St. Basil the Great Catholic Church Meaning of the Mass 2019-3-3 Holy Water and the Lavabo Water is all about beginnings. The beginning of your life was spent in a “bag of waters” known as the amniotic sac. God made a new beginning with the Flood. The Israelites passed through the Red Sea before entering the Promised Land. It was Baptism that first brought you into the Church, the Body of Christ. And you enter a physical Church building by dipping your hand in the Holy Water font as a reminder of that Baptism. Holy Water used to be regular water, but then it was blessed by a priest or ​ ​ deacon and became a sacramental - an object or action used by the church for spiritual benefit dependent on the faith of those using them. You will derive spiritual benefit from using Holy Water if you have faith in its power. Holy Water can remove venial sins and it is used in other blessings and in exorcisms. While we’re talking about water, why does the priest wash his hands in the middle of Mass? This action is called the lavabo, the Latin word for “wash”, which comes from Psalm 26. The ritual washing of ​ ​ hands is an ancient practice from when the priest used to receive all the community’s gifts: bread, animals, coins, etc. The washing ritual was a practical step before consecrating the bread and wine, but it is still done today symbolically as the priest prays for interior purification saying, “Wash me, O Lord, from ​​​ my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin,” before moving into the sacred moments of Eucharistic ​ consecration. .