Beloved Family:
“What’s in your glass?” Many of us would be familiar with the tagline, “What’s in your wallet,?” part of an ad campaign from a leading credit card company. It’s pretty catchy, no? Well, this Lent we can adapt that question for the purpose of focusing at least some of our almsgiving. Elsewhere in this issue is a “poster” for the Water for Life project, sponsored by Cross Catholic Outreach. By way of reminder, Saint Mary parishioners have participated in Boxes of Joy (another Cross Catholic initiative). We have also been visited by one of their representatives.
I have observed that both Fr. David and Deacon James are rarely without their water bottles— I constantly need to remind myself to drink more water. A water bottle is as much a part of the “gear” of our students as a backpack and lunchbox. All of this indicates an obvious, yet critical presumption: we have easy access to clean water. Such is not the case for much of the world for so many of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
This Lent, Cross Catholic Outreach is encouraging Catholics to address the suffering caused by water scarcity in the developing world by supporting its “Water for Life” campaign. This special effort has the potential to transform the lives of 238,903 individuals living in sub-Saharan Africa by providing their remote communities with clean, safe water.
Cross Catholic Outreach, a Vatican-endorsed Catholic global relief and development ministry, is leading this effort, along with its Catholic ministry partners in six developing countries in Africa, including Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia and Eswatini.
“For Americans, getting clean water is as easy as turning on a faucet,” said Cross Catholic Outreach president Michele Sagarino. “In some African countries, it can take up to eight hours to collect, boil and cool a single bucket of water, which leaves little time for school, family, earning money or Mass. Most of the time, this laborious work is done by girls and women, which probably contributes to the fact that less than 1 percent of Malawian females pursue a higher education. This Lent, Catholics have a chance to make a real difference in the lives of these suffering people. They have a chance to share Gospel love and hope through something as simple as a clean glass of water.”
To help create greater awareness of these issues and focus hearts on the deep spiritual significance of Lent, Cross Catholic Outreach has also released a Lent Activity Guide for children and families as part of its “Water for Life” campaign. The guide features the Sunday Mass Readings for each week of Lent, weekly reflections, discussion questions and activities for the whole family to enjoy together. At the heart of the guide is the inspiring story of Angel — a young Malawian girl facing daily struggles without safe water — which will help participating families understand the importance of clean water and how they can make a life-transforming impact by providing the poor with that blessing this Lent.
Accessing clean water is a critical need that is not being met in many parts of the world. The World Health Organization reported that 14 countries in the African region were impacted by the cholera outbreak during 2024. In Zambia alone, 637 people died from cholera in the first 11 months of 2024, one of the highest rates in Africa. Contaminated water is the primary way cholera is spread. Without treatment, a painful death can occur within hours of the onset of symptoms.
To help alleviate such problems, since 2003, Cross Catholic Outreach has led life-changing poverty relief efforts in Africa, and over the past eight years, they have successfully implemented water and sanitation projects in eight sub-Saharan nations.
(reprinted from the Cross Catholic Outreach website)
I encourage you to scan the QR code on page 7 to learn more and hear stories of real persons benefiting from this project.
Let His Peace be with you,
Fr. Stephen
