Holy water has long been associated with Catholicism, but its use actually goes far back into the Old Testament days among the Jews.

Holy water is a sacramental (not a sacrament), meaning that it helps us focus on Our Lord.

Priests make water holy by blessing ordinary water with the appropriate prayers.

As a reminder of our own Baptism, Catholics use holy water in several ways:

as the “matter”* (the physical part) at every Baptism

to bless ourselves with the Sign of the Cross

when the priests sprinkles it on us, the congregation, at special Masses

to sprinkle on items to bless them

to sprinkle in places to sanctify them

And importantly, we use holy water to ward off evil. As The Catholic Company’s Get Fed -- Bite-Sized Faith (™) series puts it:

“We also use holy water as protection from evil. Demons hate holy water. God’s blessing is upon it and His power works through it—therefore evil spirits fear it as a weapon which God has given us against their workings.

As St. Teresa of Ávila says in her autobiography: ‘From long experience I have learned that there is nothing like holy water to put devils to flight and prevent them from coming back again.’”

In short, holy water has a long history, a wide usage, and great results.

*The “form” of the Sacrament of Baptism is the Baptismal prayers used.