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momtokea
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Do you keep Holy Water in your home?
My parents are Greek Orthodox and have always been able to get Holy Water from their church. I mentioned this to a Catholic friend and she had never heard of Catholics having Holy Water at home.
In our city all Holy Water fonts in Catholic churches will be emptied because of the flu, and I was wondering if it was possible to get some for home.
Maria
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JodieLyn
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There's a container with a spigot of holy water in the entrance of the Church here so anyone can get holy water.
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Lisa H
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In our home,we have Holy Water wall fonts by all of our doors-bathroom included  . Our Church also has a Holy Water container in the back so that anyone can "run" in and fill a Holy Water bottle to take home.
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momtokea
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Thanks for your replies.
Seriously, my friend is a cradle Catholic (I'm a convert) and I was quite distraught by her comments. She had never heard of this before (she attends mass regularly). Her comments were along the lines of "What for??" "What on earth would you do with it?" Sigh.
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MaryM
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Yes, that is a surprising comment. Many Catholic families I know keep holy water at home. We don't tend to keep it in the fonts here at home as our dry climate makes it evaporate so quickly. But I keep bottles.
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Sharyn
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We have a font at our door entrance, on our altar, and in other places around the house.
Lisa H wrote:
| Our Church also has a Holy Water container in the back so that anyone can "run" in and fill a Holy Water bottle to take home. |
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Same here.
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KauaiCatholic
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ditto on the bottle, which we keep on the altar (open water attracts ants and other wildlife around here). it's a nifty little plastic bottle with a gold cross and the words "HOLY WATER" printed on it nice and big, so there won't be any confusion. 
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stellamaris
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It was one of the few items we hung on the wall at our rental here...a holy water font right by the front door. I use an old, cleaned out dishwashing soap container labeled with a cross and "Holy Water" to transport the Holy Water from church and store it here. Holy Water is a powerful sacramental and a constant reminder of our baptism into Christ.
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Carole N.
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We have several holy water bottles as well as three fonts that are hanging by the front door, back door and upstairs hallway. I have another font, but as of yet, I cannot decide where to hang it.
We also have a holy water container in the back of the church. Our new priest made an effort to announce that he wanted all parishioners to try and have holy water in their homes. He is Irish and has some wonderful stories about the power of holy water. He even provided bottles for the water and asked for people to donate some if they could.
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ElizLeone
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We have a holy water font upstairs in the hallway by our bedrooms. I'd also like to get one for near the front door. My daughters are quite good at keeping it filled up with holy water that we bring home from church.
My grandmother used to let a drop or two of holy water fall off her fingers to the floor just before making the sign of the cross. Her intention was that the drops of holy water were her prayer for the poor souls in purgatory. I never knew if this was a legitimate practice or if was just something my grandmother made up. But because of her example, I try to remember the poor souls each time I use holy water to make the sign of the cross. 
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stellamaris
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ElizLeone wrote:
My grandmother used to let a drop or two of holy water fall off her fingers to the floor just before making the sign of the cross. Her intention was that the drops of holy water were her prayer for the poor souls in purgatory. I never knew if this was a legitimate practice or if was just something my grandmother made up. But because of her example, I try to remember the poor souls each time I use holy water to make the sign of the cross. |
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I read about this practice in my conversion process, and I think it was in St. Theresa of Avila's writings, so it is an old practice.
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Caroline
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Mackfam
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We do keep holy water in our home, Maria. It's a beautiful sacramental.
I, however, must confess that I forget half the time to keep the holy water fonts filled. sigh. But, thank you for your post! I am reminded anew, and the children have been set to filling our little fonts with holy water!
There are times when I feel myself or our family particularly under spiritual attack, or when I am aware that a great tragedy has been narrowly averted. I try to bless myself and the children with holy water in those moments, we light a blessed candle, and I follow the example of my Granny - we drop to our knees instantly and offer a Glory Be, a Hail Mary, and ask the help of our Guardian Angels.
Thank you for the reminder to refill the fonts, Maria!
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ElizLeone
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Oh, I'm so glad to know that this is a "real" practice and that St. Teresa of Avila may have even written about it! Thanks, Caroline!
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sunnyviewmom
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I wouldn't want to be without holy water. I think that you could bring regular water in a container for your priest to bless and it would then be holy water. Maybe you can ask about this if you do not have another option.
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St. Ann
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We have a font next to the door the family always uses: in the kitchen. It is my youngest who is forever reminding us all to use the Holy Water when we leave the house. In the morning it is part of the ritual for the older girls to cross themselves with Holy Water running out the door and Helena yells after them "St. Michael!". (a reminder to pray!)
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momtokea
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Thank you everyone! I do have some Holy Water right now that my mom has given me from the Greek Orthodox church. When I heard this week about all the changes our Catholic church is making to avoid the flu I feel so sad. I can't imagine not having a full font when we go to mass, and i thought at least we could have it at home. I will call my parish today to ask if they will still be blessing water for us to keep at home.
Maria
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8kids4me
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In our parish everyone is given a bottle(looks to be a medicine bottle) full of holy water, with a sticker saying Easter, 2___. I keep one in my purse, the others on our prayer table in the living room, and we have a container at church to refill from. I see people every week refilling bottles
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Veronika
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Not only do we keep Holy Water at home, but we sure do go through it! Our pastor keeps a supply in the vestibule for us to take from whenenver we need it, (we are Byzantine rite Catholic), and we do quite regularly! Our priest blesses a new supply for us each year on the feast of the Theophany (Jan.6th) and the children love to decorate jars and bottles that we've saved with paper icon prints and "jewels" so that each may take some home. We have a font at the front door, next to our family prayer altar, and each child has one in his room to use whenever the need arises. We have gotten into the habit of using it each night before bed/night prayers, and the children are comforted by it when they have had a bad dream during the night. If we forget, heaven forbid, the children have been known to wake up in the night and get some themselves! We also let some drops fall for the poor souls in purgatory, some days we help more souls than others  !
It gives me comfort, too, to know that we are all blessed with such a powerful sacramental each day. Along with their scapulars, the holy water is a great protection against the evil infulences of everyday life.
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4Real Forums : Domestic Church
Topic: Holy Water
