Blessings

Walking one early morning around Guanajuato, we run into this scene.

This couple had made an appointment to have the priest bless their new car.

He was very thorough, sprinkling holy water over the car, inside the interior, in the trunk, and the engine compartment. I hope he didn’t get it into the distributor.

I was very interested in the thought process behind blessing a car in this manner. Evidently there’s an aspect of scientific thought here–otherwise it would be enough to just touch the outside with the holy water, as the deity is supposed to be omnipotent. Because of the effort to get the holy water everywhere, one has to ask–what if some spots are missed? Can parts be “more blessed” than others? Can the owners sue the priest if they get in an accident on their way home after the blessing? Would a church-owned insurance company offer discounts if you bless your car in this way? I should say that I mean no disrespect in any of this, they are honest questions. I seriously believe that people should be respected, but beliefs should constantly be open to challenge. Otherwise the world becomes a bad place
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Stephanie had a brilliant idea when she saw this. A Holy Water Car Wash! Presumably holy water is not too much more expensive than regular water. And presumably, the deity will protect a car thus treated. It’s win-win!

If we don’t come back from this trip and decide to settle in Mexico, now you know what line of work we’ll be following.