March 22: World Day for Water

So, water has been a big thing lately at the young adult group where I go to mass. Last Sunday, they had a Walk to Water to raise funds for countries with insufficient water purification. And just last night, it was mentioned that they are trying to get a group together to go down to South America and help build wells in impoverished areas. So I found it fitting that today, March 22, is the World Day for Water.

Started in 1993, the UN devotes this day towards promoting water. Clean water, safe water, running water. This years motto is , "World Water Day. Water for cities: responding to the urban challenge".

The patron saint of running water is St. John Nepomucene of Bohemia. There are a couple of differing accounts of his death, and they are not sure which is true or if there were two Johns from the same area and era. But they have one thing in common (and thus being the patron saint of water): they/he was made a martyr through drowning. (They are pretty sure the first is true bur are unsure if the second was the same man or a different person or not true all together.)

One account says Bad King Wenceslaus IV (about 400 years after Good King Wenceslaus), wanted to appoint the new abbot once the old one died. Once the old abbot died, however, the monks convened and elected a new abbot and John approved him without first consulting the king, knowing full well the king's plans. The king, furious with those meddling friars (which reminds me of a funny joke; see bottom of this article), had a bunch of the religious involved imprisoned and some tortured. John Nepomucene never gave into the king and eventually he was placed in chains and thrown off a bridge. The other account says that St. John N. was Bad King Wenceslaus' wife's confessor and he would not reveal her confessions to him, so the king had him drowned. He is the patron saint of Bohemia and protector from floods. His feast day is May 16.

There is a supernatural power in this mighty river's flow
It can bring the dead to life, and it can fill an empty soul
And give a heart the only thing worth livin' and worth dyin' for, yeah
But we will never know the awesome power of the grace of God
Until we let ourselves get swept away into this holy flood
So if you'll take my hand, we'll close our eyes and count to three
And take the leap of faith
Come on let's go

I'm diving in
I'm going deep
In over my head I wanna be
Caught in the rush
Lost in the flow
In over my head I wanna go
The river's deep
The river's wide
The river's water is alive
So sink or swim
I'm diving in
I'm diving in

-Dive, Steven Curtis Chapman

Florist Friars Joke