Pope Francis celebrates the baptism of the Lord and invites believers to celebrate the date of their baptism, the day when they received the Holy Spirit and became the beloved children of God.
By Vatican News Staff Writer
In marking the feast of the baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis reflected on the liturgy of the day that tells of how Jesus’ public life began.
Speaking from the Apostolic Library during Angelus Sunday, the Pope noted that after the Feast of Epiphany the liturgy leaps some 30 years, “hidden” time Jesus spends with his family, obeying his parents, studying and works.
All evangelists, he said, tell of his public life, which they say spanned about three years.
It is striking, he said, that the Lord spent most of his time on earth living an ordinary life without being noticed.
“It’s a nice message for us: it reveals the greatness of everyday life, the importance in the eyes of God of every gesture and moment of life, even the most simple and hidden, ”he said.
After these 30 years of hidden life, the Pope continued, Jesus’ public life begins with baptism in the Jordan River.
He explained that John’s baptism consisted of penance: “It was a sign of a person’s willingness to repent and ask for forgiveness for his sins. Jesus certainly did not need it. “
The Lord does not deliver us from above
And although John the Baptist tries to stop him, the Lord urges, he continued, because He wants to be with sinners: “For this reason he comes into line with them and does the same as they do. He goes into the river to immerse himself in the same condition that we are in. “
On the first day of his ministry, the Pope said, Jesus thus presents us with his “Programmatic Manifesto,” telling us that “He does not save us from above with a sovereign decision or act of violence, but by meeting us. and take upon ourselves our sins. “
This is how God overcomes worldly evil, he said, “by humbling himself and taking charge.
This is also the way, he emphasized, that we can uplift others: “not by judging, not by suggesting what to do, but by becoming neighbors, having empathy and sharing God’s love.
“Proximity,” he repeated, “is God’s style with us!”
The Holy Spirit
Pope Francis went on to explain that after Jesus’ act of compassion, another extraordinary thing happens: “The heavens are opening and the Trinity is finally revealed.”
As the evangelist Mark tells us (Mk 1:10), the Holy Spirit descends like a dove from heaven and the Father says to Jesus: “You are my beloved Son; I am very satisfied with you. “
God, the Pope explained, “manifests when grace appears, for that is his face.”
This episode shows us how Jesus becomes the servant of sinners and the Son is called out, he continued: “He descends upon us and the Spirit descends upon him.”
Love asks for love
“Love calls for love,” said the Pope, and so do we: “in every act of service, in every work of mercy that we perform, God manifests himself and sets his view on the world.”
This reveals to us that the Pope explained that even before we did anything, our lives were marked by mercy and it was imposed on us.
And this, he said, happened on the day of our baptism: “There we were immersed in the love of Christ who died and rose for us. There we received the gift of the Holy Ghost. There the Father said to each of us, as he did to Jesus: You are my Beloved Son”.
God’s mercy is so great, the Pope continued, that even those who have not been baptized receive it and can trust in the resurrection if their hearts are open.
“We may think that the wrong things make many mistakes,” the Pope concluded, “but we will always be God’s beloved children. It is our deepest identity: “May Our Lady, to whom we now pray, help us to cherish our love. baptismal identity, which is the basis of faith and life. “
Profession and after Angelus
Following the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis called for reconciliation in the United States in the wake of the attack on Congress on January 6, saying that he prayed for the five people who lost their lives in the violence.
Prayers for all babies who receive baptism
He went on to say that he is unable to preside over the traditional baptism ceremony in the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the baptism of the Lord this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, I want to assure my prayers for the children, their parents, their godparents” who would have been present at the ceremony, said the Pope: “I extend my prayers to all children who are baptized during this period: they receive the Christian identity, the grace of forgiveness and redemption. May God bless them all! ”
Pope Francis concluded his speech and reminded the faithful that tomorrow is the beginning of the Ordinary Time according to the liturgical year and invited them never to invoke the light and power of the Holy Spirit.
“It is love that changes everything,” he said, “when you do ordinary things with love, they become extraordinary, and when we are open to the Spirit, the Spirit will inspire our daily thoughts and actions.”