Come Holy Spirit! Guide our steps, DEEPEN our ROOTS!
Before I begin this post, I again want to ask that you, the reader, join me in prayer as we make the Sign of the Cross and take a moment to breathe deeply…. God, our creator, we humbly thank You for all that we are given and called to. Please send down Your Spirit to strengthen and guide us. Especially during these challenging and uncertain times, help us to accompany the youth you have put in our care so that they may deepen their roots in You, our Lord, Christ Jesus. Amen.
The Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on the Church states "The family, is so to speak, the domestic church." (Lumen Gentium #11) This blog post series is meant to assist in cultivating your Domestic Church and provide a platform for sharing ideas and experiences. So, let's get down to cultivating!
I had previously received (from St. Nicholas) a holy water font to hang on the wall of our home. I picked one out with a small sculpture of the Holy Family and Jesus represented as a child. I liked this one because it was colorful and more closely mirrors our current family makeup. (You can find the one we have at this link: Holy Water Font.) Well, despite the best of intentions, it never got hung up (story of my life).
Fast forward and now we're all stuck in our house, social distancing from the world as we do our part to limit the impact of the Corona pandemic. During my final moments at work a few weeks ago (I work at our parish), while backing-up files to a thumb drive and throwing a laptop into my bag, I grabbed a small bottle of water and chugged it down. I gave it a good rinse, VERY clearly labeled it as holy water with a Sharpie and some tape, and headed to our Baptismal font.
SIDE NOTE ABOUT HOLY WATER: Did you know you can bring holy water home with you? You sure can! You may want to mention it to a staff member if you need more than a little bit though. You should also be careful to label your holy water well so that it is not misused or drunken. If for any reason you need to dispose of holy water, remember that it shouldn't go down the drain, you can bring it back to your church or put it in the ground somewhere that is not typically walked on.I think it was around day two of being stuck at home that I decided to pull out the holy water font and the tool box and have my kiddos "help" hang it by our front door. It was a messy ten minutes, as most moments are that involve two young children but we accomplished our goal! Once hung up, we poured in some of the holy water, and got straight to blessing ourselves, and haven't stopped since.
So far, it's been a huge success. The kids suggest we bless ourselves multiple times a day. Sometimes my husband and I trace a cross on their forehead and remind them that they were Baptized and talk about how we belong to God. Sometimes they practice making the Sign of the Cross while we each bless ourselves. Sometimes they bless us. Once we're able to leave the house regularly, we plan for it to be a ritual that accompanies exiting and entering our home. We've already built it into our bedtime and morning routines (I'm even considering getting another font to hang near the bedrooms). During one blessing moment yesterday my son proclaimed "this is a church home, we're like a church family!" Right-on my little man, we are a church family!
I've included a link above to the font we have and there are plenty more to pick from. (If using Amazon, please use our links, even if searching for a different model, as an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases which helps to support the efforts of Deepening Roots Ministry Services.) I also realize that it's not the best time for purchasing non-essential items right now. You can improvise by just putting a bowl on a table. Experiment with what might work best for your family.
AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT CURRENT SAFETY CONCERNS: Be careful. Getting holy water can wait until it's safe to be out and about. I do NOT recommend anyone leave their home during this time if it can at all be avoided. You can always get some tap water and pray over it until you can safely obtain holy water. If you are at your church and do plan to grab some holy water, make sure that it has been properly treated so as to not contain harmful contaminants.
Do you use holy water in your home? How? When? Do you see this idea working for your family? What would you do? Where do you plan to put your font? When will you use it? Please comment below so we can all learn from each other!
Until next time, may the peace of Christ be with you and those you accompany in His name! Please pray for me. I will pray for all of you!
With all my love and respect,
Angela V Davis
Deepening Roots Ministry Services