At the conclusion of the Mass celebrated in the Sistine Chapel this morning, on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, at noon (local time in Rome), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to recite the Angelus with the faithful and with pilgrims gathered in Saint Peter's Square.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the time of Christmas and invites us to think about our own baptism. Jesus wanted to receive the baptism that was being preached and administered by John the Baptist in the Jordan. This was a penitential baptism: those who came expressed a desire to be cleansed of sins and, with God's help, committed themselves to beginning a new life.
With this background, we can understand the great humility of Jesus, the One who was without sin, who placed himself in the lineup with the sinners, mingled among them in order to be baptized in the waters of the river. What great humility Jesus had! And in doing so, he demonstrated what we celebrated at Christmas: the availability of Jesus to immerse himself in the river of humanity, to take upon himself the shortcomings and weaknesses of mankind, to share in our desire for freedom and overcome everything that separates us from God and makes us strangers to our own brothers and sisters. As it was in Bethlehem, also on the riverbank of the Jordan, God kept his promise to take charge of the fate of humanity, and Jesus is the tangible and definitive sign of this promise. He took care of all of us, takes care of all of us, in life, even today.
Today's gospel points out that Jesus coming up out of the water, saw the heavens open and the Spirit descend towards him like a dove (Mk 1:10). The Holy Spirit, which has been at work since the beginning of creation and guided Moses and the people in the desert, now descended in its fullness on Jesus in order to give him the strength to fulfill his mission in the world. The Spirit is the one who creates the baptism of Jesus and also our own baptism. The Spirit opens the eyes of the heart to truth, to the fullness of truth. The Spirit motivates our life on the path of charity. The Spirit is the gift that the Father has given to each one of us on the day of our baptism. The Holy Spirit communicates the tenderness of divine forgiveness. And even today, the Holy Spirit continues to make the Father's revealing Word resound: You are my Son (Mk 1:11).
The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus invites every Christian to keep the memory of our own baptism. I cannot ask you if you remember the day of your baptism, because most of you were children, like me; we were baptized as children. But I want to ask you another question: do you know the date of your baptism? Do you know on which day of the week you were baptized? Everyone, think about it. If you don't know the date, or if you've forgotten it, when you get home, ask your mother, ask your grandmother, ask your uncle, ask your aunty, ask your grandfather, ask your godfather, ask your godmother: what was the date? We should always remember the date of our Baptism, because it is a date worth celebrating, the date of our first sanctification, the date on which the Father gave us the Holy Spirit, the one who motivates us to keep going, and the date of the greatest forgiveness. Don't forget: what was the date of my Baptism?
Let us call upon the maternal protection of Blessed Mary, so that all Christians may understand more and more the gift of Baptism and commit ourselves to living out this gift in our lives, bearing witness to the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy as well as other countries. In particular, I greet the faithful who have come from South Korea and those from Biella.
This year again, on today's feast of the Baptism of Jesus, I had the joy of baptizing a few children, 34 of them. Upon all of them, and on all children who have been recently Baptized, I invoke the maternal protection of the Mother of God, along with the help of the living example of their parents, godfathers and godmothers, so that they may grow as disciples of the Lord.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good journey through the year that has just begun, thanks to the light that Jesus has given to us at Christmas.
Don't forget your homework: what was the date of your Baptism? What was the day on which you were Baptized? Do you understand?
And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
Greetings of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
prior to the recitation of the Angelus
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord concludes the time of Christmas and invites us to think about our own baptism. Jesus wanted to receive the baptism that was being preached and administered by John the Baptist in the Jordan. This was a penitential baptism: those who came expressed a desire to be cleansed of sins and, with God's help, committed themselves to beginning a new life.
With this background, we can understand the great humility of Jesus, the One who was without sin, who placed himself in the lineup with the sinners, mingled among them in order to be baptized in the waters of the river. What great humility Jesus had! And in doing so, he demonstrated what we celebrated at Christmas: the availability of Jesus to immerse himself in the river of humanity, to take upon himself the shortcomings and weaknesses of mankind, to share in our desire for freedom and overcome everything that separates us from God and makes us strangers to our own brothers and sisters. As it was in Bethlehem, also on the riverbank of the Jordan, God kept his promise to take charge of the fate of humanity, and Jesus is the tangible and definitive sign of this promise. He took care of all of us, takes care of all of us, in life, even today.
Today's gospel points out that Jesus coming up out of the water, saw the heavens open and the Spirit descend towards him like a dove (Mk 1:10). The Holy Spirit, which has been at work since the beginning of creation and guided Moses and the people in the desert, now descended in its fullness on Jesus in order to give him the strength to fulfill his mission in the world. The Spirit is the one who creates the baptism of Jesus and also our own baptism. The Spirit opens the eyes of the heart to truth, to the fullness of truth. The Spirit motivates our life on the path of charity. The Spirit is the gift that the Father has given to each one of us on the day of our baptism. The Holy Spirit communicates the tenderness of divine forgiveness. And even today, the Holy Spirit continues to make the Father's revealing Word resound: You are my Son (Mk 1:11).
The Feast of the Baptism of Jesus invites every Christian to keep the memory of our own baptism. I cannot ask you if you remember the day of your baptism, because most of you were children, like me; we were baptized as children. But I want to ask you another question: do you know the date of your baptism? Do you know on which day of the week you were baptized? Everyone, think about it. If you don't know the date, or if you've forgotten it, when you get home, ask your mother, ask your grandmother, ask your uncle, ask your aunty, ask your grandfather, ask your godfather, ask your godmother: what was the date? We should always remember the date of our Baptism, because it is a date worth celebrating, the date of our first sanctification, the date on which the Father gave us the Holy Spirit, the one who motivates us to keep going, and the date of the greatest forgiveness. Don't forget: what was the date of my Baptism?
Let us call upon the maternal protection of Blessed Mary, so that all Christians may understand more and more the gift of Baptism and commit ourselves to living out this gift in our lives, bearing witness to the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
Dear brothers and sisters,
I greet all of you, faithful of Rome and pilgrims from Italy as well as other countries. In particular, I greet the faithful who have come from South Korea and those from Biella.
This year again, on today's feast of the Baptism of Jesus, I had the joy of baptizing a few children, 34 of them. Upon all of them, and on all children who have been recently Baptized, I invoke the maternal protection of the Mother of God, along with the help of the living example of their parents, godfathers and godmothers, so that they may grow as disciples of the Lord.
I wish you all a good Sunday and a good journey through the year that has just begun, thanks to the light that Jesus has given to us at Christmas.
Don't forget your homework: what was the date of your Baptism? What was the day on which you were Baptized? Do you understand?
And please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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