A religious ceremony, especially in the Catholic Mass, in which the priest sprinkles holy water on the congregation.
From Latin 'Asperges', the opening word of a liturgical prayer meaning 'thou shalt sprinkle me', derived from 'aspergere'. This term directly preserves the Latin prayer used in the Catholic ritual that has been performed for over a thousand years.
The word 'Asperges' itself is a Latin imperative from Psalm 51, and the ceremony bearing this name has remained virtually unchanged since medieval times—it's one of the most direct linguistic connections between modern religious practice and ancient Latin prayer.
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