Pastor’s Letter & January 9 Bulletin

Pastor’s Letter & January 9 Bulletin

7 Jan 2022 | Posted by: chadmin

The January 9 bulletin is now available online. 

Dear friends,

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Very quickly, we move liturgically from Advent to Christmas to the Epiphany to the Baptism of the Lord, which starts the Ordinary Time of the Church year. We will remain in Ordinary Time until we start Lent on Ash Wednesday March 2. The Baptism of Jesus is often one that is confusing for people as John the Baptist was offering a baptism for repentance. Jesus, as the Son of God, doesn’t need forgiveness and didn’t need to repent. John clearly recognized this as he said to Jesus, “I need to be Baptized by you and not you by me.” Just as John resisted Jesus’ initial request, so did the Church initially struggle to explain the Baptism of Jesus. As Jesus told John to allow it to fulfill all righteousness, the Church came to understand that Jesus made holy the waters of Baptism by His Baptism. Jesus didn’t receive the grace of Baptism, but He gave the grace to the waters for Baptism. Over and over in the Gospels, we read Jesus asking us to do what he does. The passage of Baptism is another time for us to follow the path of Christ.

As we seek to walk in the footsteps of Christ, we see in the Epiphany celebration last Sunday and in the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday, Jesus revealing His true nature. Jesus reveals Himself in order to invite us into communion with Him. Put simply, Jesus is a giver. We are called to put ourselves in a position to receive what He offers. The received grace of Baptism places an indelible mark that forever makes us adopted sons and daughters of the Father but also gives grace that is renewable through the blessing of Holy Water and the reception of Confession and Eucharist. Our practice of the faith in Church solidifies that the Father is saying to us, as He said to Jesus, you are my beloved son or daughter. If we allow ourselves to accept, embrace and live our family role within the body of Christ, the Church community of believers becomes for us a source of strength, healing and love. While no human relationship is perfect, our relationship to God through the Church sacraments does provide us with the Perfect One. May we see in the Baptism of Jesus a model for our own understanding of our baptismal status. We are children of God. Because we are His children, we benefit from His love and forgiveness and are called live the family life well. Have a great week.

God bless,

Father David