4Real Forums: Changes at Mass to avoid swine flu

Oh, Dearest Mother, Sweetest Virgin of Altagracia, our Patroness. You are our Advocate and to you we recommend our needs. You are our Teacher and like disciples we come to learn from the example of your holy life. You are our Mother, and like children, we come to offer you all of the love of our hearts. Receive, dearest Mother, our offerings and listen attentively to our supplications. Amen.

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Topic: Changes at Mass to avoid swine flu

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Maggie
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Posted: Oct 05 2009 at 2:15pm \| IP Logged

I understand not receiving the precious blood, not holding hands, etc...

But I don't understand the emptying of Holy Water Fonts. With the recent feast of St. Michael the Archangel, I would hope that priests would understand how critical the sacramental of holy water is. There have been saints who have elaborated on how much satan HATES Holy Water...our spiritual director told us that in his classes in seminary, the seminarians were taught that Holy Water and Blessed Salt are actually painful for demons and bad spirits...

That would make me terribly sad and concerned if our Holy Water was left dried up...I don't see how that is such a conduit of germs...like a chalice could be...

At the same time, I have never heard of an outbreak of anything due to a chalice...I think our Lord ensures that in some way.

God Bless,
Maggie

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insegnante
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Posted: Oct 05 2009 at 7:03pm \| IP Logged

I don't think they are emptying the dispensers that have holy water for filling bottles, rather than those little bowls people dip their fingers in on their way in and out of church. Yesterday we attended the same church that had made the announcement the week before, and I saw someone using the dispenser. If there is no such dispenser where you are, you can still ask for holy water to bring home.

I am no biology/virology/epidemiology/etc. expert, but I am pretty sure that moisture can make a difference to the survival or reproduction of organisms. I did a really quick search to find anything to back this up; here is a quote from http://www.flu.gov/professional/hospital/influenzaguidance.h tml, which may not be specific to swine flu: "Virus persistence on surfaces increases up to 72 hours when those surfaces are moist or wet (2)." I suppose a little bowl of holy water into which many people were dipping their fingers would thus be more hospitable to germs than other surfaces people might touch.

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Theresa
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