospel through the "eyes" of the Virgin Mary. We count the beads and say the Hail Marys and the Our Fathers and Glory Bes as we meditate. The fact that you see them in rear view mirrors is because people are increasingly taking pride in identifying themselves as Catholic,

I hope this helps.

You answered all of my questions. Thanks to all for the help!!

I myself am a convert. I was Baptised this Easter. So I understand where you're coming from. Welcome to the faith!

with Holy Water if you'd like or just with a prayer. You can also add your intentions to your parish's book of intercession, if there is one. You can ask a Priest to dispense the Sacrament of the Sick, if things are serious. The best remedy is prayer, though, I imagine I might catch some flack for saying that.

What makes this holy water different in chemical composition
than regular water?

nothing makes Holy Water chemicaly different. What makes it spiritually different is that it has been blessed by a Priest, or a Bishop. Its similar to the fact that the Eucharist is no different chemically before the Mass than when we accept it at communion. We, as Catholics, believe that the miracle of transubstantiation has taken place. Holy water can also be called blessed water.

near the Holy Sepulcher (place of crucifixion) after going to the Mount of Olives, shrine to the asacension and the garden of Gethsemane.

It hangs on my mirror


to protect me from evil, as I see it (and to discourage thefts in the heavily catholic ghetto where I work)

I am not Catholic -- but I married one


It is not for show as much as it is a symbol of my faith in the power of trutyh and goodness (which is how I see the symbol - self sacrifice for the greater good of humanity as well as blessedness)

My memory is a bit rusty because my teachings were during the 'olden days Catechism' of the late 50s, early 60s, but I remember the nuns explaining to us that in an emergency, if someone needed to be blessed and there was no anointed Holy Water available, we could do the blessing ourselves with regular water. I can still see the vision of my then 7 year old brain of running to the drinking fountain of my grade school and rushing back to class to bless someone with that water. This old vision is the only reason why I remember this teaching.

I was taught the Rosary was to be treated with reverence, so hanging it on the rear-view mirror seems irreverent to me. In the old days we had a magnetized Jesus on the dashboard, and St. Christopher clipped to the visor. Now I have both clipped to the visor (I haven't given up on St. Christopher).