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Commentary – Drinking Holy Water As A Healing Medicinal
I, a soul, want to write this short commentary because many people do not know about how great a sacramental holy water can be. Many people bless themselves often with holy water, but I do not think many people know that they can also drink holy water and it is not a sin.
I believe in using holy water as a medicinal. Whether you are suffering from a physical, mental, or a spiritual sickness, holy water can be a very effective treatment for your condition. Although you may not be fully healed from solely drinking holy water, I do know that it will alleviate symptoms from illness.
When my dad was dying from Parkinson’s Disease, we often gave him holy water to drink and he often said that it made him feel better. In the later stage, he suffered from dementia and we always noticed that drinking holy water would alleviate the severity of the dementia or would actually bring him back into a state of sanity for a short while. The holy water was powerful even when he was not consciously aware of it.
If I was suffering from a life-threatening disease, such as cancer, etc., I would use every means possible to fight it spiritually, such as frequent receptions of the Sacraments of the Anointing of the Sick and Confession, etc. This would include also drinking holy water everyday along with any medication and daily prayer.
Do not drink the holy water found in the font at your Catholic Church. Unfortunately, that holy water has been used by many people to bless themselves and so, it is likely, not sanitary (although, I do believe if someone has strong faith in God, they could drink poison and not die like St. Francis of Assisi, etc.). But here’s how you do this properly…
When my dad was still alive, every month, my mom and I would go to the benedictine abbey about an hour away from our house for Sunday Mass. We would load the van with several gallons of unopened drinking water from the store. Then, after Mass, one of the benedictine priests would bless all the gallons of water with the special exorcism prayer particular to the Order of St. Benedict (such as the prayer used for blessing St. Benedict Crucifixes). The prayer is not specific to just holy water, though, so we had the added bonus of the car getting a blessing, too, every time we did this.
However, if you do not have access to a benedictine priest, you can simply ask your parish priest if he will bless some holy water for you. At my parish, we used to have a particularly holy and kindly priest who would bless gallons of water for me whenever I asked. He would actually bless the water with the longer Latin prayer which includes an exorcism, which is much more effective than the more modern vernacular prayer typically used today to bless the holy water in the parish fonts. I would just drop the gallons of water off at the parish office on the weekend and then, would retrieve them the following Sunday, so my priest would have a week to do the blessing when he was not busy.
Now, there are a few things that you should know. Firstly, the St. Benedictine prayer is better to use than the Latin Rite prayer and the Latin Rite prayer is better then the modern vernacular prayer for holy water. But, whatever prayer is used, it is always better to have the holy water blessed by a priest than to bless it yourself or by another type of Christian minister. If the water is blessed by a priest (Catholic or Orthodox), it becomes a sacramental with special blessings and graces attached. So, strive to have your holy water blessed by a priest.
Secondly, faith is important in how effective the holy water is. Faith not just of the recipient (person drinking the water) but also faith of the priest who blessed the water. The holier the priest, the more effective the holy water can be in healing. Also, the faith of those who give the holy water to the recipient can also be important. Remember, my dad would suffer from dementia and he would be alleviated of his symptoms when he was not aware of his suffering, because the faith of my mom and I would act as a substitute for his. Just like for the Sacrament of Baptism, the parents’ faith will act on behalf of the infant so the child can receive the blessing from God.
Thirdly, it is alright to filter the holy water, to use it in teas, soups, and for cooking. However, do not use bleach or other harsh chemicals to filter the water, as I believe that will remove the blessing. Brita and other filters that use natural substances, like charcoal, should be alright to cleanse the water.
Fourthly, if you have a very sick animal, you can give them holy water and I do not believe it is a sin–although I would not do this as a normal daily thing. Normally, holy water is a sacramental for human beings, but, I also believe God looks at a person’s heart and their intentions. My family used to have a dog that suffered from epilepsy. And so, whenever he suffered from a seizure attack, we would bless him with holy water and sometimes, give him a little holy water to sip. Although we had no “hard evidence,” my family believes that the holy water helped our dog to have less seizure attacks and when they did happen, for them to be less severe. And I believe that God honored our faith in Him and our love for our dog when we did this.
Fifthly, besides holy water blessed by a priest, my family has found water from miraculous springs to also be very effective. In particular, I have found Lourdes water to be very powerful when battling the devil whether it is used for blessing or for drinking. Depending on faith, I actually believe that Lourdes water can be and is more powerful than holy water blessed by a priest. So, if you have Lourdes water, try to have it blessed by a priest, so you can have even more graces attached.
I do not know why Lourdes water, for me, is more powerful than regular holy water. The only reason I can think of, is because the Lourdes water is directly blessed by Our Blessed Mother and it requires a higher level of faith to believe in its healing properties. However, if you intend to drink Lourdes water, I suggest that you filter it, as typically, it comes directly from the grotto and has not been filtered to be drinking water. But, St. Bernadette drank directly from the grotto with no ill effects, so it is up to you.
However, I want to issue a caution here. If you suspect that you are suffering from a demonic sickness or might be suffering from demonic possession, you might have a reaction to drinking Lourdes water or holy water. This includes an immediate “jerking” reflex upon drinking it or even vomiting, etc. I believe that holy water can be an amazing sacramental when suffering from demonic attacks, but I issue this caution based on personal experience. The Lourdes or holy water will not make you sick, but the devil will reaction to its presence in your body, which causes great discomfort to him. So, if you suspect that you are battling satan, only drink a few sips of holy water as that is all you need(!). Any more than a few sips might cause a very severe adverse reaction from the devil (I say this truly from the bottom of my heart based on personal experience).
Also, although I talk about Lourdes water being very powerful, I believe that the same healing properties can be found at other miraculous springs of Our Blessed Mother throughout the world. In particular, the Blessed Mother has called the miraculous spring on the grounds of Maranatha Spring and Shrine (home of Holy Love Ministries, http://www.holylove.org), as the “Lourdes” of the western continents. So, if you cannot obtain Lourdes water from France, I suggest that you obtain water from miraculous springs closer to where you live, perhaps, Holy Love, etc. It should have equally beneficial healing properties as well.
Lastly, I have talked a lot about holy water in this commentary, but some of you may not have access to a priest who can bless holy water for you on a regular basis. In that case, I suggest that you use blessed salt, which is another great sacramental and can be just as effective as holy water. Store-bought containers of salt blessed by a priest will actually last longer than having gallons of holy water on-hand and they take up less space. Again, the benedictine and Latin Rite blessings are more powerful than the vernacular prayer used today by most parish priests, etc., and blessed salt can be used in cooking, sprinkled in food, or mixed in a glass of regular water to drink. Or, you can simply put a tiny bit on the tip of your tongue to swallow each day, etc. So, if you cannot get regular blessings of holy water from your parish priest, try having him bless several containers of salt–that should last you a very long time!
Anyways, I wrote this commentary mainly for the many people suffering from debilitating physical, mental, and life-threatening diseases, like cancer. I cannot promise a cure or complete healing, but holy water has been an amazing medicinal for my family and I. Properly used, it can be a wonderful spiritual aid in your healing.
God bless!
–a soul
Additional Note:
I just remembered. Of note, the holy water blessed by the priest with the Easter candle during the Easter Mass for the baptisms of the catechumens has special graces attached to it. It is not just the simple holy water normally blessed by the parish priests throughout the year. Although you likely would not have enough for drinking, I do suggest that you bring a small bottle with you to Easter Mass so you can obtain some of this special holy water afterwards for blessing yourself. God bless!
Mary Refuge Of Souls 