Following the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday,
we find ourselves once more in Ordinary Time with “the First Week of Ordinary
Time.” As the children in the Atrium
have learned, the color of this Liturgical Season is green, and it reminds us
that we are in a “growing time.” The word
“ordinary” in this context is in reference to the fact that we number these weeks
with “ordinal” numerals, that is, “first, second, third, etc.” In other words, we are simply “counting time.”
The experience of time has not been “ordinary” in the other
sense of the word since the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We live “in the Year of Our Lord 2020,” which
highlights the fact that since the Incarnation of the Son of God, all time has
belonged to Him.
The Baptism of the Lord is a reminder to us all that we are
privileged and called to live a Sacramental Life. Jesus is the Sacrament of God the Father, the
One Who reveals to us the very nature of God as Love. The Church is formed as the Body of Christ by
the Holy Spirit and therefore becomes the Sacrament of Christ. The Seven Sacraments are the usual means for the
members of the Church to enter into the Life of Christ. Baptism initiates us into Christ-Life. Baptism serves as the doorway into the Sacraments
and into the promise of Eternity.
At the Baptism of Jesus, the Holy Trinity is made
manifest. The Life of the Trinity is
revealed as the Spirit descends upon Jesus and remains with Him. We have that very Life in us and we grow in
our experience of that life to the extent that we cooperate with the grace that
is offered through the Sacramental Life of the Church.
Being members of the Church is not like being members
of a “club.” The Sacraments, because
they are of God, effect an interior transformation in us. They help us to become truly who we are in Christ.
Today, let us become ever more aware of and committed to
the grace of our Baptism. May our Faith
grow, and may we live so that the Lord may bless all His People with peace as
we live the Sacramental Life.
In the days ahead, many of our children will be learning
more about the Sacraments as they prepare for First Holy Communion and for Confirmation. May their families and all of us live the
Sacramental Life fully so they may rejoice with us in the power of the grace
they are soon to receive. Our conscious
and active witness helps them to know the true meaning of the Sacraments they
receive. May we all grow n the Life of
Christ which we share.
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