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LucyP
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 1:59pm | IP Logged
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Hello. DH just bought me a nice Sacred Heart holy water stoop and hung it by the front door. I'd like to keep holy water at home but get funny looks when I say it. So, if you have holy water at home, can you share how you use it?
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 2:17pm | IP Logged
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Lucy how wonderful!!
My holy water font... never has water in it. 
But many of my relatives are more attentive than I. Their families use it to:
- bless themselves everytime they leave the house.
- bless the kids at night before they go upstairs.
- My sister's mil uses it to bless her visitors as they leave! 
- if everyone is getting sick my mil sprinkles the house with it (and each one of us)
I'm sure there are more uses!! I wish I would remember to bring home holy water to fill my fonts!! (Yes, I even have more than one).
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Lisbet
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 2:52pm | IP Logged
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YAY! We have a font by the front door, and we bless ourselves with it upon coming and going. We have a font at the top of the steps, but that one never stays filled, and we keep - I kid you not - a two liter bottle of it in our bedroom for blessing the kids before bed, when we are sick, when we feel under 'attack'. When we had a neighbor situation we walked the perimeter of our property sprinking holy water and praying the St. Michael prayer. We use it very liberally around here.
Maryan, I assigned one of my kids to check the fonts every morning and fill them as needed! He loves that job.
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folklaur
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 3:08pm | IP Logged
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We have one by our front door. When I remember to keep it filled ( hey, it evaporates quick here in AZ.. ) then we all bless ourselves as we come/go. I should really have it as one of the kids chores, too, they would probably fight over that job! 
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Cay Gibson
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 4:24pm | IP Logged
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Maryan wrote:
Lucy how wonderful!!
My holy water font... never has water in it.
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Same here...though we do have a bottle of holy water in nearly every room.
We have a holy water font in the entrance to the hallway, at the end of the hallway, and one in our bedroom.
I've never found one I liked 100% to place by the entrance door. You've renewed my search. 
I like Lisa's suggestion to assign a child to keeping it filled. Or assign a new child each month. This and discussing holy water and its purpose with your children should get rid of the "funny looks".
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aussieannie
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 4:46pm | IP Logged
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Here's the one we have by our entrance door: Crucifix with Angels
We have the same problem keeping water in them, being in a sub-tropical climate it evaporates quickly..probably need to put a sponge in it..maybe that would help a bit.
We use it for blessing the children, when sick, when under attack...
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MaryMary
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 5:45pm | IP Logged
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Our holy water font located in our foyer also never stayed filled, so...I found a lovely crystal spray bottle and kept that filled with Holy water and I sprayed and spritzed like a mad woman when we were sick or under attack or just really really cranky ! Well, that bottle broke (from overuse, I think) but just before Easter I found some cute little travel spray bottles at the dollar store. I decorated them with religious stickers and with my label maker printed out a 'holy water' label. I put those in the kids' Easter baskets, and now there is one in every room. Now we spritz Holy Water usually at night before bed using a prayer like this: "By this Holy Water and by Your Precious Blood, wash away all of our sins, O Lord"
Another prayer "Holy Water Bottle Prayer":
"Oh God, grant that this creature (water) may be endowed with Divine Grace to drive away devils and to cast out diseases, that whatever, in the houses or possessions of the faithful may be sprinkled by this water, may be freed from everything unclean, and delivered from what is hurtful. Let everything that threatens the peace or safety of the dwellers therein, be banished by the sprinkling of this water; so that the health that they seek by calling upon Thy Holy Name may be guarded from assault. Amen.
Saint Theresa of Avila on holy water: "From long experience I have learned that there is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again. They also flee from the cross, but return; so holy water must have great value."
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tracym
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| Posted: March 26 2008 at 6:13pm | IP Logged
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I was wondering if you needed to have the holy water font blessed before you put it out to use. I want to but keep forgetting it when we go to mass and so we haven't used it.
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Sarah M
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| Posted: March 27 2008 at 9:46am | IP Logged
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We bless ourselves with holy water when leaving/coming (our font is by the door....er, it was by the door until my 2 year old knocked it to the floor. But it will go back by the door soon). I've also started a new thing where we dip our fingers in and cross ourselves at the beginning of circle time in the morning- a way to remember our baptism at the start of each day.
Lucy, I get weird looks all the time. Especially from other Catholics, I'm afraid. Even they seem a bit too uncomfortable to use it. But I just act oblivious to this. The kids and I use it all the time.
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Maryan
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| Posted: March 27 2008 at 9:57am | IP Logged
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Lisbet wrote:
| Maryan, I assigned one of my kids to check the fonts every morning and fill them as needed! He loves that job. |
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That's a great idea!
tracym wrote:
| I was wondering if you needed to have the holy water font blessed before you put it out to use. |
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Hmm.... I never thought about it. I don't know. I don't think we did.
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Maryan
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stefoodie
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| Posted: March 27 2008 at 11:23am | IP Logged
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I'd love to have a holy water font by our front door but we rarely use it, so it's by the door leading to the garage. My only regret: it's beautiful, but the receptacle is SOOO small as to only fit two small fingers or one large one so it doesn't get refilled as often as would be ideal.
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Loren
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| Posted: March 27 2008 at 2:24pm | IP Logged
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My holy water font has a bottle of holy water in it. I intend to bless the children when they leave the house, but right now I'm usually going with them. Consequently, it doesn't get used.
Hmm, maybe I should use it when they go out to play. I just had to stop for a minute because someone got banged up playing hide and seek. 
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snowbabiesmom
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We have ours at the front door and it is our son's job to keep it filled at home and in the bottles. He feels quite proud of his duty for God. We bless our selves every time we leave and I think it is a beautiful thing for children to see their "big playful daddy in an Army uniform" stop to bless himself when he returns to work.
I just don't care what others think, its our home and we know why it is there, I don't feel like I need to explain it. My protestant mom has never asked me about it.
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Jenn Sal
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We have one with the Holy Family by my bedroom door (on the first floor). After nighttime prayers, we huttle by the font and my husband blesses all of us.
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Mrs.K
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We also like to keep a bottle in each car (or in the diaper bag) as you never know when you might need it when you are out and about. That way it is also always available when we travel - we always sprinkle hotel rooms (or guest rooms in the homes of relatives) before we spend the night.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Holy Water at Home
