Holy Water

In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglo-Catholic, and some other Churches, holy water is water which has been passed by a priest, bishop, or deacon for the purpose of baptism or for the blessing of persons, places or things.

Roman Catholic holy water
Holy Water is water that has been blessed and set apart for baptism. It is also used as a sacramental. Holy water is kept in the font, the church furnishing used for baptisms, which is typically located at either the entrance to the church (or sometimes in a separate room or building called a baptistery); its location at the entrance serves as a reminder of the centrality of baptism as the primary rite of initiation into the Christian faith. Smaller vessels, called stoups, are usually placed at the entrances of the church. As a reminder of baptism, Roman Catholics dip their fingers in the holy water and make the sign of the cross when entering the church. The liturgy may begin on Sundays with the Rite of Blessing and Sprinkling Holy Water, in which holy water is sprinkled upon the congregation; this is called aspersion, from the Latin, to sprinkle. This ceremony dates back to the ninth century. An aspergill or aspergillum is a brush or branch used to sprinkle the water. An aspersorium is the vessel which holds the holy water and into which the aspergillum is dipped. Salt may be added to the water "where it is customary."

Rituals and uses of holy water
The rite of blessing takes place during the Easter Vigil in preparation for baptism. Holy water can also be blessed on any day as part of the baptismal rite; the same prayer of blessing is used. Once blessed, more ordinary water can be added to the supply of holy water, and the entire quantity of water remains blessed provided that the amount added is less than the amount of water that was there.

The ritual of preparing holy water is itself in form an exorcism; the priest first exorcises the salt, and then the water itself; the traditional Latin formula for exorcising and blessing the water is:

"Exorcizo te, creatura aquæ, in nomine Dei Patris omnipotentis, et in nomine Jesu Christi, Filii ejus Domini nostri, et in virtute Spiritus Sancti: ut fias aqua exorcizata ad effugandam omnem potestatem inimici, et ipsum inimicum eradicare et explantare valeas cum angelis suis apostaticis, per virtutem ejusdem Domini nostri Jesu Christ: qui venturus est judicare vivos et mortuos et sæculum per ignem."

(I exorcise thee in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Ghost, that you may be able to put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy and his apostate angels; through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will come to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire.)

"Deus, qui ad salutem humani generis maxima quæque sacramenta in aquarum substantia condidisti: adesto propitius invocationibus nostris, et elemento huic, multimodis purificationibus præparato, virtutem tuæ benedictionis infunde; ut creatura tua, mysteriis tuis serviens, ad abigendos dæmones morbosque pellendos divinæ gratiæ sumat effectum; ut quidquid in domibus vel in locis fidelium hæc unda resperserit careat omni immunditia, liberetur a noxa. Non illic resideat spiritus pestilens, non aura corrumpens: discedant omnes insidiæ latentis inimici; et si quid est quod aut incolumitati habitantium invidet aut quieti, aspersione hujus aquæ effugiat: ut salubritas, per invocationem sancti tui nominis expetita, ab omnibus sit impugnationibus defensa. Per Dominum, amen."

(God, Who for the salvation of the human race has built your greatest mysteries upon this substance, in your kindness hear our prayers and pour down the power of your blessing into this element, prepared by many purifications. May this your creation be a vessel of divine grace to dispel demons and sicknesses, so that everything that it is sprinkled on in the homes and buildings of the faithful will be rid of all unclean and harmful things. Let no pestilent spirit, no corrupting atmosphere, remain in those places: may all the schemes of the hidden enemy be dispelled. Let whatever might trouble the safety and peace of those who live here be put to flight by this water, so that health, gotten by calling Your holy name, may be made secure against all attacks. Through the Lord, amen.)

For more on Holy Water, see Wikipedia

Holy Water in Castlevania
The Holy water subweapon found in almost every Castlevania game and is thrown at the floor. Early American versions of Castlevania were often censored to remove references to religious materials and the holy water weapon was referred to as a "Fire Bomb". The bottle breaks on impact and holy flames are released upwards. There are two general forms of holy water that behave differently depending on the game. The first classic form has the holy water release blue or green flames directly upwards and remains on the same for for several moments. This will wear out a ground based hearty creature that doesn't move around much very quickly, but requires good aim. This form can usually be upgraded with Double and Triple Shots that allows the user to have two or more holy waters attacks on the screen at once, wearing down creatures even faster or covering more ground. The holy water is usually tossed in a small upwards arc and usually can cause slight damage to creatures above and in front of the player before it hits the ground. Used in this fashion, it can mimic an Axe. The second modern form unleashes a wave of holy water that travels across the floor that can potentially damage many enemies and requires less precision, but usually only damages them a little bit. This type of holy water is thrown with high speed directly to a point in front of the hero and is not useful against creatures above the hero, but creatures will still take damage if they are in its path before it strikes the ground. Sometimes the holy water will burst open before hitting the ground if it strikes an enemy and will not travel in a wave. Holy Water has appeared in every Castlevania in some form except for Castlevania Adventure (which had no sub-weapons) and Haunted Castle (which had unusual sub-weapons). Many slight variations of Holy Water exist between games. It can sometimes be combined with other items to produce more fantastic attacks. The Holy Water's basic Item Crash is the Hydro Storm. The character has Holy Water rain from the heavens unto enemies, dealing massive damage, usually the most useful and powerful Item Crash in the games.

Appearance in Castlevania I
The original Castlevania featured Holy Water (called Fire Bomb due to religious censorship) as one of the 5 original sub-weapons that could be used in the game. The player could only equip a single sub-weapon at a time, each which could be obtained from hitting a particular candle or as a drop item from an enemy. Holy water was first tossed in the air in a short arc, causing weak damage against any creature in its path. Once it hit the ground, the glass bottle was shattered and flames appear upward, damaging any creature it in its flames repeatedly for a few seconds. The weapon could be thrown two or three times in a row upon encountering a Double or Triple Shot.

Appearance in Vampire Killer
The Holy Water in Vampire Killer is one of the only sub-weapons that consumes Hearts (the other is the Stopwatch). The weapon is similar to its Castlevania I counterpart, except that the way it can be used is different. You can have Holy Water equipped at the same time as you have other sub-weapons equipped and you do not need to select it from a menu. In order to attack with it, you need to jump and then press right or left.

Appearance in Simon's Quest
The Holy Water found in Simon's Quest is similar to that found in the original Castlevania, except that it does not burn the floor or cause damage to enemies standing above where it landed. It only damages enemies it hits on its way to the floor. It can be purchased for 50 hearts in the town of Jova and can be used as many times as you wish. It has about the same strength as the Leather Whip. It is good against nearby enemies slightly below you or weak enemies slightly above you in front of you. The weapon can also be used to break bricks that cannot be broken with a whip attack, revealing hidden areas.

Appearance in Dracula's Curse
The Sacred Water found in Dracula's Curse is identical to the Fire Bomb found in the original Castlevania game. It can also be powered up with double and triple shots. Only Trevor Belmont is able to use this weapon.

Appearance in Super Castlevania IV
The Fire Bomb in Super Castlevania IV is similar to that found in the original Castlevania. Its smaller size relative to Simon makes it a less effective as a projectile and it is not thrown above his head. It can also be powered up with a double or triple shot.

Appearance in Belmont's Revenge
After being unable to use any sub-weapons in Castlevania Adventure, Christopher Belmont was now given the option of using either the Holy Water or Axe sub-weapons. It plays pretty much the same as in Castlevania I, although there are no double or triple shots in this game.

Appearance in Lament of Innocence
In Lament of Innocence, the word Holy Water also represents the type of damage dealt by a Holy Water sub-weapon.