Yesterday we celebrated the Feast of the Baptism of
the Lord and the end of the Christmas season.
Our community also celebrated the baptism of a baby, Kristen’s niece and
Nicolette’s new goddaughter. It was
truly a blessed occasion of great joy! The
following is an excerpt from the Angelus Address of Pope Francis for this
feast. May it remind us each of the
grace of our own Baptism.
“The Gospel describes what happened on the shores of
the Jordan. In the moment in which John the Baptist baptizes Jesus, the heavens
opened. “On coming up out of the water - St. Mark says - he saw the heavens
being torn open” (1,10). The dramatic supplication of the prophet Isaiah comes
to mind: “Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down!” (Is 63,19). This
cry was heard in the event of the Baptism of Jesus. Thus the time of the
“closed heavens” was over, which indicated the separation between God and man,
a consequence of sin. Sin alienates us from God and interrupts the link between
earth and heaven, determining our misery and failure of our lives. The opened
heavens show that God has given His grace so that the earth may bear fruit (cfr
Sal 85, 13). Thus the earth has become the dwelling place of God among mankind
and each one of us has the possibility of meeting with the Son of God,
experiencing all the love and infinite mercy. We can find it truly present in
the Sacraments, especially in the Eucharist. We can recognize it in the face of
our brothers and sisters, particularly in the poor, the sick, the imprisoned,
the refugees: they are the living flesh of the suffering Christ and visible
image of the invisible God…
…May Mary, Mother of God and of the Church,
accompany the path of we who are baptized. May She help us to grow in love
towards God and in the joy of serving the Gospel, to give us full meaning to
our lives.”
