The Blessing and Sprinkling of Holy Water at Mass during the Easter Season
The Roman Missal provides that on Sundays the blessing and sprinkling of holy water may take the place of the usual Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass. This is done in remembrance of our baptism. When this is used, it comes immediately after the greeting and the priest blesses the water before he sprinkles it.
The Rite for the Blessing and Sprinkling of Water is especially recommended for Easter Time. The priest begins by inviting the people to ask God to bless the water which will be sprinkled on them as a reminder of their baptism and also that they may remain faithful to the Spirit which they have received.
In the blessing of water for the Easter season, the priest speaks of the wonderful work of our creation and the even greater work of our redemption in Christ. He recalls that God made water the instrument of his mercy. Then in a clear reference to the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt through the Red Sea, he speaks of how, through water, God freed his people from slavery. Also, in reference to the forty years that Israel spent in the desert, the priest notes that through water from the rock, the Lord quenched the thirst of his people in the desert. Then in recalling Christ’s baptism in the Jordan, the priest refers to the fact that Christ, by his own baptism, made the very waters of baptism holy. Finally, the priest prays that the water that is blessed may be a memorial of the baptism which those in the congregation have received and that they may also share the joy of those who were baptized that year at the Easter Vigil.
The sprinkling during the Easter Season has customarily been accompanied by the chant which begins with the words of Ezechiel 47: 1: Vidi aquam egredientem de templo, a latere dextro, alleluia. Et omnes ad quos pervenit aqua ista, salvi facti sunt. Et dicent: alleluia, alleluia (I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia. And all to whom this water came were saved. And they will say: alleluia, alleluia). This chant begins a passage which further on speaks of other images of abundant life and healing, images that someone familiar with this passage recalls almost automatically: the water becomes a great river; it makes the salt waters fresh; wherever the river flows, every living creature that can multiply will live; along the banks of the river trees of every kind will grow; they will bear fruit every month; their fruit will serve as food and their leaves for medicine.
Source: Rev. Kurt Belsole, OSB, Saint Vincent Archabbey, Latrobe, PA
www.liftupyourhearts.church