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This essay compares and contrasts the current

Order for Blessing Water Outside of Mass and

its immediate predecessor, with a view tooutlining the wider changes that have been made tothe blessings of the Roman Rite following the call forliturgical renewal issued by the Second Vatican Council.Because of its previous preeminence among theblessings of the Ritual, the Order for Blessing Waterprovides a key point of entry for studying the structuraland theological differences between the currentblessings and those in use before the Second VaticanCouncil.

Blessings in Roman Liturgical Books

after the Council of Trent

Following the directives of the Council of Trent,the Roman Ritual (Ri tuale Romanum) was revised andpromulgated by Pope Paul V on 17 June 1614. Therevised Ritual contained only 18 non-reserved blessings

that is, blessings that could be administered by anypriest or bishop. The first of these was the Ordo adfaciendam aquam benedictamor Order for Blessing Water.1Eleven blessings reserved for the bishop followed thenon-reserved blessings,2 for a total of 29 blessings.

A brief but very important set of general rulesopened Title VII, the section of the Ritual on blessings,

and therefore immediately preceded the Order forBlessing Water. The rules stipulated that each blessingshould begin with the following dialogue of versiclesand responses:

V. Our help is in the name of the Lord(Adjutorium nostrum in nomine Domini).

R. Who made heaven and earth(Qui fecit coelum et terram).

V. The Lord be with you (Dominus vobiscum).R. And with your spirit (Et cum spiritu tuo).3

Then, the general rules continued, the prayer or prayersproper for the thing to be blessed should be said. Eachblessing ended with the sprinkling of the object beingblessed with holy water and, where indicated,incensation; both of these were done in silence.4 Thusthe post-Tridentine blessings were quite streamlined,consisting of two parts following the opening dialogue:(1) prayer or prayers of blessing, and (2) sprinkling

with holy water. Indeed, these parts constituted theentirety of each non-reserved blessing in the Ritual,

with the exception of the fi rst, which is underconsideration here. The Order for Blessing Water didnot end with a sprinkling of holy water on the waterbeing blessed. It was also more complex because salt

was used in it, as will be discussed further below.Because holy water was necessary for every other

blessing, the Order for Blessing Water was preeminentamong the blessings of the Roman Ritual. Itconsistently occupied the first place within the sectionon blessings in the various editions of the Ritual untilthe Second Vatican Council.5 Water blessed accordingto this Order also was reserved at the entrances of

churches and sprinkled during pastoral visitations tothe sick and at funerals.6 As the rubrics specificallyindicated, the faithful could take it home forsprinkling on sick family and friends, on homes, fields,

vines, etc., and for sprinkling themselves daily.7 Thepriest also sprinkled this water on the altar, the clergy,and the people while the Asperges (or, during Easter,the Vidi aquam) was intoned before High Mass. Henceit occupied an important place not only in the Ritual,but also in the Roman Missal, where it immediately

The Order for Blessing Water:

Past and PresentDANIEL G. VAN SLYKE

ESSAY Antiphon 8:2 (2003), 12-23

Daniel G. Van Slykeis Assistant Professor at the Li turgical Instit uteof the University of St. M ary of the Lake/M undelein Seminar y.

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followed the calendar in the very first printededitions.8

The 29 blessings in the Ritual of 1614 were toofew to meet the pastoral exigencies of all communities;hence the need to add more blessings arose ratherquickly. An edition of Paul Vs Ritual published in

1688 was augmented by a formula for blessing thepeople and their fields.9 It was not placed among theother blessings in the Ritual, but rather at the end ofthe book, following the rite of exorcism. Benedict XIVfollowed such precedents when he promulgated a newedition of the Ritual on 25 March 1752. An appendixcontained a great number of additional blessings,eventually doubling the length of the original post-Tridentine Ritual. For ease of use, the blessings wereoften extracted from the Ritual and published separatelyin benedictionals or books of blessing. Local diocesanrituals and benedictionals developed, especially ineighteenth- and nineteenth-century France, which

gathered blessings absent from the Roman Ritual butdeemed fitting for the pastoral needs of the localfaithful.10 These rituals and benedictionals also opened

with the Order for Blessing Water.Pius XI promulgated another edition of the Roman

Ritual in 1925. It contained a large appendix of 71non-reserved blessings and 79 reserved blessings. Fifty-two of these reserved blessings were for the use ofparticular religious orders. Pius XII promulgated thefinal edition of the Ritual in 1952, in which theadditional blessings were moved from the appendix toTitle IX, the section on blessings (D e benedictioni bus).

Although the blessings were substantially re-arranged

for ease of use, the Order for Blessing Water remainedthe first. The Ritual of 1952 contained 179 blessings,95 of which were reserved.11

The Previous Order

The Order for Blessing Water in Paul Vs Ritualremained the same through the various revisions ofthe Ritual, including that of 1952. It began with anexorcism of salt, followed by a prayer invoking Godsblessing and sanctification upon the exorcized salt.For the sake of brevity, analysis of the exorcism and

blessing of salt will be omitted from this study. Thewater itself was subject to one exorcism and one prayerof blessing. Then the salt was mixed with the water,and a final blessing was pronounced over the resultingsolution.

The exorcism of water took the following form:

I exorcize you, creature of water, in the nameof God + the Father almighty, in the name ofJesus + Christ his Son our Lord, and in the

power of the Holy + Spirit: that you may bewater exorcized for putting all strength of theenemy to flight, and that you may beempowered to uproot and cast out the enemyhimself with his apostate angels, by the powerof the same Jesus Christ our Lord: Who shall

come to judge the living and the dead, and theworld by fire. R. Amen.12

The exorcism addresses the water itself, or the creatureof water, which recalls Gods act of creation. One mightexplain this as parallel to the manner in which inanimateobjects are sometimes called to praise God in scripture(e.g., Dn 3:60).13 The priest first exorcizes the waterin the name of the Trinity, then offers a prayer thatChrist might empower the water to drive out the enemy,his fallen angels, and all of his strength or jurisdiction(potestas). The power (virtus) of Christ is mentioned,along with his second coming and the final judgment,

which strike terror in the enemy and his angels.14 It isimportant to note that this formula, assuming itsefficacy, not merely exorcizes the water, but alsoempowers it to be an instrument of exorcism, in thesense of driving out the enemy, his companions, andhis influence.

The prayer over the water continues this theme,invoking Gods blessing upon the water so that it maybecome an instrument for driving away a multitude ofevils:

O God, who for the salvation of the humanrace have founded all the greatest mysteries

(sacramenta) in the substance of water: befavorable to our prayers, and pour forth thepower of your blessing + upon this elementprepared with manifold purifications: so that

your creature, serving your mysteries, may takeup the effect of divine grace for expellingdemons and driving away diseases; so that

whatsoever this water sprinkles in the homesor places of the faithful, may be freed from alluncleanness, and delivered from harm: maythe pestilential spirit not remain there, nordestroying air: may all snares of the hiddenenemy depart; and if there be anything that ishostile towards either the safety or the reposeof the inhabitants, let it flee with the sprinklingof this water: so that the well-being askedthrough the invocation of your holy name maybe defended from all that attacks it. Throughour Lord Jesus Christ your Son: who with youlives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit,God for ever and ever. R. Amen.15

13

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The prayer does not merely ask that the water beblessed, but rather that the water be infused with Godspower of blessing. The purpose of this power is onceagain apotropaic; it is for driving away demons andtheir snares, disease and all other evils. Expelling evil,however, does not appear as an end in itself: the prayer

also requests that safety, repose, and general well-beingfill the homes and places of the faithful sprinkled withthis water.

The priest next mixes the exorcized and blessedsalt into the water three times in the pattern of a cross,saying, May this salt and water be mixed together, inthe name of the Father + and of the Son + and of theHoly + Spirit, to which the response is Amen. The

versicle beginning The Lord be with you . . . isrepeated,16 and then the priest utters the last prayer ofthe rite, the prayer over the mixture of salt and water:

O God, source of invincible strength and king

of insuperable dominion, and ever magnificenttriumphant one: you who restrain the force ofthe adversarys dominion: you who overcomethe savagery of the raging enemy: you whopowerfully defeat hostile influences: tremblingand prostrate we humbly beseech and implore

you, Lord: that you may look kindly upon thiscreature of salt and water, graciously illumineand sanctify it with the dew of your mercy: that

wherever it shall be sprinkled, through theinvocation of your holy name, every infestationof the unclean spirit may be banished: and theterror of the venomous serpent may be driven

afar: and may the presence of the Holy Spiritdeign to be everywhere with us, who ask yourmercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son:

who lives and reigns in the unity of the sameHoly Spirit, God for ever and ever. R. Amen.17

This final prayer asks the unconquerable God forwhom the devil is no threat whatsoever to illumineand sanctify this creature of salt and water. Once againthe desired effect is to drive away the infestation ofevery impure spirit, along with the terror and venomof the ancient serpent. Yet this blessing goes far beyondthe apotropaic, by requesting that God grant thepresence of the Holy Spirit wherever the solution mightbe sprinkled. Expulsion of evil influences, then, appearsas a sort of necessary preamble to the fuller realizationof divine power and a striking demonstration of thepriestly munus(office/duty) of sanctifying.

Note that this prayer implores God that evil spiritsmay flee and Gods Spirit may dwell wherever thesolution is sprinkled. The previous prayer, over the

water alone, more specifically refers to the homes andplaces of the faithful. In this way the Order for BlessingWater indicates a primary use to which this holy water

was expected to be put: the lay faithful would take itfor sprinkling their homes, barns, fields, shops, etc. This

was an eminent mode of actual or active participation

in the blessings of the Middle Ages and the Tridentineera, even though some might characterize it as privatedevotion. The use of the same holy water in everyother blessing, as well as at the beginning of the Mass,kept it firmly within the framework of liturgy. Thus,in a remarkable way, holy water linked the official public

worship of the Church with the daily lives of the faithful.

Blessings in Roman Liturgical Books afterthe Second Vatican Council

The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council,considering blessings under the category of

sacramentals, commanded that they undergo a revisionaimed above all at fostering intelligent, actual, and easyparticipation on the part of the faithful (conscia, actuosaet facili part icipati one fideli um). They also ordered thatthe reserved blessings should be reduced to only a few,and that limited provision be made for theadministration of some sacramentals at the hands ofqualified lay persons.18 In 1965, the SacredCongregation of Rites allowed all priests to bestow themajority of blessings, thereby implementing one of theCouncils mandates by quickly eliminating thereservation of certain blessings to particular religiousorders and congregations.19 The work of actuallyrevising the texts of the blessings was entrusted to StudyGroup (Coetus) 23 of the Consilium for Implementingthe Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy (Consil ium adexsequendam const i tut ionem de sacra l i turgia), headed byPierre-Marie Gy, O.P.20

Commentators divide the subsequent process ofrevising the blessings into two phases.21 The first,extending from 1970 to 1974, was preparatory. Duringthis phase, the doctrinal and practical principles that

would guide the actual revision of the texts of theblessings were set forth.22 In addition to the concernsspecifically noted in Sacrosanctum concil ium, three more

of these principles proved particularly momentous.First, the Study Group defined blessing primarily asthanksgiving and praise, as is evident in an internalcommunication of the Sacred Congregation for DivineWorship dated 23 February 1972:

Blessings . . . have, above all and perhaps inthe first place, an element of thanksgiving andof blessing towards God, a very beautiful

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example of which is found in the formulae overthe bread and wine at the offertory of therestored rite of the Mass: Blessed are you LordGod of the universe, because from yourgoodness we have received bread . . . wine . . .The special theological importance of blessing

rests in this, that it recognizes and proclaimsthe goodness of created things and theprovidence of the Creator. In the variouscircumstances of his life, man, made to theimage of God, giving thanks recognizes andconfesses that all created things come forthfrom the hands of God.23

From this perspective, blessing serves primarily as a sortof creedal statement on Gods creative activity. As inthis passage, influential liturgists of the post-conciliarperiod frequently claim that the Eucharist provides amodel for prayers of blessing, often relying heavily upon

the evidence offered by the problematic ancientChristian text known as the Apostoli c Tradi ti on.24As a second momentous working principle, the

Study Group posited that blessings are invokedprimarily on people and their activity, and onlysecondarily on the things and places that they use. Thisstress on the primacy of human thanksgiving and praisetowards God is also evident throughout the writings ofCatholic theologians who worked on blessings in thepost-Vatican II period.25 In light of the final productof the Study Groups work, one can summarize theseprinciples by describing rites of blessing as opportunitiesto help the faithful, particularly through their activity

in the world, give thanksgiving and praise to God forthe goods of creation.

The Study Groups final principle is expressed asfollows: in blessings the element of invocation againstdiabolic powers can be allowed: nevertheless, vigilanceis necessary lest blessings become just as amulets ortalismans. . .26 Apotropaic invocations or prayersaimed at counteracting diabolic influence, then, aredispensable if they conflict with the overriding demandto discourage superstition. Exorcisms, if only byomission, do not appear to be allowed at all: they areaddressed to the demon or to the creature and so cannotbe qualified as invocations, which are addressed to God.This third principle, however timidly expressed, couldpotentially justify as the finished product of the StudyGroups labors attests the complete elimination of apredominant feature of pre-Vatican II blessings.

The second phase began at the end of 1974 withthe constitution of a second Study Group, which wassubsequently dissolved and whose work was then takenup by a third Study Group.27 The new book of blessings

was not completed until Pope John Paul II promulgatedit under the title D e benedict ionibuson 31 May 1984.

This current book of blessings contains a GeneralIntroduction (pr aenotanda general i a) providing atheological explanation of blessings along with practicalnorms for their celebration. The introduction stresses

that blessings, as part of the Churchs liturgy, shouldbe celebrated communally.28 It then indicates that thetypical rite of blessing is comprised of two parts: first,the proclamation of the word of God; second, praise ofdivine goodness and petition for heavenly help.29 Thefirst part can contain several elements, includingintroductory rites (song, sign of the cross, greeting, along

with an introductory instruction to explain the meaningof the blessing), a reading from scripture, andintercessions. While other elements of the blessing maybe omitted, the reading from scripture, which isconsidered fundamental, may not be. The second partof the typical current rite of blessing is limited to the

formula of blessing or the prayer itself, along with anysign belonging to the rite such as the sign of the crossor a sprinkling with water, which appears in several ofthe rites.30

One immediately notes a radical change in thestructure of blessings. First, a liturgy of the word, hasbeen added to the prayer of blessing that constitutedthe fundamental core of most blessings in the previousRoman Ritual. Second, holy water is no longer centralto the rites of blessing. Accordingly, the Order forBlessing Water, that once occupied the place of honor,now occupies the relative obscurity of chapter 33.

In 1987, ICEL completed its translation and

adaptation of D e benedictionibus, entitled Book of B lessings,for study and comment as well as for interim use.31The Holy See approved theBook of Blessingson 27 January1989, for use in the United States ad interim.32 From 3December 1989, the first Sunday of Advent, the USCCBdeclared, the use of the Book of Blessingsis mandatoryin the dioceses of the United States of America. Fromthat day forward no other English version may beused.33 The Book of Blessingscontains translations oforders and prayers of blessing from D e benedictioni bus,along with 42 orders and prayers composed by theNCCBs Committee on the Liturgy or added from otherliturgical books. The numbering and ordering ofmaterial differs from that of the Latin typical edition.

Chapter 41 of the Book of B lessings contains theOrder for the Blessing of Holy Water Outside Mass.It can be characterized as a translation of D ebenedictionibus chapter 33. Nonetheless the typicaleditionD e benedictionibusprovides the sole basis for theanalysis that follows. The translations, which are myown, strive for a literal rendering of the original Latin.

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The Present Order

The current Order for Blessing Water Outside theCelebration of Mass (Ordo ad faciendam aquam benedictamextra missae celebrationem) is reserved for the clergy

whether bishop, priest or deacon. This Order is, by

virtue of its context, the immediate successor of theOrder for Blessing Water in the pre-Vatican II Ritual.The previous Order was never used within the Mass,but rather in the sacristy or in the church before Massbegan. The current Missal contains a distinct Orderfor Blessing Water within the Mass, which may be usedin lieu of the penitential rite, but this shall be discussedbriefly for comparative purposes only.

The Order for Blessing Water outside theCelebration of Mass in D e benedictioni busof 1984 begins

with the sign of the cross in the name of the Father,Son, and Holy Spirit. The introductory rites continueas the celebrant greets those gathered for the blessing

with the following words, or with other suitable wordsfrom Scripture: May God, who from water and theHoly Spirit has regenerated us in Christ, be with all.34This constitutes a kind of versicle, to which all are toreply, And with your spirit, or some other suitableresponse. Then the celebrant, if it is appropriate (proopportuni ta te), prepares those gathered for thecelebration of the blessing with the following words, orsomething similar:

With this blessing of water, we recall Christthe living water and the sacrament of baptism,in which we have been reborn in water and theHoly Spirit. Whenever, therefore, we aresprinkled with this water, or upon entering achurch or staying at home we use it with thesign of the cross, we will give thanks to Godfor his indescribable gift, and implore his help,in order that we might by living hold on to

what we have received by faith.35

The use of water assumed by the rites is twofold: it issprinkled on us that is, we who are present for thecelebration or we sign ourselves with it upon enteringa church or even at home. By using it in these ways,

we recall Christ and our baptism, give thanks to God,and implore his aid in living the sacrament that wehave received in faith. At the outset, then, the rite isframed as a memorial of the participants baptismmarked by thanksgiving.

The reading from scripture follows. The Orderprovides the full text of John 7:37-39, and then indicatessix other possible scriptural readings.36

The prayer of blessing comes next. Here there arethree options, but no indication that the celebrant can

use similar words. The celebrant chooses from oneof the three, reciting it with hands outstretched. Thefirst follows:

Blessed are you, Lord, all-powerful God,who (qui) in Christ, the living water of our

salvation,have deigned to bless and inwardly reform us:grant that we who by the sprinkling of this

wateror by its use are strengthenedmay, with renewed youth of the soulthrough the power of the Holy Spirit,continuallywalk in newness of life.Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen. 37

The quiclause characterizes God as having reformedus inwardly by baptism. The petition seeks that wemight be helped by the sprinkling or use of this water,

in order to walk continually in newness of life. Theprayer requests the renewal of us who are present forthe celebration. It does not allow that any thing orplace might benefit from the water. Furthermore, theprayer neither blesses nor exorcizes the water. In fact,the status of the water does not appear to change atall. These same comments stand for the second orationprovided in the current Order:

Lord, holy Father,look upon us,

who (qui), redeemed by your Son,have been reborn through Baptism

in water and the Holy Spirit:grant, we beseech you,that those who will be sprinkled with this water,may be renewed in body and in mindand may render pure service to you.Through Christ our Lord. R. Amen.38

This formula invokes renewal in body and mind uponthose who will be sprinkled with this water, in orderthat they may render pure service to the Father. Inthis case the quiclause does not describe God, but us

who have been redeemed and reborn in baptism. Onceagain baptism is recalled, and the water itself is notactually blessed only the people to be sprinkled withit. The third and final option for a prayer of blessingalso brings to mind the sacrament of baptism. Threefoldin structure, each part attributes a specific act to onePerson in the Trinity by means of a quiclause, and asksthat Person to bless and purify the Church:

God creator of all things, who (qui) in waterand the Spirit

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have given form and image to man and to theuniverse.

R. Bless and purify your Church.

Christ, who (qui) from the side pierced on thecross

have made the sacraments of salvation flowforth.R. Bless and purify your Church.

Holy Spirit, who (qui) from the baptismalbosom of the Church,

in the bath of regeneration,have made us new creatures.

R. Bless and purify your Church. 39

This blessing refers to the water of creation, the waterthat flowed from Christs side, and the water of baptism.The water of the Order, however, is not specifically

mentioned. So while this formula presents a tidysummary of waters role in salvation history, it doesnot request that the water of the Order be blessed. Thepetition, contained in the response of the congregation,asks instead that the Church be blessed and purified.

At the end of the Order, the celebrant sprinklesthose present with holy water and says the following:May this water be a memorial of baptism received,and may it recall Christ, who has redeemed us by hisPassion and Resurrection. R. Amen. Whenappropriate (pro opportunitate), those present sing afitting song.40 Thus the theme of baptism opens theOrder, closes it, and is prominent throughout. Thefundamental point of the Order is to aid the faithful inrecalling their baptism and the work of Christ in theeconomy of salvation.

At this point numerous theological questions arise.For instance, at the completion of this Order, is the

water used therein blessed? Does it differ from anyother water? Can one answer yes to these questions

when the Ordo itself provides no justification for anaffirmative answer? Are the members of Christsfaithful deceived who believe the water in theirchurches fonts is blessed? Will the farmer whosprinkles such water on his failing crops only benefit

to the extent that it helps him recall his salvation? If amother sprinkles it on her sick infant, does the infantwho has not yet the use of reason and so cannot recallChrist benefit? For whom is the blessing intended the mother or the infant? Indeed, if the purpose ofblessing is primarily praise and thanksgiving, cananyone who is absent from the liturgical celebration ofthe Order participate in the blessing? The implicationsof this radical shift in the euchology of blessings have

yet to be considered.

A radi ca l shi ft it is . The above ana lys isdemonstrates that the present Order is in no wayderived from the previous Order; it is not a revision,but an entirely new work. This is in fact typical of thecurrent D e benedictionibus. Only five of the more than100 formulae that appear in the book are directly

inspired by the Ritual of 1952. Nor are the prayersdrawn from ancient liturgical books, as is the case withmany orations in the revised Missal.41 Pierre Jounelexplains the grounds for constructing the blessings ofthe Ritual ex nihilo as follows: The eucharisticconception of blessing having been lost since the distanttimes of the Apostoli c Const it ut ions, the medievalsacramentaries and more recent rituals could not be ofany great help.42 With this statement, Jouneleffectively discards the Churchs entire patrimony of

written blessings. Moreover, his reference to such anancient and obscure text betrays the extent to whichthe work of revising the blessings was dependent upon

a particular interpretation of the history of blessings an interpretation which smacks of archeologism andmight not withstand critical examination.

By contrast, the 1952 Order for Blessing Waterdescended directly from a tradition that can bedefinitively traced to the origins of liturgical books. TheRomano-Germanic Pontifical, compiled at Mainz in themid-tenth century, contains the very same exorcismsand prayers of blessing for both salt and water that arefound in the Ritual of 1952.43 Earlier still, they arefound in their integrity in the Gregorian sacramentary.44In turn, the redactor of the Gregorian sacramentaryadapted, with only a few minor variations, the prayer

over the water in the Blessing of Water to be Sprinkledin a Home (Benedictio aquae spargendae in domo) foundin the Old Gelasian sacramentary. The Gelasian is,owing to its antiquity and the completeness of themanuscript, a privileged witness of early Roman liturgy;copied at Chelles around 750, the manuscript containsearlier material originally compiled in southern Italy.45

A number of verbal parallels also link the exorcisms ofsalt and water in the Gelasian with those in theGregorian, and therefore with the Order for BlessingWater found in the 1952 Roman Ritual.46

Another contrast is evident in the Order for BlessingWater within Mass, which constitutes the secondappendix of the latest Roman Missal. This Order offersthree prayers of blessing which are more consistent withthe tradition of blessing water in several ways.47 First,they in fact beseech God to bless the water. Second,they mention apotropaic effects of the holy water even if that reference is somewhat muted and theancient enemy in not named. Third, they at least allow,

where it is customary, the mixing of the water withsalt. Striking in their absence from D e benedict ionibus,

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the presence of these elements in the Missal betrayssome theological disparity between those responsiblefor the respective liturgical books.

Why the Contrast?

The above examination of the differences betweenthe previous and the present Order for Blessing WaterOutside of Mass provides a vivid illustration of the factthat the D e benedictionibuspromulgated in 1984 is nomere revision of the blessings from the pre-Vatican IIRoman Ritual. It is rather a completely different work,

which appears to be undergirt by a radically differentunderstanding of the nature of blessing and exorcism,an understanding that is in part characterized by thepractical principles of revision set forth by Study Group23 and discussed above.

What theological shifts, it may be asked, led to thenew understanding that entailed the wholesale re-

writing of the Rituals blessings? David Stosur reasonsthat, in the absence of sustained attention given toblessings in and of themselves, a contemporarytheology of blessings . . . must simply be extrapolatedfrom approaches that theologians since Vatican II havetaken to the sacraments and to the liturgy in general.48He proceeds to do this, appealing particularly toreflections on the liturgy by Otto Semmelroth, EdwardSchillebeeckx, and Karl Rahner. Particularly worthy ofnote is the following passage, in which Stosur weavestogether some of Rahners comments on the liturgy:

The very conceptual model of sacramentalitytherefore shifts according to the way Godsrelationship to the world is understood inRahners terms, from one based on the implicitassumption that grace can be an unmerited giftof God only if it becomes present in a secularand sinful world to which it is mostly denied,to one which starts out from the assumptionthat the secular world from the outset is alwaysencompassed and permeated with the grace ofthe divine self-communication: Thesacraments accordingly are not really to beunderstood as successive individual incursions

of God into a secular world, but as outbursts. . . of the innermost, ever present graciousendowment of the world with God himself intohistory. The material things of creation, asnecessary components of the liturgy of the

world, are by that very fact valuable. The valueof material creation is in turn understood andacknowledged in sacramental celebrations,

where these things are utilized for the purpose

of symbolizing this primordial liturgy.49

This notion of the liturgy of the world, whether rightlyor wrongly attributed to Rahner,50 could go a long waytowards explaining why the current Order for BlessingWater Outside of Mass does not explicitly bless or

exorcize the water, and moreover, why things (ratherthan people) generally are not blessed or exorcized inD e benedictionibus. Although the notion is specificallyinvoked rather infrequently, the liturgy of the worldcould shed light on the general consensus articulatedby many theologians writing on blessings in the post-Conciliar period: Gods creatures are blessed from theircreation; liturgical blessings are opportunities to praiseand thank God for this, and, from the pastoralperspective, to edify those present by recalling it.51

One scholar of holy water, writing before VaticanII, expressed quite a different view of the state ofcreation in the following passage: By the fall of our

first parents, the spirit of evil obtained influence notonly over man, but also over inanimate nature, whencehe is called in Scripture the prince of this world (Jn12:31, 14:30, 16:11). For this reason, when the Churchexorcizes some thing, the curse put upon it is removed,and Satans power over it either destroyed entirely, orat least diminished.52 The same commentatorarticulated what he claimed to be the consensusregarding holy water as follows:

Nearly all theologians teach that Holy Water,used with the proper intention and disposition,confers actual graces, remits venial sin, restrains

the power of Satan, and secures temporalblessings, for example, bodily health andprotection against temporal evils. Whenpreparing Holy Water, the officiating ministerin the name of the whole Church prays for thesedivine favors in particular. Surely, then, thepious use of this permanent sacramental is amost helpful means of salvation.53

Hence blessing or consecrating a thing in general orwater in particular entailed breaking Satans influenceover it, so that it could no longer serve as an instrumentof his hate.54 Then, by the power of Christ entrustedto the Church, the thing blessed could be used as anefficacious instrument for good assuming the properdisposition of the person who benefits from the use ofthe item.55 This type of exorcism is frequently foundin ancient rituals, including, for example, rites ofbaptism.56 It is prefatory in nature; if something orsomeone is to become an instrument of blessing, then,logically, that person or thing must be free from demonicinfluence. Such prefatory exorcisms do not indicate

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that the devil possesses the thing or person in the senseof indwelling, but in the sense of having some claim,jurisdiction, or power over it by virtue of the Fall.

Such a view is, perhaps, somewhat pessimisticregarding the state of creation after the Fall.57 Yet it isin keeping with a biblical understanding of the state of

creation, as indicated for example in Romans 8:19-21:For creation awaits with eager expectation therevelation of the children of God; for creation wassubject to futility . . . in hope that creation itself wouldbe set free from slavery to corruption and share in theglorious freedom of the children of God. On the otherhand, any view that discounts the influence of evil infavor of an insistence on the goodness of creation canbe accused of an optimism that verges on navet.58Perhaps such optimistic views betray a privileged first-

world bias in their facile dismissal of the radicalconsequences of sin on the created world: Cursed bethe ground because of you! In toil shall you eat its

yield all the days of your life (Gn 3:17). CertainlyGod created all things good; but we no longer live inthe Garden of Eden.

Nevertheless, such optimistic views culminate in areinterpretation of exorcism, which exerts considerableinfluence over the current Order for Blessing Water.

Achille M. Triacca articulates a new understanding thatjustifies the transformation evident in the blessings ofthe Ritual. In his view, the most authentic (le plusauthentique) liturgical and ecclesiastical view of exorcismis characterized by the optimistic vision (la vi sionoptimiste) that encompasses all of salvation history andthe orientation of all creation towards redemption.

Hence Triacca highlights the importance of anamnesis(understood as a memorial of salvation history) in theeuchology of exorcisms. He goes on to argue that in itsmost authentic form, exorcism is nothing other thanan epiclesis of the Holy Spirit.59 Triaccas criteria forauthenticity are somewhat obscure, as is the logic ofhis argument. As noted in the above discussion of theprevious Order, the expulsion of evil influences appearedas a prerequisite for the fuller realization of divine powerin the object to be blessed, rather than as an end initself. Yet by no means should exorcism be conflated

with epiclesis.Nonetheless, each of the three formulae of blessing

in the present Order for Blessing Water Outside of Massmentions the Holy Spirit, and anamnesis orremembrance of salvation history especially of onesown baptismal entrance into the economy of salvation

is the dominant theme. For those who see theconnection, these elements are all that remains of theapotropaic themes that predominated the previousOrder for Blessing Water. Those who cannot admitthat anamnesis and epiclesis are equivalent with

exorcism, or that praise, thanksgiving, and recollectionof ones baptism are equivalent with blessing water, may

wonder if the radical changes in the Churchs blessingsfaithfully reflect the Second Vatican Councils mandatethat sacrament al i a recognoscant ur, that is, that thesacramentals be revised.60

__________

N otes:

1In the order in which they appear, the remaining non-reserved blessings follow: (2) blessing of candles; (3) blessingof homes (on Holy Saturday); (4) another blessing of homes(to be used at any other time, with the sprinkling of holy

water); (5) blessing of a place; (6) another blessing of a newhome; (7) blessing of a bridal chamber; (8) blessing of a newship; (9) general blessing of fruits of the earth and vineyards;(10) blessing of pilgrims setting out to holy places; (11)blessing of pilgrims after returning; (12) blessing of a paschal

lamb; (13) blessing of eggs; (14) blessing of bread; (15)another blessing of bread; (16) blessing of new produce; (17)blessing of anything edible; (18) blessing of simple (unmixed)oil.

2In the order in which they appear, the reserved blessingsfollow: (1) blessing of priestly vestments; (2) blessing of altarlinens; (3) blessing of corporals; (4) blessing of a tabernacle;(5) blessing of a new cross; (6) blessing of images; (7) rite ofblessing and laying the cornerstone of a church; (8) rite ofblessing a new church or public oratory; (9) rite of reconcilinga profaned church; (10) rite of blessing a new cemetery (for apriest delegated by a bishop); (11) order of reconciling aprofaned cemetery.

3Ri tuale Romanum (Mechlin: Dessain, 1953) 265, mytranslation.

4 Ibid.: Postea rem adspergat aqua benedicta, et, ubinotatum fuerit, pariter incenset, nihil dicendo. Cum Sacerdosaliquid benedicturus est, habeat ministrum cum vase aquaebenedictae et adspersorio, et cum hoc Rituali libro, seuMissali.

5 Girolamo Baruffaldi [Hieronymus Baruffaldus], Adri tuale Romanum commentari a(Venice: Balleoniana, 1731) XLV,p. 260. Note, however, that there are different kinds of holy

water. For a description of four types of holy water found inTridentine liturgical books Gregorian water (for consecrationof churches), baptismal water, Easter/Pentecost water, andordinary holy water see Frederick A. Houck, Fount ains ofJoy, or By Water and B lood,3rded. (St. Louis: Herder, 1938)108-27. What he calls ordinary holy water is the topic ofthe present study. The papal blessing, which is found in theRitual of 1952, constitutes an exception insofar as it doesnot make use of holy water: see Ritus benedictionis papalissuper populum elargiendae, and Formula benedictionispapalis cum indulgentia plenaria, in Ri tuale Romanum(1953)429-30.

6On the uses of holy water in liturgy and in devotion, seeHenry Theiler, H oly Water and its Signifi cance for Catholics (New

York: Pustet, 1909) 35-54, and Houck, Fountains of Joy, 131-40.7Ri tual e Romanum (1953) 268: Christifideles autem

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possunt de ista aqua benedicta in vasculis suis accipere, etsecum deferre ad aspergendos aegros, domos, agros, vineas,et alia, et ad eam habendam in cubiculis suis, ut ea quotidieet saepius aspergi possint. See Baruffaldi, Ad r it uale RomanumcommentariaXLV, p. 263: this practice can be traced back atleast to the year 890.

8A photographic reprint is provided by Anthony Ward

and Cuthbert Johnson, eds, M issali s Romani edit io pri ncepsM ediolani anno 1474 preli s mandata, Bibliotheca EphemeridesLiturgicae Subsidia Instrumenta Liturgica QuarreriensiaSupplementa 3 (Rome: C.L.V.-Edizioni Liturgiche, 1996) 15-16; for an edited version, see Robert Lippe, ed., M issaleRomanum M ediolani, 1474, vol. 1: Text, Henry BradshawSociety 17 (London: Harrison and Sons, 1899) xxv-xxvi.

9Ri tual e Romanum Paul V. Pont. M ax. jussu edit um: Addit aformul a pro benedicendi s populo & agri s a S. Ri tuum Congregati oneapprobata(Antwerp: Plantin-Moreti, 1688) 397-408.

10 For a list of printed benedictionals and separatelypublished appendices to the Roman Ritual in eighteenth- andnineteenth-century France, see Jean-Baptiste Molin and

Annik Aussedat-Minvielle,Rpertoire des rituels et processionnaux

imprims conservs en France(Paris: ditions du Centre Nationalde la Recherche Scientifique, 1984) 559-63; for anotherexample, see Benedicti onale Romanum sive sacrae benedicti ones inRi tuali romano et i n ejus adprobata appendi ce ac in M issal i necnonPonti ficali romano, 3rded. (Ratisbon: Pustet, 1884); see alsoPierre Jounel, Le livre des bndictions, M aison-D ieu 175(1988) 39-40.

11Jounel, Le livre des bndictions, 40-41, and idem.,Blessings, in The Chur ch at Prayer: An I ntr oducti on to theLiturgy, vol. 3: The Sacraments, ed. Robert Cabi et al., trans.Matthew J. OConnell (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press,1988) 275-76. For an overview of the organization of blessingsin the Ritual of 1952, see Burkhard Neunheuser, Evoluzionedi mentalit nella prassi delle benedizioni in occidente,

Rivista li tur gica73 (1986) 206.12The following Latin text and all those from the pre-Vatican II Ordocited subsequently are taken from Pius XIIstypical edition, Ri tual e Romanum(1953) 266-68: Exorcizote, creatura aquae, in nomine Dei + Patris omnipotentis, innomine Jesu + Christi Filii ejus Domini nostri, et in virtuteSpiritus + Sancti: ut fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandamomnem potestatem inimici, et ipsum inimicum eradicare etexplantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis, per virtutemejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christi: qui venturus est judicare

vivos et mortuos, et saeculum per ignem. R. Amen. Thistranslation and those that follow from the Tridentine rite aremy own, although I have consulted two others: Philip T.Weller, The Roman Rit ual: Complete Edit ion(Milwaukee: Bruce,1964) 396-98, and Theiler, H oly Water,17-22.

13This is the explanation provided by M. Barraud, Deleau bnite et des vases destins la contenir, Bulletinmonumental, 4thseries 6 (1870) 417-18.

14At the end of the second century, Tertullian explainedthe power of Christians over demons as follows in Apologeticum

XXIII.15-16 (CCSL 1:132-33), my translation: . . . ourdomination and power over them is possible from the namingof Christ and from their memory. . . fearing Christ in Godand God in Christ, they are subjected to the servants of Godand of Christ. Thus from our touch and breath, with the

contemplation and realization of their punishment of fire,and by our command, they depart from bodies, unwillingand sorrowing and ashamed before you who are present.

15Deus, qui ad salutem humani generis, maxima quaequesacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti: adesto propitiusinvocationibus nostris, et elemento huic multimodispurificationibus praeparato, virtutem tuae ben + dictionis

infunde: ut creatura tua, mysteriis tuis serviens, ad abigendosdaemones, morbosque pellendos, divinae gratiae sumateffectum; ut quidquid in domibus, vel in locis fidelium, haecunda resperserit, careat omni immunditia, liberetur a noxa:non illic resideat spiritus pestilens, non aura corrumpens:discedant omnes insidiae latentis inimici; et si quid est, quodaut incolumitati habitantium invidet, aut quieti, aspersionehujus aquae effugiat: ut salubritas, per invocationem sanctitui nominis expetita, ab omnibus sit impugnationibus defensa.Per Dominum nostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum: Quitecum vivit et regnat in unitate Spiritus Sancti Deus, peromnia saecula saeculorum. R. Amen.

16Hic ter mittat sal in aquam in modum crucis, dicendosemel: Commixtio salis et aquae pariter fiat, in nomine Pa +

tris, et Fi + lii, et Spiritus + Sancti. R. Amen. V. Dominusvobiscum. R. Et cum spiritu tuo.17Deus, invictae virtutis auctor, et insuperabilis imperii

Rex, ac semper magnificus triumphator: qui adversaedominationis vires reprimis: qui inimici rugientis saevitiamsuperas: qui hostiles nequitias potenter expugnas: te, Domine,trementes et supplices deprecamur, ac petimus: ut hanccreaturam salis et aquae dignanter aspicias, benignus illustres,pietatis tuae rore sanctifices; ut, ubicumque fuerit aspersa,per invocationem sancti nominis tui, omnis infestatioimmundi spiritus abigatur: terrorque venenosi serpentis proculpellatur: et praesentia Sancti Spiritus nobis, misericordiamtuam poscentibus, ubique adesse dignetur. Per Dominumnostrum Jesum Christum Filium tuum: Qui tecum vivit et

regnat in unitate ejusdem Spiritus Sancti Deus, per omniasaecula saeculorum. R. Amen.18Second Vatican Council, Constitution on the Sacred

Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium, in The Sixteen D ocuments ofVatican I I, ed. Marianne Lorraine Trouv (Boston: Pauline,1999) 79: The sacramentals are to undergo a revision whichtakes into account the primary principle of enabling thefaithful to participate intelligently, actively and easily; thecircumstances of our own days must also be considered. Whenrituals are revised, as laid down in Art. 63, new sacramentalsmay also be added as the need for these becomes apparent.Reserved blessings shall be very few; reservations shall be infavor of bishops or ordinaries. Let provision be made thatsome sacramentals, at least in special circumstances and atthe discretion of the ordinary, may be administered byqualified lay persons.

19 Instruction on the Orderly Carrying Out of theConstitution on the Liturgy I nt er oecumenici(26 Sept 1964),in D ocuments on the Li turgy 196 3-1 979: Concil iar, Papal, andCur ial Texts, ed. International Commission on English in theLiturgy (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 1982) 105 77:The blessings in the Ri tual e Romanumtit. IX, cap. 9, 10, 11,hitherto reserved, may be given by any priest, except for: theblessing of a bell for the use of a blessed church or oratory(cap. 9, no. 11); the blessing of the cornerstone of a church

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(cap. 9, no. 16); the blessing of a new church or public oratory(cap. 9, no. 17); the blessing of an antemensium (cap. 9, no.21); the blessing of a new cemetery (cap. 9, no. 22); papalblessings (cap. 10, nos. 1-3); the blessing and erection of thestations of the cross (cap. 11, no. 1), reserved to the bishop.

20Annibale Bugnini, The Reform of the L it urgy 194 8-1 97 5,trans. Matthew J. OConnell (Collegeville MN: Liturgical

Press, 1990) 570 n. 1: Group 23 on the sacramentals: relator:P.-M. Gy; secretary: S. Mazzarello; members: J. Mejia, J. Rabau,J. Hofinger, F. Vandenbroucke, and D. Sicard. Subsequentlyadded were A. Chavasse, B. Lwenberg, and K. Ritzer.

Although the two groups [22 and 23] were distinct, theyalways worked together. Balthasar Fischer served as relatoror chair of the Study Group 22, the other coetuscharged withrevising the rites of the Ritual.

21 Mario Lessi-Ariosto, Linee interpretative delliterredazionale del D e benedicti onibus, Rivista li turgica73 (1986)214-30; Enzo Lodi, Le bndictionnel romain pour lasanctification de la vie: sources et contenus, in Les bndictionset l es sacramentaux dans la l iturgie, Confrences Sai nt -Serge, XXXIVeSemaine dEtudes Li tur giques, Pari s 1987, ed. Achille M. Triacca

and Alessandro Pistoia (Rome: C.L.V.-Edizioni Liturgiche,1988) 181-206; Bugnini, Reform of the L it urgy, 778-83; for abrief summary of the process of revision citing the relevantofficial texts, see De benedictionibus, N otit iae 19 (1983)320-22.

22For three distinct but closely related listings of thesenorms, see Lessi-Ariosto, Linee interpretative, 217-19; Lodi,Le bndictionnel romain, 182-83; and Bugnini, Reform ofthe Li turgy, 778-80.

23Sacra Congregatio pro Cultu Divino, Letter, Debenedictionibus, 23 Feb 1972, courtesy of the University ofNotre Dame Archives, my translation: Benedictiones . . .habent insuper, et forsitan primo loco, elementum gratiarumactionis et benedictionis erga Deum, cuius perpulchrum

exemplum invenitur in formulis super panem et vinum adoffertorium ritus Missae instaurati: Benedictus es DomineDeus universi, quia de tua largitate accepimus panem . . .

vinum . . . Praecipuum momentum theologicum benedictionisin eo consistit quod agnoscit et proclamat bonitatemcreaturarum et providentiam Creatoris. In variis circumstantiis

vitae suae homo, ad imaginem Dei factus, gratias agensagnoscit et confitetur omnes res creatas provenire e manibusDei. See also, Labores coetuum a studiis: Debenedictionibus, Not i t iae 6 (1970) 245; and Laborescoetuum a studiis: De benedictionibus, N otitiae7 (1971)126, 128.

24For a recent overview demonstrating how complicatedit is to interpret the Apostolic Tradi ti on, see Paul F. Bradshaw,Maxwell E. Johnson, and L. Edward Phillips, The ApostolicTraditi on: A Commentary(Minneapolis: Fortress, 2002) 1-17.For examples of scholars who invoke the Eucharist as a modelfor blessings, see A . Gignac, Les bndictions: sous le signede la cration et de lesprance vanglique, in D ans vosassembles: sens et prat ique de la clbrat ion l i turgique, vol. 2, ed.Joseph Gelineau et al. (Paris: Descle, 1971) 583-86; EnricoMazza, I Praenotanda genera l i a del rituale romano: D ebenedictionibus, Rivista l it urgica73 (1986) 239-40; Jounel, Lelivre de bndictions, esp. 29-30, 33, and 43. This claim istied up with the wording of eucharistic prayers in such sources

as the Apostoli c Tradi ti onand ubiquitous theories regardingthe evolution of the eucharistic prayer from Jewish modes ofblessing, thanksgiving, and praise particularly the berakoth

as expressed for example in Louis Bouyer, Euchari st: Theologyand Spir it uali ty of the Euchari sti c Prayer, trans. Charles UnderhillQuinn (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1968)29 ff.; and Robert Cabi, The Church At Prayer: An Intr oducti on

to the Lit urgy, vol. 2: The Eucharist, trans. Matthew J. OConnell(Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 1986) 20-35. Not yet fullyappreciated are the criticisms in Paul F. Bradshaw, The Searchfor the Or igins of Chri sti an Worship: Sources and M ethods for theStudy of Early Li turgy, 2nded. (Oxford: Oxford University Press,2002) 139: he argues that among the three main obstaclesto real progress in the search for the origins and developmentof early Christian eucharistic practices is a widespread beliefthat it is necessary to trace both the overall pattern of therite and the prayer used in it back to a standard, fixed Jewishliturgy.

25Marcel Metzger, Les bndictions des personnes etdes lments dans les Consti tut i ons apostoli ques, in L esbndicti ons et l es sacramentaux dans la l i tur gie, Confrences Sai nt-

Serge, XXXIVe Semaine dEtudes L it urgiques, Pari s 198 7, ed.Achille M. Triacca and Alessandro Pistoia(Rome: C.L.V.-Edizioni Liturgiche, 1988) 207: speaking at a conferencesponsored by the Holy See in 1987, Metzger began his paperas follows: Si on tend le mot bndiction toutes les priresde louange et daction de grces, lments fondamentaux desliturgies juive et chrtienne . . . ; my translation: If oneextends the word benediction to all prayers of praise andthanksgiving, fundamental elements of Jewish and Christianliturgies. . . This understanding arises from a certain readingof the Hebrew word for blessing and the Apostoli c Tradi ti on

which can be seen, for example, in Thomas G. Simons,Bl essings: A Reappraisal of their N ature, Purpose, and Celebrati on(Saratoga CA: Resource Publications, 1981) 33-48. The

biography on the back cover of the book says that Simons isa member of the International Committee for English in theLiturgy (ICEL) and serves in the Study Group on Blessings.See also Mazza, I Praenotanda generali a, 241.

26 Labores coetuum a studiis: De benedictionibus,Notitiae 6 (1970) 246: in benedictionibus admitti potestelementum invocationis contra potestates diabolicas: attameninvigilandum est ne benedictiones fiant quasi amuleta seutalismana. . . See also Labores coetuum a studiis: debenedictionibus, N ot i t iae 7 (1971) 129; and Mazza, IPraenotanda generali a, 249-50.

27Adunationes apud S. C. pro Cultu Divino, Notitiae10 (1974) 347; Adunatio consultorum sectionis pro cultudivino, N otitiae14 (1978) 73.

28D e benedicti onibus (Vatican City: Libreria EditriceVaticana, 1984, reprint 1993) 16.

29D e benedicti onibus, 20. See Julian Lopez Martin, Lasorientaciones generales del bendicional, Phase157 (1987)50-51: Martin properly notes that the typical structure is animitation of the liturgical structure of the revised sacraments.

30D e benedicti onibus, 22.31Book of Blessings: For Study and Comment by the Bishops of

the M ember and Associate M ember Conferences of t he Internat ionalCommission on English in the Li tur gy (Washington DC:International Commission on English in the Liturgy, 1987).

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On the adaptation of the typical edition for local use, seeJounel, Le livre des bndictions, 45-46, and 52.

32Congregation for Divine Worship, Decree, in Book ofBlessings, prepared by International Commission on Englishin the Liturgy (Collegeville MN: Liturgical Press, 1989) vi.

33National Conference of Catholic Bishops, Decree, inBook of B lessings(1989) v.

34D e benedicti oni bus, 1089: Deus, qui ex aqua et SpirtuSancto / nos regeneravit in Christo, / sit cum omnibus.35D e benedicti oni bus, 1090: Hac aquae benedictione,

Christum aquam vivam ac Baptismatis recolimussacramentum, in quo ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto renati sumus.Quoties ergo hac aqua aspergemur, vel ea tum intrantes inecclesiam tum domi manentes cum signo crucis utemur,gratias Deo agemus pro inenarrabili dono eius, eiusqueimplorabimus auxilium, ut sacramentum vivendo teneamus,quod fide percepimus. See Lodi, Le bndictionnel romain,193: Il sagit ici dun emprunt la collecte du lundi de loctavepascale, qui remonte au sacramentaire Grgorien-Paduensis,dans la monition introductive; my translation: What wehave here is a borrowing from the collect of Monday of the

Paschal Octave, which goes back to the Gregorian-Paduensesacramentary, in the introductory remark. I have checkedthe Paduense, and am unable to verify any resemblancebetween it and the introductory remark in D e benedicti onibus.

36D e benedicti onibus, 1091-92: Is 12:1-6; Is 55:1-11; Sir15:1-6; 1 Jn 5:1-6; Rv 7:13-17; Rv 22:1-5; Jn 13:3-15.

37D e benedicti onibus, 1093: Benedictus es, Domine, Deusomnipotens, / qui nos in Christo, aqua viva salutis nostrae, /benedicere dignatus es et intus reformare: / concede ut quihuius aquae aspersione / vel usu munimur, / renovata animaeiuventute / per virtutem Sancti Spiritus / in novitate vitaeiugiter ambulemus. / Per Christum Dominum nostrum. / R.

Amen.38D e benedictionibus, 1094: Domine, sancte Pater, / respice

super nos, / qui per Filium tuum redempti, / ex aqua et SpirituSancto / per Baptismum sumus renati: / praesta, quaesumus,/ ut qui hac aqua fuerint aspersi, / corpore et mente renoventur/ et puram tibi exhibeant servitutem. / Per Christum Dominumnostrum. / R. Amen.

39D e benedicti onibus, 1095: Omnium creator Deus, quiex aqua et Spiritu / formam dedisti atque imaginem hominiet universo. / R. Ecclesiam tuam benedic atque emunda. /Christe, qui de rescisso in cruce latere / Sacramenta salutisscatere fecisti. / R. Ecclesiam tuam benedic atque emunda. /Sancte Spiritus, qui e baptismali Ecclesiae gremio, / inregenerationis lavacro, / novas nos constituisti creaturas. / R.Ecclesiam tuam benedic atque emunda.

40D e benedi cti onibus, 1096: Sit haec aqua susceptiBaptismatis memoria, / et Christum recolat, / qui Passione etResurrectione sua nos redemit. / R. Amen.

41 Lodi, Le bndictionnel romain, 194-95,demonstrates that at least a few turns of phrase in the variousformulae of blessing are drawn from orations in the RomanMissal of 1970.

42 Jounel, Le livre des bndictions, 49-50, mytranslation: La conception eucharistique de la bndictionayant t oublie depuis les temps lointains des Constitutionsapostoliques, les sacramentairs mdivaux et les rituels plusrcents ne pouvaient pas tre dun grand secours.

43Cyrille Vogel and Reinhard Elze, eds., Le ponti ficalromano-german ique du di xime sicle: Le texte I I (NN . XCIX-CCLVI I I ), Studi e Testi 227 (Citt del Vaticano: Biblioteca

Apostolica Vaticana, 1963) 152-54. Only a few minorvariations can be found, although the formula for mixing thesalt with the water differs significantly: I n nomine pa+ tr is etfi+ li i et spir i tus + sancti , benedicatur haec commixti o sali s et aquae.

44Jean Deshusses, Le sacramentai re grgorien: ses principal esformes daprs les plus anciens manuscrits, vol. 1, 3rded. (Fribourg:ditions Universitaires, 1992) 472-75, 1451-55. See also

Adolph Franz,D ie Kir chli chen Benedikti onen im M it telal ter(Graz:Akademische Druck-U. Verlagsanstalt, 1960) 148-49: Franzargues that the redactor of the Gregorian formulae for blessing

water made use of the Gelasian formulae, although whichother sources he used, or how much he himself composed,cannot be determined.

45Matthieu Smyth, La l itur gie oublie: La pr ire euchar istiqueen Gaule ant ique et dans lOccident non romain(Paris: Cerf, 2003)126-34.

46H. A. Wilson, ed., The Gelasian Sacramentary: L ibersacramentorum romanae ecclesiae(Oxford: Clarendon, 1894) 285-

87; for a facsimile of the original manuscript, seeSacramentar ium Gelasianum e codice Vati cano Reginensi L ati no316(Vatican City: n.p., 1975) 220r-22r.

47The first option, here provided as an example, is foundin M issale Romanum, 3 rdtypical ed. (Rome: Typis Vaticanis,2002) 1249: Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui voluisti utper aquam, fontem vitae ac purificationis principium, etiamanimae mundarentur aeternaeque vitae munus exciperent,dignare, quaesumus, hanc aquam benedicere, qua volumushac die tua, Domine, communiri. Fontem vivum in nobistuae gratiae renovari et ab omni malo spiritus et corporis peripsam nos defendi concedas, ut mundis tibi cordibuspropinquare tuamque digne salutem valeamus accipere. PerChristum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen. In the English

sacramentary currently in use, the Rite of Blessing andSprinkling Holy Water is found within the Introductory Ritesof the Order of Mass. The translation of this prayer giventhere retains the actual blessing of the water (We ask younow to bless + this water), but downplays the apotropaicelement in the Latin by omitting an equivalent of ab omnimalo(from every evil).The Sacramentary Approved for U se inthe D ioceses of the Uni ted States of America, trans. InternationalCommission on English in the Liturgy (New York: CatholicBook Publishing, 1985) 358-59.

48David A. Stosur, The Theology of Liturgical Blessingin the Book of Blessings: A Phenomenologico-theologicalInvestigation of a Liturgical Book (Ph.D. diss., Universityof Notre Dame, 1994) 8.

49Stosur, The Theology of Liturgical Blessing, 15-16.50For an example of an application of this notion by an

influential figure, see Nathan Mitchell, Who is at the Table?Reclaiming Real Presence, Commonweal(27 Jan 1995) 15.

51 For a representative example, consider ReinerKaczynski, Blessings in Rome and the Non-Roman West,in H andbook for L it urgical St udies, vol. 4: Sacrament s andSacramentals, ed. Anscar J. Chupungco (Collegeville MN:Liturgical Press, 2000) 393-94: Every blessing is, first of all,thankful praise of God, the origin and giver of every blessing

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. . . . the Church gratefully remembers the fact that humanbeings and things are already blessed by creation andredemption and it thanks God for this.

52Houck, Fountains of Joy, 123.53Houck, Fountains of Joy, 122; for a similar but more

detailed description of the effects of holy water, see J. Gaume,L eau bnite au dix-neuvime sicle, 3rded. (Paris: Gaume Frres

et J. Duprey, 1866) 262-79 and 295-315.54Gaume, Leau bnite, 103: En effet, sanctifier une chose,cest la soustraire linfluence du dmon, la purifier dessouillures dont il la salie et la rendre sa puret native. Quepar suite de sa victoire sur le Roi de la cration, le dmon aitfait des cratures ses esclaves et les instruments de sa haine,aussi bien dans lordre physique que dans lordre moral, cestle grand fait sur lequel pose tout lhistoire de lhumanit;my translation: In effect, to sanctify a thing is to remove itfrom the influence of the demon, to cleanse it of the impurities

with which he had soiled it and to return it to its nativepurity. In consequence of his victory over the king of creation,the demon had made some creatures his slaves and theinstruments of his hate, both in the physical order as well as

in the moral; this is the grand reality on which all of humanhistory stands.55Gaume, Leau bnite, 106; Theiler, H oly Water, 23.56D e baptismo adult orum 8-9, in The Roman Ritual i n L atin

and Engli sh wi th Rubr ics and Planechant [sic]N otation, vol. 1:The Sacrament s and Processions, ed. Philip T. Weller (Milwaukee:Bruce, 1950) 70: in the Tridentine baptismal rite, the powerof the evil spirit was cast out before the Holy Spirit wasinvoked to take up its dwelling in the catechumen. The priest

was directed to exsufflate (exsufflat) or blow three times intothe face of the catechumen whether an infant or an adult and command, Go out from him (her) unclean spirit, and

make way for the Holy Spirit the Paraclete. This wasimmediately followed by an insufflation with obvious epliceticforce: Here in the form of a cross he breathes (halat) in hisface, and says: N., receive the good Spirit through thisinsufflation (insufflationem), and the blessing of God.

57 Gignac, Les bndictions, 588-89; Kaczynski,Blessings in Rome, 400; Lessi-Ariosto, Linee

interpretative, 224: Leredit liturgica del titolo IX del RitualeRomanum, D e benedicti onibus, dal 1614 in poi, nonostante lapurificazione operata in rapporto a collezioni di benedizionimedievali, era infatti ancora troppo tributaria di una visualepessimistica della realt che portava pi alla tendenzainvocativo-impetrativo-esorcistica e insieme a quellaconsacratorio-sacralizzante come controparte positiva; mytranslation: The liturgical inheritance of Title IX of theRi tual e Romanum, D e benedicti onibus, from 1614 on, despitethe purification effected with relation to collections ofmedieval blessings, was in fact still too indebted to apessimistic view of reality that inclined more toward theinvocative-imperative-exorcistic tendency, and at the sametime toward the consecratory-sacralizing as its positive

counterpoint.58For an example of such an overly-optimistic view, seeLessi-Ariosto, Linee interpretative, 225.

59 Achille M. Triacca, Exorcisme: un sacramental enquestion: quelques pistes de rflexion pour des recherchesExorcizo te ou Benedico te? in L es bndict ions et lessacramentaux dans la li tur gie, Confrences Sai nt -Serge, XXXIVeSemaine dEtudes Liturgiques, Pari s 1987, ed. Achille M. Triaccaand Alessandro Pistoia (Rome: C.L.V.-Edizioni Liturgiche,1988) 281-83.

60Sacrosanctum conci li um, 79.