ICCH Bulletin of January 8, 2023
January 8, 2023 Baptism of the Lord
Welcome Father Daniel Today’s Readings: Is 42:1-4, 6-7 | Acts 10:34-38 | Mt 3:13-17
Today we celebrate the baptism of our Lord Jesus Christ in the river Jordan by John the Baptist. The baptism of Jesus ushered him into his earthly ministry. Our focus is on the effects of Christian baptism as it was in the case of Jesus. According to today’s gospel, ‘As soon as Jesus was baptised he came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him. And a voice spoke from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on him.’ We notice that at his baptism, there was a coming together of the three persons of the blessed Trinity. The Father in the form of the voice from heaven, and the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. We can assume that the life of Jesus was a mission of the Trinity. The effect of his baptism was a confirmation and a manifestation of the blessed Trinity. The question we must answer today is: what is the effect of our own baptism? The Christian baptism in the catholic church follows the trinitarian formular of Jesus according to Matthew 28:19: baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. At baptism we receive the indelible seal of God’s ownership of our lives. The catechism teaches that this seal remains with us forever. Neither sin nor wilful rejection of the faith can erase the seal and its effects. The effects of baptism enables us to be capable of doing good especially when our will towards it is weak. Baptism grants us admission into the eternal banquet of heaven. During a requiem mass, we rely on the effects of baptism to pray and commend our dead into the hands of God. We believe that the indelible seal of ownership received at baptism, will not allow God to reject anyone at death. As we begin a new year, let us be confident that the effects of our baptism will accompany us through the year. There are so many good to be achieved if we hold on to the power of our baptism. The effects of our baptism assures us of the presence of the blessed Trinity. We will never walk alone if we are always conscious of our baptism.
Source: https://www.anthonyekpunobi.org/baptism-of-the-lord-year-a-2/ Image: JESUS MAFA. John baptizes Jesus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48290 [retrieved January 7, 2023]. Original source: http://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr (contact page: https://www.librairie-emmanuel.fr/contact).
News
- 8 January - This Sunday, we are happy to welcome you to our first Social Gathering of the Year (moved from last Sunday since there was no Mass). Kindly be reminded to bring along some time and some fingerfood to share with each other. We look forward to seeing as many of you stay on after Mass.
- 8 January - There will be Confessions in English this Sunday. Shortly before Mass (12.40-12.50), there may be the opportunity for one or two persons to receive the Sacrament, if there is an urgent need. All others are encouraged to wait for the second confession session after the Mass.