Last week we looked at how our faith, that mirrors the Trinity, cannot escape any aspect of our daily life. How we see the world, how we vote, spend money, treat others—everything can be imbued with our refreshed mindfulness of the Sacred. We’ve often talked about the sacred aspect of water: every year when Father blesses the Jordan water, we renew our gratitude for this essential element of life.

As Christians living in our world today, we must protect and care for the natural world including our water sources, which are exploited and endangered by what can be called corporate greed. One way to start is to recognize the harm caused by the bottled water industry. Let’s take a stand against bottled water and the devastation caused by corporations such as Nestlé. We can be informed about unethical practices around, and sourcing of, products, so that, as much as possible, our buying power will support a better, more caring world. Bishop Crosby (RC Hamilton diocese) in keeping with Pope Francis, has asked the faithful to reject bottled water. We too must follow this lead!

“THE RESPONSIBLE STEWARDS OF CREATION; FROM BISHOP CROSBY

Close to five million litres of water are taken from Wellington County daily for a water bottling plant. This extraction of large amounts of water adversely effects the ecological balance of nature over a large area while depriving those who rely on wells of their right to water. Close to seventy-five percent of plastic bottles end up in land fill sites, thus contributing to contamination of the soil for thousands of years. All parishes of the Diocese of Hamilton are encouraged to refrain from using bottled water in church facilities effective January 1, 2017. As stewards of Creation may we be leaders in the responsible use of our sacred mandate.”

Read the Canadian Catholic Bishops’ Conference document: “CCCB_Drinking_Water_2018“