Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.On this very special feast day, let our hearts long for nothing but to hear Our Lord say to us, You are my beloved son, my beloved daughter, with you I am well pleased. Let us remember the great humility of John the Baptist, who says in today's Gospel reading, One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit (Mark 1). Let us also take note of Jesus' great humility as he stepped into the River Jordan, bowed his head, and asked his dear friend John the Baptism to baptize him. On this feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, we are given a great clue as to how God would have us live: as humble servants, seeking to glorify our Maker in all that we do.
Mary, Mother of God and perfect Model of Humility, pray for us! Lord, have mercy on us!
4 comments:
On this feast, I am reflecting not only on the humility of the Lord, but on that of his cousin, as well, and how we can make him our model in our apostolate of friendship. Sometimes it is tempting to let our witness be for our own glory, and many would have followed John just for his own sake. I am blessed to be told by friends that they look to me as an example, I hope that whatever influence I may have on them, I can ask Christ to follow into their hearts, so that, with John, I can say "One mightier than I is coming after me. I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals."
Thanks for the GREAT reflections here, ladies. The theme of humility is one that I would've missed on this feast without your thoughts on it. Thank you!
Our Christmas decorations are stashed away as of tonight, and our apartment looks so bare! I tell you, I'd be Catholic even if it was just for the liturgical celebrations to liven up the whole year : )
Yes, yes, beautiful reflections ladies. We talked to our children about this feast today, and these questions followed:
"Why did John baptize Jesus in a River?" (We thought this was an excellent question.)
Followed by:
"Were there sharks in the river?"
At least my children were concerned for the safety of Jesus. Early defenders of the faith maybe?
You made me laugh out loud with your response to the shark question, Red.
Thanks for the insightful post and comments. Humility is such a beautifully potent virtue given to us and especially crucial, I think, to the harmonious love between spouses. Thank you for today's reminder to keep cultivating it!
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