The Use of Holy Water
When you come into the church building, what is the first thing you do? Don't you dip your hand into the holy water and make the sign of the cross? Why do you do that? Well, for three reasons: a. in repentance for your sins; b. for protection against the Evil One; c. to remind you of your baptism.
a. Holy water reminds us to be sorry for our sins. When there is the rite of sprinkling in the Liturgy, we always sing the Asperges, which means "you will sprinkle or wash". Asperges me hysoppo et mundabor; lavabis me et super nivem dealbabor. These are words from the great penitential Psalm, Psalm 50: You will sprinkle me with hyssop and I shall be cleansed: you will wash me, and I shall be made whiter than snow.
b. Holy water is a sacramental which is a protection against the snares of the devil. The old prayer for the blessing of holy water said: "O God, creator of unconquered power, King of invincible empire and victor ever-great: who put down the powers of hostile dominion and conquer the fury of the roaring enemy, who fight powerfully against our wicked foes: trembling we beseech you, O Lord, we implore you and beg you: that you might graciously look upon this creature of water and salt, kindly illumine it, sanctify it with the dew of your loving kindness, so that wherever it is sprinkled, through the invocation of your holy Name, every infestation of the unclean spirit be cast out, and the terror of the poisonous serpent be driven far away. And may the presence of the Holy Spirit deign to be with us always, we who implore your mercy."
c. Holy water reminds us of our baptism: of that great day when we ourselves or our parents or sponsors -- renounced Satan, professed faith in Christ, and were baptized into the mystery of the Holy Trinity. At that moment all our sins were forgiven: original and actual, and we became children of God, filii in Filio, heirs of the promise, daring now to call God our Father.
When you dip your hand into the holy water font, remember these things, and like Our Lady, treasure them in your heart.
Sign of the Cross
Then you make the sign of the cross. Do it deliberately. Not hurriedly, not sloppily - but carefully and with reverence. The deepest mysteries of our faith are contained here.
Let me return once again to the story I told you at the beginning about Mount Athos.
While there, I had occasion to talk with a young Greek layman, who pointed out to me that Catholics make the sign of the cross backwards. That's not the most ecumenical way to put it! But there's something behind what he said. You know how the Byzantine tradition makes the sign of the cross: with the thumb, forefinger and middle finger held together and the last two fingers held together against the palm.
The three fingers symbolize the Trinity, and the two fingers symbolized the double nature of Christ: divine and human. Making the sign of the cross then, becomes a mini-catechesis, a self-reminder of the most basic mysteries of our faith.
But the way of holding your fingers is not the only difference. The eastern tradition makes the sign of the cross from right to left, whereas we make it from left to right. Why?
It's interesting to note that in the 13th century, Pope Innocent III (contemporary with St. Francis of Assisi) instructed the faithful on the meaning of the sign of the cross in these words: "The sign of the cross is made with three fingers, because the signing is done together with the invocation of the Trinity. This is how it is done: from above to below, and from the right to the left, because Christ descended from the heavens to the earth, and from the Jews (right) he passed to the Gentiles (left)."
When we make the sign of the cross, are we aware of its meaning? Listen to what Guardini says about this: "When we cross ourselves, let it be with a real sign of the cross. Instead of a small cramped gesture that gives no notion of its meaning, let us make a large unhurried sign, from forehead to breast, from shoulder to shoulder, consciously feeling how it includes the whole of us, our thoughts, our attitudes, our body and soul, every part of us at once, how it consecrates and sanctifies us. It does so because it is the sign of the universe and the sign of our redemption. On the cross Christ redeemed mankind. By the cross He sanctifies man to the last shred and fiber of his being."
