The Solemnity of the Baptism of the
Lord is the official close to the Christmas Season. However, the nature of Christmas as the
moment of revelation of the Incarnation indicates that in reality, Christmas
itself is the Gift that goes on. Jesus
is the Reason for the Christmas Season – and for every other season as
well. He is the Word through Whom God
created the universe. The wonderful
truth that is proclaimed by our celebration is that He has shared with us the
capacity to bring Him to birth in the world.
The Baptism of Jesus was the moment
when He was revealed publicly as the One sent by God, the Prophet who was to
come into the world. By His Baptism,
Jesus Christ made the waters holy and the grace of Baptism is a grace that continues
to flow. In our church, the flowing
waters of our Baptismal Font are a constant reminder that the grace of Baptism
is available to us. This is true for all
the graces that flow from the Sacramental Life.
Recall your own Baptism. Do you know the date it occurred? Consider the other Sacraments you have
received. Have you continued to
celebrate the power and life that were given to you in the first moment you
experienced each Sacrament?
At the moment Jesus was baptized,
Heaven opened and the glory of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit entered into
our world in a new way. Jesus, the
Beloved Son, experienced in our human nature the full reality of Who He Is
through the Father’s affirmation of Love and through the descending and
remaining of the Holy Spirit. From that
moment on, His ministry among us became a public reality, following the hidden
years in Nazareth
Our world is in need of a new touch
of the Spirit and of willing hearts ready to receive God’s grace. May the Sacraments we share dispose us to
respond to the invitation and may every nation on earth come to know Jesus
Christ.
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