Praying With Water in Our Hands: Preserving God’s Gift of Water

In Shisong, water does not just flow. It preaches.

From 1 September to 4 October 2026, when the whole Christian family worldwide lifted its voice for our Common Home, the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis in Shisong, St. Francis Province with our other fellow sisters worldwide did not just pray about water. We prayed with water in our hands. And the whole world felt it.

This year’s theme, chosen by Mother Church, could not have been more prophetic for us: living water – Ezekiel 47:9-12.

“The River That Heals”

God gave Prophet Ezekiel a startling vision. He saw water trickling from the threshold of the Temple. At first it was ankle-deep, then knee-deep, then waist-deep, until it became a mighty river no one could cross. Wherever that river flowed, death fled. Fish swarmed, trees sprouted on its banks, their fruits never failed and their leaves became medicine.That river is God Himself. 

But today, our own rivers are telling a different story. From the River Nile and River Bui to the Donga, Sanaga, and Niger rivers, from Lake Oku to Lake Nyos, our waters are crying. Plastic chokes our streams. Mining waste poisons our springs. Taps run dry almost everywhere in Cameroon and beyond, while our mothers and children trek kilometers for water that is not safe to drink.

Yet, as Pope Leo XIV reminds us: No desert is beyond God. If the heart is renewed, the river will be renewed. True peace, like true water, begins in the heart and flows outward.

“Not Words Only, But Water in Our Hands”,

The Sisters did not celebrate with big speeches. We celebrated with simple, living gestures that touched every heart.
Gathered in convents, classrooms and parishes, we prayed Psalm 104, sang St. Francis’ Canticle of Creatures, and listened again to Ezekiel’s river. Then we opened our eyes to our own reality:

That water is not ours; it is God’s gift. That water is crying and needs our protection. That Jesus is the true Living Water -whoever drinks from Him will never thirst again (John 4:14). That through Baptism, we ourselves are called to become living water for others.

With one voice we lifted four powerful prayers: for those who thirst, for the protection of springs, rivers and forests, for our own dry souls, and that we may become springs for others.

And then came the promise that made everyone clap—because it was simple, practical and true.

“The Fruit: To Become an Oasis”

The Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis resolved to be what Cameroon most needs today: an oasis. In our convents, we will harvest rainwater, close taps quickly, and plant trees around water sources. In our schools, we will teach children to stop throwing plastics in streams and introduce Water Sundays. In parishes, we will bless wells and lead communities to protect their springs. In every home, we will preach the simple gospel: use water wisely, share it fairly.

For the Sisters, justice means water for all. As in Ujamaa—“I am because we are”—the same rain falls on rich and poor. Water has no tribe.
As the Season of Creation 2026 ends, the Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis carry a new song. It is not just the sound of water flowing from the Temple in Ezekiel’s vision. It is the sound of water flowing from renewed hearts.

As Tertiary Sisters of St. Francis we have reminded ourselves: we cannot wait for the river to come to us. We must become the river.