Bottle It Up

Today, I went on a walking tour to downtown Cuernavaca. One of the places we stopped at was a beautiful, 16th century Franciscan cathedral. As I sat in a pew next to a huge fountain of holy water, I watched people come to the fountain and dip their hands in the holy water to bless themselves. People would use the water in many different ways: I saw a husband and wife bless each other, then bless their newborn baby. I saw a little girl dip her hands in the water and use it to tame her unruly bangs sticking out of her pigtails. I saw people quickly pass by, and I saw people stand in silence, with their hands in the water for over 10 minutes, deep in prayer. However, the most interesting thing I observed came in the form of a man coming to the holy water, filling a plastic soda bottle and leaving with his own, now portable, supply of holy water. And as silly as this seemed at first, the longer I sat in the cathedral, under towering arches and half-faded frescos, I began to find the man’s actions quite beautiful. I found it beautiful that this man had enough faith in something to bottle it up and keep it with him for a time of need. It made me wonder about faith and what my holy water is. And while I haven’t come up with a clear answer yet, you can bet I will be paying attention to what I bottle up, and store away for times of need.