The Baptism of the Lord
“John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” (cf. Lk 3:15-22)
Wonderful words were once said over each of us: "I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." These are the words of God's love for man. We have been anointed with the Holy Spirit; this is with Love. These words echo the words spoken over Christ receiving John's baptism in Jordan. At baptism, God said to me and you "you are my son / my beloved daughter,” and we became God's adopted children.
This was the beginning. The Christian life that then began is not a matter of heredity. We do not become Christians automatically because our grandparents and parents were (or are) Christians. God has no grandchildren. Faith is not inherited, just as nationality or property are inherited. Faith is always personal. There is nothing automatic about it, and every Human Being must personally - by the grace of God - come to faith. No one can believe for someone else just as you cannot love for someone else.
You are my beloved; with you I am well pleased
Yes, to each of us, God lovingly spoke the same words that he addressed to Christ in today's Gospel. This is my beloved son! This is my beloved daughter! Each of us became a child of God and was called to know, love and serve God, our beloved Father.
Fr. Henri Jozef Machiel Nouwen, priest, professor, writer and theologian, a well-known spiritual director of the 20th century wrote the book titled ”Life of the Beloved”. In this book, Fr. Nouwen asks the fundamental question: who am I? Who you are? The whole world around says: you are what you have achieved and done. Meanwhile, Nouwen writes, our true identity is to be beloved - beloved daughter and beloved son of God. We are beloved before our parents, teachers, spouses, children or friends love us.
Jesus heard this voice at the Jordan: " You are my beloved Son ". The Father loves us with the same love that he loves his Son. He says to each of us, " See, upon the palms of my hands I have engraved you " (cf. Is 49:16).
By living this experience, we become witnesses of Jesus' love. According to Nouwen, our spiritual path is best described by four simple words. Each of us is taken, blessed, broken and given. Our life then merges with the Body of Christ. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples (cf. Mark 14:22). We are taken, blessed and broken to be a gift to others. Our goal is not to succeed, but to donate ourselves to the world. The most beautiful gift we can give is our life. The most important things are not so much our talents and skills but gifts of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (cf. Gal 5:22). Our death is not the end of giving to others. It is then that the Holy Spirit can transform what we have given in our lives into a gift for others. This was the life of Jesus, and it can also be ours. So, brothers and sisters, please remember that we are not depressed, stress, sinners. We are Beloved sons and daughters of our Father.
Pope Francis: “Through Baptism we are reborn to new life”
Today, Pope Francis at Angelus reminded us: “Through Baptism we are reborn to new life”. Don't forget the date of your Baptism, the Pope said. Holy Father invites us to deepen our personal connection with God by asking: “Do we feel loved and accompanied by God, or do we think He is far away from us? Do we listen to His voice?” He also posed a practical challenge: “Do we remember the date of our baptism?” Recollecting the date of baptism, he said, allows believers to cherish the moment they were “reborn to new life” and incorporated into the mystery of Christ and the Church. He concluded urging every Christian to celebrate the date of their Baptism as if were a birthday: "A birth into the spirit of God."
Until next time
fr. george