Pope Francis celebrates the Baptism of the Lord by inviting the faithful to celebrate the date of his Baptism, the day they received the Holy Spirit and became the beloved children of God.
By the Vatican News staff writer
On the occasion of the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, Pope Francis reflected on the liturgy of the day which explains how the public life of Jesus began.
In statements from the Apostolic Library during the Sunday Angelus, the Pope noted that after the feast of the Epiphany, the liturgy makes a leap of about 30 years, a “hidden” time that Jesus spent with his family. , obeying his parents, studying and working.
He said all evangelists narrate his public life which they say lasted about three years.
It was striking, he said, that the Lord spent most of his time on earth living an ordinary life, without standing out.
“It’s a good message for us: it reveals the greatness of everyday life, the importance in the eyes of God of all the gestures and moments of life, even the simplest and most hidden ones, ”he said.
After these 30 years of hidden life, the Pope continued, the public life of Jesus 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 will to convert, asking for forgiveness of sins. Jesus certainly didn’t need it. “
The Lord does not save us from on high
And, although John the Baptist tries to stop him, the Lord insists, he continued, because he wants to be with sinners: “For this reason he aligns himself with them and does the same as they do. Go down to the river to immerse yourself in the same conditions in which we find ourselves ”.
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 the heights, by a sovereign decision or an act of force, but by coming to find us and taking our sins upon ourselves. “
He said that God conquers worldly evil, “humbling himself and taking control of it.
He also stressed that this is the way we can elevate others: “not judging, not suggesting what to do, but becoming neighbors, empathizing, sharing the love of God.
“Proximity,” he reiterated, “is God’s style with us!”
The Holy Spirit
Pope Francis explained that after this act of compassion of Jesus, something extraordinary happens: “Heaven opens and the Trinity is finally revealed.”
As the evangelist Mark tells us (Mk 1:10), the Holy Spirit descends from heaven like a dove and the Father says to Jesus, “You are my beloved Son; I am very pleased with you. “
God, the Pope explained, “manifests himself when mercy appears, because that is his face.”
This episode shows us how Jesus becomes the servant of sinners and proclaims Himself a Son, and continued, “He descends upon us and the Spirit descends upon him.”
Love demands love
“Love calls to love,” the Pope said, and this applies to us: “in every act of service, in every work of mercy we perform, God manifests himself and fixes his gaze on the world. “.
This reveals to us that the Pope explained to us that even before we did anything, our lives were marked by mercy and 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 one 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 are not 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 are always the beloved children of God. It is our deepest identity:” May the Mother of God, whom we pray to now, help us to love. ours baptismal identity, which is at the foundation of faith and life “.
Call and after the Angelus
After the Angelus prayer, Pope Francis called for reconciliation in the United States following the January 6 assault on Congress and said he was praying for the five people who lost their lives in the United States. violence.
Prayers for all babies receiving baptism
He went on to say that this year he cannot preside over the traditional baptismal ceremony in the Sistine Chapel at the feast of the Lord’s Baptism due to the covid-19 pandemic.
“I wish, however, to secure my prayers for the children, their parents, their godparents” who would have been present for the ceremony, the Pope said: “I extend my prayers to all children who receive baptism in this period: they receive the Christian identity, the grace of forgiveness and redemption. May God bless them all! ”
Pope Francis ended his speech by reminding the faithful that Ordinary Time will begin tomorrow according to the liturgical year and invited them not to tire of invoking the light and strength of the Holy Spirit.
“Love 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.”