From 1st September to 4th October 2026
“Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There Will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. [...] Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit Will serve for food and their leaves for healing.” (Ezek 47:9,12)
Ezekiel’s vision reframes water — the most basic element of life — as a divine agent of renewal, justice, and hope, a life-giving force flowing from God’s sanctuary.
The symbol depicts water flowing from the Temple of God - at first a tiny stream that grows deeper, and deeper and as it does so, it brings life to dead areas and restores fertility to damaged or barren ecosystems. Through living water comes healing; but in order to receive new life, we too must step into the water and also become part of God’s river of life, taking part in the healing of creation.
Pope Leo XIV: “Environmental justice – implicitly proclaimed by the prophets – can no longer be regarded as an abstract concept or a distant goal. It is an urgent need that involves much more than simply protecting the environment. For it is a matter of justice – social, economic and human. For believers it is also a duty born of faith, since the universe reflects the face of Jesus Christ, in whom all things were created and redeemed”.