A listener named Marty asks Father Dave about the presence of Holy Water in churches during Lent. “I was a parishioner at a church that took Holy Water out of the church for Lent and replaced it in the fonts with sand,” Marty says. “I strongly questioned it, and they relented and returned it. It’s not right to take Holy Water out of a Catholic church for Lent, correct?”
Father Dave details the history of this practice. “It was a custom that grew over time in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s until somewhat recently,” he says, noting that it stems from the idea of removing things like the Alleluia during Lent and returning them for Easter. “It was actually brought to the level of a Vatican dicastery, [which is now called the] ‘Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.’”
“The Vatican responded that, no, we really should not [remove Holy Water], for the same reason that we don’t stop celebrating the Eucharist during Lent,” Father Dave says. “Yes, Lent is a period where we are taking some things away to make them more powerful when they return, but there’s a line to be drawn.”
He notes that the Church does not typically celebrate Baptisms during Lent, but this does not affect our understanding of Holy Water’s symbolism. “We don’t forget our belief in the baptismal waters during the season of Lent, and importantly, we also don’t relinquish what that symbolism is when we bless ourselves with Holy Water,” Father Dave says. “That’s a reminder of what happened to us at our Baptism and how we are called to be missionaries. We don’t relinquish that responsibility for those six weeks.”
Father Dave continues, “When we bless ourselves with Holy Water, we’re reminding ourselves of something that happened long ago. It’s almost like wearing a wedding ring…you made a commitment once at your wedding ceremony, but it’s a commitment for life, and it’s a commitment that involves responsibilities and sacrifices every day.”
“[There are] other rituals and sensory ways to remind ourselves that it’s Lent…We’re going to simplify the space or change the worship to remind ourselves of going without. Holy water is not one of those things; we need to keep it throughout Lent.”
