Originally published at National Catholic Register
User’s Guide to the Baptism of the Lord
Sunday, Jan. 12, is the Baptism of the Lord. Mass readings: Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 or Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11; Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10 or Psalm 104:1b-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30; Acts 10:34-38 or Titus 2:11-14; 3:4-7; Luke 3:15-16, 21-22.
Today’s feast is a time to reflect not only on the Lord’s baptism but on our own. In an extended sense, when Christ is baptized, so are we, for we are members of his body (Ephesians 5:30). As Christ enters the water, he makes holy the water that will baptize us. He enters the water and we go there with him. He also acquires gifts to give us.
The text says, when Jesus was baptized, “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’”
1. Access: The heavens and paradise were closed to us after original sin, but at Jesus’ baptism, we have access to the Father and to the heavenly places. Scripture says, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have
