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January 8, 2021"I HAVE BAPTIZED YOU WITH WATER; HE WILL BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Mark 1: 7-11) says John the Baptist. Do you remember the day of your own Baptism? (If you don’t, ask your parents or call the parish where you were baptized). Who baptized you? Like Jesus being baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan River, were you fully immersed in water? Did you feel the Holy Spirit? Did you feel becoming a totally new person? Are you aware that your Baptism was the beginning of a new life? Are you aware that since the day of your Baptism, you became God's child as a full member of the Body of Christ, His Church, the Catholic Church?
This weekend, we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord as we close the Christmas Season and enter the First Week of Ordinary Time. This is a time to reflect on our own Baptism and on the permanent dwelling of the Holy Trinity at the center of our inner being. This is a time to reflect and pray to the Holy Spirit in the SILENCE of our hearts.
Given the daily challenges we face, including the continuing Pandemic and uncertainties ahead of us, we need more than ever to ask help from the Holy Spirit to renew/deepen our relationship with God and find lasting PEACE in our hearts. All is GRACE. We need to do nothing but keep trusting in God and surrender to Him. The pandemic makes us more aware of our littleness. God is in charge. We are not. But God loves us as we are, and we can always take REFUGE IN HIS LOVE through the Holy Spirit. From our Baptism, we have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. At our Baptism, we may not have been totally immersed in water, but we believe that we have been totally IMMERSED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT through the holy water (specially blessed for your Baptism) being poured three times upon our head while the priest or deacon pronounces the Trinitarian Baptismal words: "Xxx (your name, e.g., Andrew or Barbara) I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
This is the Sacrament established by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself when He invites all his Apostles, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to us. GO therefore and make disciples of all nations, BAPTIZING THEM IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER AND OF THE SON AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT" (Matthew 28:18-20).
The followers of John the Baptist came to listen to him in the desert far away from Jerusalem. They came in response to John's call for repentance. They also listened to John announcing that “one mightier than I is coming after me.” John added with great humility, "I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” In John's time, only slaves would kneel to the feet of their masters and untie their sandals. This was John's recognition that Jesus was divine. John the Baptist invites us to go the desert and spend some time away from the distractions of the world. He invites us to repent, to reconcile with God (Confession) and to turn our entire life toward Jesus Christ.
Did Jesus need to be baptized? No, He is both Man and God. However, as He is being baptized, the heavens are being torn open and the HOLY SPIRIT, like a dove, DESCENDS UPON HIM, and a voice comes from the heavens, "YOU ARE MY BELOVED SON; with you I am well pleased.” This is the voice of God the Father. Here we have the entire HOLY TRINITY: the Father in heaven, the Son being immersed in the waters of the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit coming down from heaven and descending upon the Son. This is the Union of heaven and earth through the HOLY TRINITY, the Triune God (One God in three persons). This is the establishment of the sacrament of baptism to benefit all of us.
BAPTIZO in Greek means TO IMMERSE. To baptize is to immerse in water. To baptize is also to immerse in the Holy Spirit. Through this total immersion in the Holy Spirit, we are totally transformed. Not only our original sin is erased, not only are we becoming God's children and new members of the Church, but the entire Holy Trinity dwells at the center of our soul, once for all.
As we prepare for our parish pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the end of June (you can still sign up, and be put on the waiting list), we can all imagine our entering the waters of the Jordan River together with Jesus Christ. God willing, this will be my third visit to Israel, my third pilgrimage to the places where Jesus lived and walked. The first two times were amazing and though I did not plunge in the shallow waters of the Jordan, I felt the strong presence of Jesus and His Holy Spirit. In my second pilgrimage, as seminarian 15 years ago, the priest leading our pilgrimage blessed us (11 seminarians of St John XXIII National Seminary in Boston) one by one and poured water of the Jordan on our heads. When it was my turn, I felt like an electric shock and an immense Joy and Peace, immersed in the Holy Spirit.
COME HOLY SPIRIT! COME! INVADE OUR HEARTS AND FILL THEM WITH THE FIRE OF YOUR LOVE! COME HOLY SPIRIT! RENEW US, TAKE AWAY ALL OUR FEARS, TAKE AWAY ALL OUR DOUBTS! COME HOLY SPIRIT! HELP US TO SURRENDER TO YOU AND FOLLOW YOUR GUIDANCE! COME HOLY SPIRIT! GIVE US YOUR PEACE!
One in Christ,
Fr. Alain
