Cleansing Waters

Tami Urcia contemplates the many facets of water, emphasizing how it cleanses us through Baptism.

I have moved several times in my life and it seems that wherever I end up, it is always near water. During my entire childhood I was just a handful of blocks away from the Grand River in Western Michigan. As a high schooler, I found myself going to school in Rhode Island near the Atlantic Ocean. After a few years as a missionary, then moving back home for a while, I moved to Western Kentucky near the Ohio River. After I got married I moved upstream to Cincinnati. A few kids later, I ended up in my current abode near the Muskegon River. There is even a nice creek a couple blocks from my house!   

What Is It About Water that Draws Us In?  

Is it the small trickling of a creek as it finds its way downstream? Is it the whirlpooling circles it makes as it circumvents rocks and fallen logs beneath the surface. Is it the depth and vastness of a large lake or an ocean that has us in awe? Is it the mesmerizing sound it makes as it crashes to the shore? Is it the rushing of a waterfall as it cascades down a cliff? Or is it the whole panorama of the water, the sky and the surrounding flora that beckons us? Perhaps it’s all of the above.   

There are so many facets to water. For the more scientific among us, we could even get excited about the fact that it’s the only matter that can be a solid, liquid and gas. If we look at it in a more spiritual sense, we can see it as the first sacramental that Jesus chose for us to use. Just as He was baptized in the waters of the Jordan river, so we are baptized with water.   

The Cleansing Property of Water  

Water is not only beautiful and refreshing, it is also cleansing. It washes the grime and sweat off of our bodies and the stain of sin off our souls. In the Gospels, Jesus shows us just how much importance He puts on the latter. The Pharisees were amazed that He did not wash before meals and Jesus rebukes them about paying more attention to the outside than the inside (see Luke 11). 

Our bodies will eventually wither and fade away, but our souls are eternal. How important the cleansing waters of Baptism are to our eternal happiness! We even have holy water fonts in our churches (and sometimes in our homes) to remind us of it every time we enter. I invite you to take a moment today to reflect on the sacrament of Baptism, perhaps evaluating your internal cleanliness and taking steps toward a purer union with God.  

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Copyright 2025 Tami Urcia
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