Dear Parishioners and Friends,
Baptism is the basis for the entire Christian life. By
Baptism we are freed from Original Sin, made children of God and become members
of Christ’s Body, the Church.
Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Why did
Christ voluntarily submit to Baptism? First of all, the baptism Jesus received
was the baptism of John the Baptist. It was not the Sacrament of Baptism but a
baptism for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus accepts this baptism because He
wishes to show us that He has come as the Lamb of God to take upon Himself all
the sins of humanity. Moreover, as the Catechism
of the Catholic Church teaches, Jesus accepts John’s baptism as “a manifestation of his self-emptying” (CCC, 1224).
By Baptism we are all given the charge to
evangelize. Here is what Pope Francis writes: “In virtue of their baptism, all
the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt. 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their
position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents
of evangelization, and it would be insufficient to envisage a plan of
evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the
faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for
personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized” (The Joy of the Gospel, 120).
In Christ,
Msgr. Baker
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