Healing Water

Prayer before the Bath (seen on the wall, under the image of Jesus)

My Lord and my God, by your love and mercy, heal us, your children, from every illness, especially from those that human science cannot cure, and grant that, with your help, we may always keep our souls pure from all sin. 

Blessed Mother Esperanza said:
-Through this water miracles will be renewed, with healings from serious illnesses. (Among the diseases that human science cannot cure, she mentioned, "paralysis, cancer, and leukemia."

-The water of the Sanctuary must, therefore be considered a sign of grace of the Spirit and an instrument of the Lord's mercy.

Water and the message of Merciful Love:

-This water is connected with the spiritual message proclaimed in the Sanctuary: The Lord wants to heal even those who are incurable, to make us understand that His mercy can cure us from every form of spiritual infirmity.

-The Lord wants to heal us from every kind of "mortal sin," which is like a cancer that eats away at us from within and destroys us. He also heals us from "habitual venial sin," which is like a paralysis that blocks us and prevents us from walkng on the path of good.

How to Prepare to Use the Sanctuary Water:
-Before asking for healing of the body, we must "heal the wounds of the soul" in the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist, where the "Father who forgives, forgets, and takes no account" awaits us.

-The water must be used "with great faith and trust," accompanying the request for healin with prayer, in particular with the "Novena to Merciful Love"

-When it seems to us that the Lord is not answering our prayer, we must contiue to trust in Him, accepting His wil and embracing our cross.

The Discernment of Ecclesiatical Authority:
This plan of God naturally passed the scrutiny of the Church authorities, who suspended the use of the water for a full 18 years, from November 1960 to March 1979. Blessed Mother Esperanza, obedient to the Lord and His Church, patiently awaited permission to reopen. The Church's authorization to use the water combined with the wise recommendation to precede it with a "Liturgy of the Waters," is for us the best guarantee of serving the Lord's plan of mercy. 

The Liturgy of the Waters:
Mondays: 10 am (year-round)
Thursdays: 3:30 pm (March 1 - October 31)
Saturdays: 3:30 pm (year-round)

      The Liturgy of the Waters begins inside the Basilica. At the end of the liturgy, pilgrims following the priest, process to the pool area. Men on one side and women on the other. Here, waiting their turn, they reach the entrance to the pool (all the while praying the Rosary aloud together). The staff invites them into the stall and the pilgrims undress beind the blue curtains and wrap up in a cloth provided. Volunteers pray with them and then invited them to sit in the bath. Then, without drying off, the pilgrim returns to dress behind the curtains. No special clothing or accessories are required for the immersion. The water is heated. 

The pools of water are located in the building. There are ten baths in honor of the Ten Commandments (5 for men and 5 for women). Outside the building are the seven faucets in honor of the seven sacraments. This water is always accessable to pilgrims who are also encouraged to fill up bottles to be taken home and shared with others.

The well was dug at the express wish of Blessed Mother Esperanza, in the precise place indicated by Her. It is 122 meters (400 feet) deep. It was finished at the end of 1960.  

"Decree: This water and the pools are to be given the name of my Sanctuary. I desire that you say, to the point of engraving it in the hearts and minds of all who turn to you, that they use this water with great faith and trust and will always find themselves freed from grave ailments; and that they all first proceed to heal their poor souls from the wounds that afflict them for this Sanctuary of mine where awaits them not a judge to condemn them and immediately punish them, but a Father who loves them, forgives, does not take them into account, and forgets."
Words received by Blessed Mother Esperanza during an ecstasy on April 3, 1960 and written on the Parchment thrown in a special container at the bottom of the Well on July 14, 1960.