Among the recurring symbols used by the biblical authors, water maintains a dynamic position. It serves as a symbol of chaos and destruction, as seen in the Great Flood, but also a symbol of purification and new life, in the waters of baptism.
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I have been thinking about water’s purifying role a lot since I started working as a chemist at a wastewater treatment plant in Maryland. Using various chemical analyses, I ensure our plant is effectively removing pollutants, nutrients, and harmful bacteria from the incoming sewage before it is discharged into a receiving stream. This is a crucial process for maintaining public health that often goes unnoticed by society . . . except when we get odor complaints from our neighbors! I find great fulfillment in this role, since the water we discharge not only impacts the wildlife that depends on the river, but also cities downstream from us, who source their drinking water from the same river. Before I started working here, I never thought about where the water came from when I turned on my faucet, or where it went after it had been used. Seeing the complex systems of screens, pumps, biological reactors and filters that all require 24/7 monitoring to function made me recognize the profound luxury it is having access to developed water infrastructure. This month, let us pray with Pope Leo for those who work to keep water pure and flowing, and that all may have access to clean water. Let us be good stewards of the people and ecosystems downstream from us through a responsible use of our water, and let us pray that all might come to drink the living water of Christ—that which will become a spring of water welling up to eternal life.
By Edward McGillicuddy