S. Michael Houdmann Supporter Got Questions Ministries

The Bible is silent about holy water the way it is used today. For baptism, Matthew 3:11 speaks of "baptizing with water for repentance," with nothing in the context suggesting that the water itsel...

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July 01 2013 • 1 response • Vote Up • Share • Report

John Matthews Supporter Retired Professional Singer, Conductor and Seeker

There is only one reference of "holy water" and it can be found in Numbers 5:17. Moses is addressing infidelity (on the wife's part) and jealousy (on the husband's part.) 

In the process Moses instructs a priest to take some "holy water" and mix it with dirt. I could not find any other reference pertaining to what made this water "holy," so we can only conjecture. I perceive that this is regular water which has gone through some ritual purification or blessing of some kind.

One must then assume that such "holy water" was in use at that time under the instigation of God and that it could be used in various ways. In this case, to test the validity of a claim of infidelity.

To my knowledge, only the Roman Catholic Church regularly uses holy water blessed by a priest and is available to anyone at the entrance of all Catholic churches. Also, per the Roman Catholic and Anglican traditions, blessed water is mixed with wine during the consecration of the elements for the Lord's Supper. Whether that tradition is still in use today is unknown to me. Possibly, one with that knowledge can comment on that practice.

As Mr. Houdmann stated above, if the use of blessed or holy water brings us closer to God, or comforts us with the reminder that God is always with us, then I say, Amen.

September 20 2016 • 2 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report