"THOU SHALT SPRINKLE ME, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed; Thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than snow."

Before sprinkling the altar, the clergy, and the people with holy water, the priest intones the Asperges. Holy water is a sacramental, the devout use of which is able to remit venial sins. Let us upon entering into the church bless ourselves with holy water from the font.

Hyssop is a tufted plant which the Jews used for ritual sprinkling.

JUDGE ME, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy: deliver me from the unjust and deceitful man.

We must purify ourselves before we approach God; the priest makes a public avowal, taking as his witnesses the Church triumphant and the Church militant. All accuse themselves of having sinned. May God's mercy, the intercession of the Saints, and the Church's absolution cleanse our souls. The priest makes a final plea to God that he may go up to the Altar with a pure soul.

The early church offered Mass on the tombs of the martyrs, thus associating their sacrifice with that of Christ's.