water into wine at the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11). Jesus walked on water (Matthew 14:25-27) and was baptized in the River Jordan by St. John the Baptist (Matthew 3:13-17). When our Lord died, water flowed from his side along with his Blood (John 19:34). Finally, Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize all nations (Matthew 28:19). Thus, throughout Sacred Scripture, water is a symbol of God's divine life that he shares with us. It is therefore especially appropriate to bless baptismal water at Easter.





The priest then breathes on the water three times, mirroring Jesus breathing on his disciples to give them the life-giving power of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). To further represent the imparting of the Holy Spirit upon the baptismal water, the priest takes the PaschalCandle, which represents Christ, and dips it into the font three times, gradually deeper each time. Each time, he sings at a successively higher pitch, “May the virtue of the Holy Ghost descend into all the water of this font.” After this, he breathes on the water three times in the form of the Greek letter Ψ (psi), which is the first letter in the Greek word for “spirit.” Its form also resembles the Tree of Life from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:9). Finally, instead of the conclusion that ends most prayers in the liturgy, the blessing of the font concludes, “Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son: Who shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world by fire,” giving us a stern