Having concluded the Mass celebrated inside the Sistine Chapel this morning for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, which included the celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism for Children, at noon local time in Rome (6:00am EST), the Holy Father, Pope Francis appeared at the window of his study inside 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!
Once again, I have had the joy of baptizing some children, as part of today's Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Today, there were thirty-two of them. Let us pray for them and for their families.
This year, the liturgy offers us the event of the baptism of Jesus according to the story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (cf Mt 3:13-17). The evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus, who asks for baptism, and John the Baptist, who wants to refuse him and observes: It is I who need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me? (Mt 3:14). Jesus' decision surprises the Baptist: in fact, the Messiah does not need to be purified; it is He who purifies. But God is holy, his ways are not ours, and Jesus is the Way of God, an unpredictable way. Remember that God is the God of surprises.
John declared that an abysmal, unbridgeable distance existed between him and Jesus. I am not worthy to undo his sandals (Mt 3:11), he said. But the Son of God came precisely to bridge this distance between man and God. If Jesus is entirely on the side of God, he is also entirely on the side of mankind, and he brings together what was divided. For this reason he replies to John: Leave it for now, because it is fitting that we fulfill all justice (Mt 3:15). The Messiah asks to be baptized, in order for all justice to be fulfilled, in order for the Father's plan to be fulfilled, a plan which passes through the path of filial obedience and solidarity with fragile and sinful mankind. It is the way of humility and the full closeness of God to his children.
Even the prophet Isaiah proclaims the justice of the Servant of God, who carries out his mission in the world with a style contrary to the worldly spirit: He will not cry or raise his tone, he will not make his voice heard in the square, he will not break a cracked cane, he will not put out a wick with a dull flame (Is 42:2-3). This is the attitude of meekness - this is what Jesus teaches us with his humility, meekness -, the attitude of simplicity, respect, moderation and concealment, required even today of the Lord's disciples. How many - it is sad to say - how many disciples of the Lord strive to be disciples of the Lord. No good disciple prefers his own way. The good disciple is the humble, meek one, the one who does good without being seen. In missionary action, the Christian community is called to go out to meet others always by proposing and not imposing, giving testimony, sharing the concrete life of the people.
As soon as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, while a voice rang out from above saying: «This is my Son, my beloved: with him I am well pleased (Mt 3:17). On the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus we rediscover our Baptism. Just as Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father, we too, who have been born of water and the Holy Spirit, know that we are beloved children - the Father loves us all! -; we are the object of God's complacency, brothers of many other brothers, invested with a great mission to testify and proclaim the Father's boundless love to all mankind.
This feast of the baptism of Jesus reminds us of our Baptism. We too are reborn in Baptism. In Baptism the Holy Spirit came to remain in us. This is why it is important to know what the date of my baptism is. We know what the date of our birth is, but we don't always know what the date of our Baptism is. Surely some of you don't know ... This is your homework assignment. When you go back home, ask someone: when was I baptized? When was I baptized? And celebrate the date of baptism in your heart every year. Do it. It is also a duty of justice towards the Lord who has been so good to us.
May Holy Mary help us to understand more and more the gift of Baptism and to live it with coherence in our everyday situations.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
I offer to all of you, dear Romans and pilgrims, my cordial greetings: to all families, to parish groups, to associations and to single faithful.
I greet the young people from the Focolare Movement who have come from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay and Korea, gathered in rome for a formation course taking place one hundred years after the birth of the Servant of God, Chiara Lubich.
I greet the faithful from Otranto and the Alma Gaudia choir from Manduria.
I wish you all a good Sunday. 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!
Once again, I have had the joy of baptizing some children, as part of today's Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Today, there were thirty-two of them. Let us pray for them and for their families.
This year, the liturgy offers us the event of the baptism of Jesus according to the story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (cf Mt 3:13-17). The evangelist describes the dialogue between Jesus, who asks for baptism, and John the Baptist, who wants to refuse him and observes: It is I who need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me? (Mt 3:14). Jesus' decision surprises the Baptist: in fact, the Messiah does not need to be purified; it is He who purifies. But God is holy, his ways are not ours, and Jesus is the Way of God, an unpredictable way. Remember that God is the God of surprises.
John declared that an abysmal, unbridgeable distance existed between him and Jesus. I am not worthy to undo his sandals (Mt 3:11), he said. But the Son of God came precisely to bridge this distance between man and God. If Jesus is entirely on the side of God, he is also entirely on the side of mankind, and he brings together what was divided. For this reason he replies to John: Leave it for now, because it is fitting that we fulfill all justice (Mt 3:15). The Messiah asks to be baptized, in order for all justice to be fulfilled, in order for the Father's plan to be fulfilled, a plan which passes through the path of filial obedience and solidarity with fragile and sinful mankind. It is the way of humility and the full closeness of God to his children.
Even the prophet Isaiah proclaims the justice of the Servant of God, who carries out his mission in the world with a style contrary to the worldly spirit: He will not cry or raise his tone, he will not make his voice heard in the square, he will not break a cracked cane, he will not put out a wick with a dull flame (Is 42:2-3). This is the attitude of meekness - this is what Jesus teaches us with his humility, meekness -, the attitude of simplicity, respect, moderation and concealment, required even today of the Lord's disciples. How many - it is sad to say - how many disciples of the Lord strive to be disciples of the Lord. No good disciple prefers his own way. The good disciple is the humble, meek one, the one who does good without being seen. In missionary action, the Christian community is called to go out to meet others always by proposing and not imposing, giving testimony, sharing the concrete life of the people.
As soon as Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him like a dove, while a voice rang out from above saying: «This is my Son, my beloved: with him I am well pleased (Mt 3:17). On the Feast of the Baptism of Jesus we rediscover our Baptism. Just as Jesus is the beloved Son of the Father, we too, who have been born of water and the Holy Spirit, know that we are beloved children - the Father loves us all! -; we are the object of God's complacency, brothers of many other brothers, invested with a great mission to testify and proclaim the Father's boundless love to all mankind.
This feast of the baptism of Jesus reminds us of our Baptism. We too are reborn in Baptism. In Baptism the Holy Spirit came to remain in us. This is why it is important to know what the date of my baptism is. We know what the date of our birth is, but we don't always know what the date of our Baptism is. Surely some of you don't know ... This is your homework assignment. When you go back home, ask someone: when was I baptized? When was I baptized? And celebrate the date of baptism in your heart every year. Do it. It is also a duty of justice towards the Lord who has been so good to us.
May Holy Mary help us to understand more and more the gift of Baptism and to live it with coherence in our everyday situations.
Following the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:
I offer to all of you, dear Romans and pilgrims, my cordial greetings: to all families, to parish groups, to associations and to single faithful.
I greet the young people from the Focolare Movement who have come from Colombia, Brazil, Paraguay and Korea, gathered in rome for a formation course taking place one hundred years after the birth of the Servant of God, Chiara Lubich.
I greet the faithful from Otranto and the Alma Gaudia choir from Manduria.
I wish you all a good Sunday. And, please, don't forget to pray for me. Enjoy your lunch and good bye!
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