Mysteries of the Mass.2 Last week we examined why we should bring a good, personal intention to Mass. That starts at home. This week we will examine our personal entrance into the church building and reception of holy water. When we first come through the door, we should seek to bless ourselves with holy water. This has a threefold application. First, it reminds us that we are baptized into the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We are legitimately God’s child. (Even if we don’t feel like it.) Two, if we confess our sin, our venial sins are forgiven to us. And three, the blessed water provides a blessing upon us, assuming we are acting in good faith, believing that God indeed wants to bless us. (You should also be encouraged to take holy water home to bless yourself regularly and your home or anything else you wish to be blessed. Bottles are provided by the Holy Water font, but you are welcome to bring your own container.) Holy water is a “sacramental” as is any blessed item. It is not magical. Its power is the faith drawn forth from the user and the Church as providing the blessing via the priest. This means that you can access God’s grace even when you may not believe you are putting forth much in the way of faith. The result is a dispensing of God’s grace. This grace is real and powerful. It changes things. The key here is “Faith”. Your faith, stimulated by the presence of the sacramental, in this case the water, accesses divine grace. Grace is manifold or “many-folds”. Grace is defined as the very life of God given out to the recipient. Again, it’s not magic, but it has good effects that are unpredictable in a good way. There are no prerequisites to receiving Holy Water. Anyone can and is encouraged to use it, baptized or not, infants, non-Catholics, anyone! Yours in Christ, Fr. Sid