You Shall Purge Me With Hyssop

The feast of the Baptism of Christ last Sunday seemed an appropriate occasion for indulging in the picturesque rite called the asperges, the ceremonial sprinkling of water to remind Christians of their baptism. In the old Roman Rite (and in Anglican churches that borrowed from it) this used to be done every week, but with typical Anglican indiscipline we at Swanvale Halt do it when it takes the Rector's fancy. 

As I picked up the holy water vat and sprinkler (aspersorium, if you want to be technical) and started down the aisle to fetch some water from the font, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the most Protestant member of the congregation making a very sharp exit out of the connecting door to the church hall. They re-entered once it was safe.

Oddly the asperges was one of the observances the Protestant Truth Society got very aerated about a century and more ago when they were campaigning against Catholic doings in Anglican churches. They sometimes even attempted to prosecute Anglo-Catholic clergy for assault on the grounds that their investigators had been sprinkled with water against their will, a charge the police listened to politely and did nothing about. Now, to claim you are allergic to incense may carry some conviction with it: to be allergic to water would be considerably more unusual. 

(Image-Googling 'asperges' will lead you to many pictures of asparagus in French.)