Dear Father,
During Lent, our parish puts a sand scene in front of the altar. There is no holy water in the church. The pastor says that Lent is a time of dryness and that we can’t have holy water. The problem is that I have seen other parishes using holy water during Lent. I’m confused about which is the right way. Can you help?
-Lynn
Dear Lynn,
The practice of emptying holy water fonts during Lent is not permitted.
It was a wrongheaded novelty that began in the 1970s. In some places, not only were the fonts emptied, but they were replaced with sand.
It’s totally wrong.
The issue was settled in 2000 by the now Dicastery for Divine Worship (DDW) at the Vatican. The DDW specifically noted that “the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted.” Two reasons for this judgment were given.
There is no liturgical legislation that commends or even permits this action. It is, as the Dicastery said, “outside the law” and “contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent.”
Lent is a season of penance, but penance does not include getting rid of spiritual helps such as sacramentals. The Dicastery pointed this out: “The ‘fast’ and ‘abstinence’ which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church.”
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“The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of her sacraments and sacramentals is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent,” according to the Dicastery.
The use of holy water is a sacramental. While the seven sacraments were instituted by Christ to bring us into a deeper union with the Blessed Trinity, sacramentals flow from the sacraments. They are helpful to us in increasing in grace, finding forgiveness, being protected from evil spirits and more.
Holy water is a sign of the sacrament of baptism. The baptized person uses holy water upon passing through the doors of a church as a sign of spiritual cleansing and a reminder of our own baptism when water cleansed us from sin. Just as baptism brought us into union with God and into the Catholic Church, we use holy water at the door of a church as we now enter to worship God and participate in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Sand in front of the altar does not make sense, either. Liturgical law (General Instruction of the Roman Missal, 305) states: “During Lent it is forbidden for the altar to be decorated with flowers.” While sand is not a flower, the spirit of the law refers to altar decorations. It is sufficient to show the penitential character of Lent simply by having no decorations at all. There are exceptions to the law regarding altar decorations during Lent: Laetare Sunday (the fourth Sunday of Lent) and solemnities and feasts. Thus, on the Solemnity of the Annunciation (March 25) and the Solemnity of St. Joseph (March 19), flowers may be used.
When Lent ends just before the Sacred Triduum, the three days before Easter, holy water is removed from the fonts as a time of preparation for the high holy days. This is the only time when the churches are bereft of holy water. The lack of holy water signifies yet another type of purification during these days of intense fasting and penance.
The Triduum is also the time to empty containers of holy water at home. We do this by pouring the holy water directly into the earth.
The removal of holy water for the Triduum corresponds to the removal of the Holy Eucharist from the tabernacles of the church and reserved elsewhere. There are no Masses on Good Friday or Holy Saturday. The first time Mass is celebrated after the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday will be during the night at the Easter Vigil.
“New” holy water will be blessed at the Easter Vigil. It is the water that will be used for baptisms and the sprinkling of all present at Mass at the Vigil and on Easter Sunday.
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Perhaps you will consider the age-old practice of keeping holy water in your home. Buy a font to hang at your bedroom door or keep a small bottle of holy water on your nightstand. Use it frequently, especially during night prayers. Parents, trace the cross with holy water on the foreheads of your children at night and when they travel. Spouse, do the same with each other when you pray together. Holy water is a powerful spiritual instrument.