The Baptism Test in Faith
In the Catholic temples it is called a blessed water battery to a stone recipient or other material, more or less large, located at the same.
Its origin is uncertain, but it already goes back to the early days of Christianity, finding numerous vestiges of it, although the cost of placing it at the entrance of the temple dates back to the 12th century, generating in the late XIV.
This gesture has its origin in Jewish practice to perform ablutions (ritual voys) before any formal worship. Therefore, in the atriums of the ancient temples, water sources were placed in which to submerge their hands to purify themselves before the entrance to the sacred enclosure (we must be clean to worship God), which were substantiated by small batteries.
There are very large and elaborated, usually of stone or marble, sometimes mounted on large marine shells, exempt (in the atrium or even the exterior of the temple) or embedded in the wall and others extraoriously simple, reduced to a simple vesselHanging or Empo-Trada on the wall.
The doctrine that the Church maintains on "the blessing of water always enjoyed great veneration and constitutes one of the signs that the Church uses to bless the faithful" according to the Roman ritual of 1984, edited by the mandate of JohnPaul II, who continues to say: "With the blessed water we remember Christ, Agua Viva, as well as the sacrament of baptism, in which we were born again, of the water and the Holy Spirit". “Always, then, that we are sprayed with this water or that we sneak with it, when entering the church or within our homes, we will thank God for his inexplicable gift and ask for his help to always live according to theRequirements of Baptism, Sacrament of Faith, that one day we receive ".
It is said that the effects of the use of blessed water, with adequate preparation and predisposition, are three: attracts divine grace, purifies the soul and moves the demon away . While forgiving our venial sins and temporary penalties, obtaining other spiritual and sanctifying effects.
Water must be blessed by a priest, although in case of extreme need it is possible to do it by asking God, in
The use of candles is rooted in the depths of the Christian tradition. The practice of lighting candles before the Lord comes from the Old Testament, in which God demanded that the Israelites keep the candlesticks on the saint of the saints (former. 40).
In the New Testament the light represents Christ, so lighting a candle or lamp has been associated in a special way as a symbol of Christ .
Within the liturgical year, during the Pascual vigil, there is a specially significant and symbolic act around light: the ignition of the Pascual Cirio. Indeed, the people, gathered "in the dark", see how the new fire, symbol of Christ, after which the co-munity is shouting of "lumen Christi" (light of Christ), repeated for three times is born, repeated for three times.
The use of candles is also pointed out as a reminder of Christian first, which celebrated the Mass in the catacombs lit by candles under the threat of persecution.
Likewise, the ignition of candles seems to give a more festive and solemn character to the Mass and other celebrations and although they may seem anti-assumptions or unnecessary, the Church values the spiritual impact that the natural beauty of candles can have in our souls.
It is also relevant to the fact that they have traditionally done bee wax, at least partially, although there seems to be no theological foundation for it. It is the light and not the wax who represents Christ .
Except for the masses of the Pascual Vigil and the Rortal Caeli of Advent, in the current celebrations of the Mass, the candles do not maintain their anti-guo practical purpose of illuminating, having today more efficient alternative media. However, the general instruction of the Roma Missal-does not say: "The candlesticks that are required for each liturgical action, as a manifestation of veneration or festive celebration, or on the altar or near it".
According to their purpose, they usually receive a particular name: Baptismal, Cirio Pascual, Vela del Tabernacle, Corona de Advent, La Candelaria, and among them the votive candles, lit by the faithful against the altar or an image of Jesus, theVirgin or some saint.
However, there is an unquestionable fact and it is the enormous risk that calls it a burning candle, wax or a substitute, it entails in a temple how many have ended up being grass of the flames!. Therefore, with the exception of the light of the tabernacle (duly protected) there should be no one on when the church closes.
This same reason and necessity makes the candles look gradually replaced by alternative lights and find with candle -shaped lamps fed with electricity, without the exception of the offerings of the faithful and thus in most temples theVotive lampadarios for other electric ones, which do not produce smoke (which ends up adhering to the walls and furniture) or odors, low consumption, minimum expense and even programmable. After all, it’s about lighting a light.
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