Pope Francis celebrates the Baptism of the Lord by inviting the faithful to celebrate the date of Baptism, the day when they received the Holy Spirit and became beloved children of God.
By the editor of Vatican News
Marking the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis reflected on the Liturgy of the day that tells how Jesus’ public life began.
Speaking of the Apostolic Library during the Sunday Angelus, the Pope recalled that after the feast of Epiphany, the Liturgy took a leap of about 30 years, “hidden” time spent by Jesus with his family, obeying his parents, studying and working.
All evangelists, he said, narrate their public life, which they say lasted about three years.
It is striking, he said, that the Lord spent most of his time on earth leading an ordinary life, without standing out.
“It is a beautiful message for us: it reveals the greatness of daily life, the importance in God’s eyes of every gesture and moment in life, even the most simple and hidden “, he said.
After these 30 years of hidden life, the Pope continued, Jesus’ public life begins with the baptism in the Jordan River.
He explained that John’s baptism consisted of a penitential rite: “it was a sign of the person’s willingness to convert, asking for forgiveness for his sins. Jesus certainly did not need this. “
The Lord does not save us from above
And although John the Baptist tries to stop him, the Lord insists, he continues, because He wants to be with sinners: “that is why he aligns himself with them and does the same as them. He goes down to the river to dive in the same condition we are in. “
On the first day of his ministry, the Pope said, Jesus thus offers us his “programmatic manifesto”, telling us that “He does not save us from above, by a sovereign decision or an act of force, but comes to meet us and take our sins on you. “
That is how God overcomes worldly evil, he said, “by humbling himself and taking charge of it.
It is also like this, he stressed, that we can raise others: “not judging, not suggesting what to do, but becoming close, having empathy, sharing the love of God.
“Proximity,” he reiterated, “is God’s style with us!”
The Holy Spirit
Pope Francis went on to explain that after this act of Jesus’ compassion, another extraordinary thing happens: “the heavens are opened and the Trinity is finally revealed”.
As the evangelist Marcos (Mc 1,10) tells us, the Holy Spirit descends from heaven like a dove and the Father says to Jesus: “You are my beloved Son; I am very satisfied with you. “
God, explained the Pope, “manifests itself when mercy appears, because that is his face”.
This episode shows us how Jesus becomes a servant of sinners and is proclaimed Son, he continues: “He lowers himself on us and the Spirit descends on him”.
Love calls for love
“Love demands love,” said the Pope, and this applies to us: “in every act of service, in every work of mercy that we do, God manifests himself and looks at the world”.
This reveals to us that the Pope explained that even before anything, our life was 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 Spirit. There, the Father said to each of us, as he did Jesus: You are my beloved son”.
God’s mercy is so great, the Pope continued, that even those who are not baptized receive it and can trust the resurrection if their hearts are open.
“We can think that wrong things make many mistakes,” concluded the Pope, “but we always remain beloved children of God. It is our deepest identity: “May Our Lady, to whom we now pray, help us to take care of ourselves. baptismal identity, which is the basis of faith and life. “
Appeal and after Angelus
After the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis called for reconciliation in the United States after the January 6 attack on Congress and said he is praying for the five people who lost their lives in the violence.
Prayers for all babies receiving baptism
He went on to say that this year he cannot preside over the traditional baptism ceremony in the Sistine Chapel at the feast of the Baptism of the Lord due to the covid-19 pandemic.
“I wish, however, to assure my prayer for the children, for their parents, for their godparents” who would have been present at the ceremony, the Pope said: “I extend my prayer to all children who are receiving baptism in this period: they are receiving the Christian identity, the grace of forgiveness and redemption. May God bless you all! ”
Pope Francis concluded his speech by reminding the faithful that tomorrow marks the beginning of ordinary time according to the liturgical year and invited them to never tire of invoking the light and strength of the Holy Spirit.
“It is love that changes everything,” he said, “when you do ordinary things with love, they become extraordinary and, if we are open to the Spirit, the Spirit will inspire our daily thoughts and actions.”