Pope Francis celebrates the Baptism of the Lord by inviting believers to celebrate the date of their Baptism, the day they received the Holy Spirit and became God’s beloved children.
By Vatican News staff writer
Marking the feast of the Lord’s Baptism, Pope Francis reflected on the Liturgy of the Day, which tells of how the pubic life of Jesus began.
Speaking from the Apostolic Library during the Angelus on Sunday, the Pope noted that after the Feast of the Baptism, the Liturgy makes a leap of about 30 years, “hidden” time spent by Jesus with his family, listening to his parents, studying and working. .
He said all evangelicals tell of his public life, which is said to have lasted about three years.
It is striking, he said, that the Lord spent most of his time on earth living a normal life without standing out.
“It’s a wonderful message for us: reveal it the greatness of everyday life, the importance in the eyes of God of every gesture and moment of life, even the simplest and most hidden “, he said.
After these 30 years of hidden life, the Pope continued, the public life of Jesus begins with baptism in the Jordan River.
He explained that John’s baptism consisted of a penitential rite: “It was a sign of one’s desire to be converted, asking for forgiveness of one’s sins. Certainly Jesus did not need her. “
The Lord does not save us from above
And although John the Baptist is trying 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 thing they do. He descends into the river to plunge into the same state we are in. “
On the first day of his ministry, the Pope said, Jesus thus offers us the “programmatic manifesto,” telling us that “He does not save us from above, by a sovereign decision or an act of force, but by coming to meet us and taking our sins upon him. “
This is how God conquers worldly evil, he said, “by humbling himself and taking control of it.
This is also the way, he stressed, that we can raise others: “not judging, not suggesting what to do, but becoming neighbors, empathizing, sharing the love of God.
“Closeness,” he reiterated, “is God’s style with us!”
the Holy Spirit
Pope Francis went on to explain that after this act of compassion of Jesus, another extraordinary thing happens: “the heavens are opened 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 satisfied with you ”.
God, the Pope explained, “manifests himself when mercy appears, because this is his face.”
This episode shows us how Jesus becomes the servant of sinners and is proclaimed the Son, he continued: “It descends upon us and the Spirit descends upon him.”
Love appeals to love
“Love calls to love,” said the Pope, 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 that the Pope explained to us that, even before we did anything, our lives were marked by mercy and placed 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, I received the gift of the Holy Spirit. There the Father said to each one of us, as he had done 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 opened.
“We may believe that wrong things make many mistakes,” the Pope concluded, “but we always remain God’s beloved children. It is our deepest identity:” May our Lady, to whom we pray now, it helps us value ourselves the identity of baptism, which underlies faith and life. “
Call for Angelus as well
After the Angelus Prayer, Pope Francis called for reconciliation in the United States following the January 6 attack on Congress and said he was 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 is unable to preside over the traditional Baptismal ceremony in the Sistine Chapel on the feast of the Lord’s Baptism due to the covid-19 pandemic.
“However, I want to ensure my prayers for the children, their parents, their godparents” who were present at the ceremony, the Pope said: “I extend my prayers to all children who receive Baptism during this period: I receive the Christian identity, the grace of forgiveness and redemption. God bless everyone! ”
Pope Francis concluded his speech by reminding the faithful that tomorrow marks the beginning of Ordinary Time in accordance with the liturgical year and invited them never to tire of invoking the light and power of the Holy Spirit.
“Love is what changes everything,” he said. “When we 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.”