Feast of the Baptism of the Lord (Year B) January 11, 2015 I. GOSPEL READING (Mark 1: 7-11) This is what John the Baptist proclaimed: “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.” It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. On coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Points for Reflection 1. One mightier is coming. John the Baptist raised many expectations about the Messiah when he preached repentance. His charisma and preaching aroused speculation that he might already be the “anointed one.” He immediately corrected this impression: “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.” 2. Jesus’ Initiation to His Messianic Mission Jesus’ baptism at the Jordan was his initiation to his messianic mission. He submitted himself to be baptized not as a sinner in need of purification, but as the messiah needed by sinners for their redemption. His initiation was highly symbolic. His submersion into the water signified his submersion into the water of death in Calvary. He did not just step into the place of sinners, but actually died for us as ransom for the forgiveness of our sins. On the other hand, his coming out of the water signified his coming out of the tomb. His resurrection opened up for all God’s promised inheritance, ushering in our new life in the Spirit, making all of us God’s beloved children. 3. New Life in Our Baptism The opening of heaven and the descent of the Holy Spirit after Jesus came out of the water symbolized the new life we receive in baptism. The voice that followed – “You are My beloved Son, with You I am well-pleased” explains what this new life means. The sacrament of baptism wipes away sin and implants divine life in us, making us God’s children who receive the same expression of love and delight from our Father. Living as God’s children makes a difference in this world. In the third century, Cyprian of Carthage wrote to his friend Donatus: “It’s a bad world, Donatus, in which we live. But right in the middle of it I have discovered a quiet and holy group of people. They are people who have found a happiness that is a thousand times more joyful than all the pleasures of our sinful lives. These people are despised and persecuted, but it doesn’t matter to them. They are Christians, Donatus, and I am one of them.” As we remember our baptism, let us echo Cyprian’s words without hesitation: “I am one of them.” Let us all live our baptism and make a difference. II. OUR LADY’S MESSAGE: “I ASK FOR THE CONSECRATION OF ALL” (Message 287) March 25, 1984 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord Note: We will read an excerpt of Message 287, starting from paragraph g. g. Why do I ask you for the consecration? h. When a thing is consecrated, it is removed from all uses other than the sacred one to which it has been assigned, and so it is with an object designated for the divine worship. i. But this can also be the case with a person, when such a one is called by God to render Him perfect worship. Understand then how your true act of consecration is that of baptism. j. By this sacrament, instituted by Jesus, grace is communicated to you, placing you in an order of life higher than your own, namely the supernatural life. Through this you participate in the divine nature, you enter into a communion of love with God, and your actions, accordingly, have a new value exceeding that of your nature, because they have a value which is truly divine. k. After baptism you are then destined for the perfect glorification of the Most Holy Trinity and consecrated to live in the love of the Father, in the imitation of the Son, and in full communion with the Holy Spirit. l. The fact that characterizes the act of consecration is its totality: when you are consecrated you are then wholly so, and forever! m. When I ask you for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart, it is to make you understand that you must completely entrust yourselves to me, in a total and everlasting way, that I may dispose of you according to the Will of God. n. You must entrust yourselves in a manner that is complete, giving me everything; you should not give me one thing and hold on to another, for yourselves; you should truly be wholly mine. o. And then you should entrust yourselves to me not on one day yes and on another day no, or for a period of time as you would have it, but forever. p. It is to emphasize this important aspect of a complete and lasting dedication to me, your heavenly Mother, that I ask for the consecration to my Immaculate Heart. q. How should the consecration be lived by you? r. If you consider the ineffable mystery the Church commemorates today, you will understand how the consecration I have asked of you should be lived. s. The Word of the Father was entrusted completely to me, in love. After my yes, He came down into my virginal womb. t. He was entrusted to me in his divinity. u. The Eternal Word, Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity, after the incarnation, was received and hidden in the tiny dwelling, miraculously prepared by the Holy Spirit, of my virginal womb. v. He was entrusted to me in his humanity, in a manner as profound as the way any son is entrusted to the mother, from whom everything is expected: blood, flesh, breath, food, love, to enable him to grow in her womb each day, and then - after birth - each year, always close to the mother. w. For this reason just as I am the Mother of the Incarnation, so also I am the Mother of the Redemption, which had on this occasion its wonderful beginning. x. And so you see me intimately associated with my Son Jesus; I collaborate with Him in his work of salvation, during his infancy, his adolescence, his thirty years of hidden life at Nazareth, his public ministry, during his sorrowful passion and up to the Cross where I offer and suffer with Him, receiving his last words of love and sorrow, in which I am given to all humanity as true Mother. y. Beloved sons, called to imitate Jesus in everything because you are his ministers, imitate Him also in this, his complete reliance on the heavenly Mother. For this reason I ask you to offer yourselves to me with your consecration. z. I will be able to be an attentive Mother for you, concerned to make you grow in Gods plan, to realize in your lives the great gift of the priesthood to which you have been called; I will bring you each day to an ever better imitation of Jesus, who must be your only model and your greatest love. You will be true instruments, faithful collaborators in his redemption. A. Today this is necessary for the salvation of all humanity, so diseased and so far from God and from the Church. B. By an extraordinary intervention of his merciful love, the Lord can save this humanity, and you, priests of Christ and my beloved sons, are called to be the instruments of the triumph of the merciful love of Jesus. C. Today this is indispensable for my Church, which must be healed from its wounds of infidelity and apostasy in order to return to its splendor and to renewed holiness. D. Your heavenly Mother wishes to heal the Church through you, my priests. I will do this soon, if you will allow me to work in you, if you entrust yourselves with docility and simplicity to my merciful maternal action. E. Again today, with sorrowful supplication, I ask you all to consecrate yourselves to my Immaculate Heart. Points for Reflection 1. The Call for Consecration Our Lady’s call for the “consecration of all” pertains first to our baptism, through which we receive the grace that initiates us into participation in the divine nature of God and a communion of love with Him (287 j). Elevating us to supernatural life, it consecrates us to live in the love of the Father, in the imitation of the Son, and in full communion with the Holy Spirit (287 k). Because Our Lady has the fullness of this grace by virtue of her Immaculate Conception and her Divine Maternity, she is capable of helping us live our baptism. Thus, her call to also consecrate ourselves to her Immaculate Heart is a very special kind of entrustment, by which, “we intend to live with (her) and through (her), all the obligations assumed by our baptismal consecration” (words used in the Consecration Prayer taught by Fr Gobbi). With the crisis that we are going through, Our Lady says that her call for consecration is necessary for the salvation of all humanity (287 A) and is indispensable for the Church (287 C). 2. Characteristic of Consecration What characterizes our consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is our complete and lasting entrustment to her. “You must completely entrust yourselves to me, in a total and everlasting way, that I may dispose of you according to the Will of God. You must entrust yourselves in a manner that is complete, giving me everything; you should not give me one thing and hold on to another, for yourselves; you should truly be wholly mine. And then you should entrust yourselves to me not on one day yes and on another day no, or for a period of time as you would have it, but forever” (287 m-o). 3. Living Our Consecration To help us understand how the consecration to her is to be lived, Our Lady brings us to the Annunciation, when Jesus was completely entrusted to her in love (287 s), both in his divinity (287 t) and humanity (287 v). “After my yes, he came down into my virginal womb” (287 s). She calls us to imitate her Son, particularly “his complete reliance on her” (287 y). For her part, she promises to be attentive to us, helping us grow in God’s plan and bringing us each day to an ever better imitation of Jesus, our only model and our greatest love (287 z). As we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord this Sunday, let us commit ourselves to daily live our consecration to the Immaculate Heart. This is so indispensable to the Church and badly needed in our time. Yours in the Immaculate Heart, Fr. Omer
Posted on: Sat, 10 Jan 2015 04:47:12 +0000
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