Dilexit Nos §93

⁹³ The Bible shows that the people that journeyed through the desert and yearned for freedom received the promise of an abundance of life-giving water: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” ( Is 12:3). The messianic prophecies gradually coalesced around the imagery of purifying water: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean… a new spirit I will put within you” ( Ezek 36:25-26). This water would bestow on God’s people the fullness of life, like a fountain flowing from the Temple and bringing a wealth of life and salvation in its wake. “I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other… and wherever that river goes, every living creature will live… and when that river enters the sea, its waters will become fresh; everything will live where the river goes” ( Ezek 47:7-9).