At 9:30am today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis celebrated a Mass in the Sistine Chapel, during which he baptized 33 newborns, 20 young girls and 13 young boys.
We have heard in the first reading that the Lord concerns himself with his children like a parent: he provides his children with real food. Through the prophet, God says: Why spend money for that which is not bread, your earnings for that which does not satisfy? (Is 55:2) Like a good father and a good mother, God wants to give good things to his children. And what is this real food that God gives us? It is his Word: his Word helps us to grow, helps us to bear good fruit in life, like the rain and the snow water the earth and make it fruitful (cf Is 55:10-11). In the same way, you parents, and also you, godfathers and godmothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, you help these children to grow well when you share with them the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus. And you also give them your good example! Every day, make it a habit to read a few words from the gospel, just a few, and always carry a small copy of the gospel with you in your pocket, in your purse, so that you can read it. This will be a good example for your children: to see daddy, mommy, godparents, grandparents, uncles and aunts reading the Word of God.
You mothers give your children milk - even now, they are crying with hunger, let them eat, quietly. Let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of milk, and let us pray for these mothers - there are so many, unfortunately - who don't have the necessary conditions to give their children something to eat. Let us pray and look for ways to help these mothers. So, what milk provides for our bodies, the Word of God provides for our spirits: the Word of God helps us to grow in faith. And thanks to faith, we are created in God. This is what happens in Baptism. We have heard the words of the apostle John: Everyone who believes in Jesus is in Christ, is born of God (1 Jn 5:1). Into this faith, your children will be baptized. Today it is your faith, dear parents, godfathers and godmothers. It is the faith of the Church, in which these little ones will be baptized, but tomorrow, with the grace of God, it will be your faith, your personal yes to Jesus Christ that will show them the love of the Father.
I was saying that it is the faith of the Church. This is very important. Baptism inserts us into the body of the Church, into the holy people of God. And in this body, in this people who are walking, faith is transmitted from generation to generation: it is the faith of the Church. And the faith of Mary, our Mother, the faith of Saint Joseph, of Saint Peter, of Saint Andrew, of Saint John, the faith of the Apostles and the Martyrs, that has come to us, through Baptism: a chain of transmitting faith. This is very beautiful!It is a passing from hand to hand the candle of faith: we will express this in a few moments with the gesture of lighting the great paschal candle. This great candle represents the Risen Christ, alive in our midst. Families, take from Him the light of faith to transmit to your children. You can take this light in the Church, in the body of Christ, in the people of God who walk in every time and in every place. Teach your children that there can be no Christian outside of the Church, you cannot follow Jesus Christ without the Church, because the Church is a mother, and makes us grow in love with Jesus Christ.
A final aspect strongly emerges from the biblical readings today: in Baptism we are consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This is what the word Christian means, it means to be consecrated like Jesus, in the same Spirit in which Jesus was immersed in His whole earthly existence. He is the Christ, the Anointed one, the Consecrated one, we who are baptized are Christians, therefore we are consecrated, anointed. And now, dear parents, dear godparents, if you wish for your children to become true Christians, help them to grow more and more immersed in the Holy Spirit, that is in the warmth of the love of God, in the light of His Word. For this reason, do not forget to frequently invoke the Holy Spirit, every day. Do you pray, miss? - Yes, I pray to God - But God, in that manner, does not exist: God is a person and as a person, he exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Usually we pray to Jesus. When we pray the Our Father, we pray to the Father. But we don’t pray to the Holy Spirit too often. It is so important to pray to the Holy Spirit, so that He may teach us to help our family to grow in faith: even the children, so that these children can grow in the atmosphere of the Holy Trinity. It is the Spirit who will lead them forward. For this reason do not forget to invoke the Holy Spirit, everyday. You can do it, for example, with this simple prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. You can say this prayer with your children, and of course, for yourselves!
When you say this prayer, be attentive the maternal presence of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us to pray to the Holy Spirit, and to live according to the Spirit, like Jesus. Our Lady, our Mother, always accompanies the path of your children and your families.
Homily of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
We have heard in the first reading that the Lord concerns himself with his children like a parent: he provides his children with real food. Through the prophet, God says: Why spend money for that which is not bread, your earnings for that which does not satisfy? (Is 55:2) Like a good father and a good mother, God wants to give good things to his children. And what is this real food that God gives us? It is his Word: his Word helps us to grow, helps us to bear good fruit in life, like the rain and the snow water the earth and make it fruitful (cf Is 55:10-11). In the same way, you parents, and also you, godfathers and godmothers, grandparents, uncles and aunts, you help these children to grow well when you share with them the Word of God, the gospel of Jesus. And you also give them your good example! Every day, make it a habit to read a few words from the gospel, just a few, and always carry a small copy of the gospel with you in your pocket, in your purse, so that you can read it. This will be a good example for your children: to see daddy, mommy, godparents, grandparents, uncles and aunts reading the Word of God.
You mothers give your children milk - even now, they are crying with hunger, let them eat, quietly. Let us give thanks to the Lord for the gift of milk, and let us pray for these mothers - there are so many, unfortunately - who don't have the necessary conditions to give their children something to eat. Let us pray and look for ways to help these mothers. So, what milk provides for our bodies, the Word of God provides for our spirits: the Word of God helps us to grow in faith. And thanks to faith, we are created in God. This is what happens in Baptism. We have heard the words of the apostle John: Everyone who believes in Jesus is in Christ, is born of God (1 Jn 5:1). Into this faith, your children will be baptized. Today it is your faith, dear parents, godfathers and godmothers. It is the faith of the Church, in which these little ones will be baptized, but tomorrow, with the grace of God, it will be your faith, your personal yes to Jesus Christ that will show them the love of the Father.
I was saying that it is the faith of the Church. This is very important. Baptism inserts us into the body of the Church, into the holy people of God. And in this body, in this people who are walking, faith is transmitted from generation to generation: it is the faith of the Church. And the faith of Mary, our Mother, the faith of Saint Joseph, of Saint Peter, of Saint Andrew, of Saint John, the faith of the Apostles and the Martyrs, that has come to us, through Baptism: a chain of transmitting faith. This is very beautiful!It is a passing from hand to hand the candle of faith: we will express this in a few moments with the gesture of lighting the great paschal candle. This great candle represents the Risen Christ, alive in our midst. Families, take from Him the light of faith to transmit to your children. You can take this light in the Church, in the body of Christ, in the people of God who walk in every time and in every place. Teach your children that there can be no Christian outside of the Church, you cannot follow Jesus Christ without the Church, because the Church is a mother, and makes us grow in love with Jesus Christ.
A final aspect strongly emerges from the biblical readings today: in Baptism we are consecrated by the Holy Spirit. This is what the word Christian means, it means to be consecrated like Jesus, in the same Spirit in which Jesus was immersed in His whole earthly existence. He is the Christ, the Anointed one, the Consecrated one, we who are baptized are Christians, therefore we are consecrated, anointed. And now, dear parents, dear godparents, if you wish for your children to become true Christians, help them to grow more and more immersed in the Holy Spirit, that is in the warmth of the love of God, in the light of His Word. For this reason, do not forget to frequently invoke the Holy Spirit, every day. Do you pray, miss? - Yes, I pray to God - But God, in that manner, does not exist: God is a person and as a person, he exists as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Usually we pray to Jesus. When we pray the Our Father, we pray to the Father. But we don’t pray to the Holy Spirit too often. It is so important to pray to the Holy Spirit, so that He may teach us to help our family to grow in faith: even the children, so that these children can grow in the atmosphere of the Holy Trinity. It is the Spirit who will lead them forward. For this reason do not forget to invoke the Holy Spirit, everyday. You can do it, for example, with this simple prayer: Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. You can say this prayer with your children, and of course, for yourselves!
When you say this prayer, be attentive the maternal presence of the Virgin Mary. She teaches us to pray to the Holy Spirit, and to live according to the Spirit, like Jesus. Our Lady, our Mother, always accompanies the path of your children and your families.
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