Dear Friends in Christ

The three manifestations of Jesus as God are: Epiphany, Baptism in the Jordan and Wedding Feast at Cana. In each of these episodes we are given a glimpse of Jesus Christ, True God and True Man. Jesus has no need for Baptism, and indeed the Baptism that John offered was a Baptism to show repentance and change of life. By entering the waters of the River Jordan, Jesus indicates that He is making holy the water so that anyone who is Baptised in His name will receive the very life of the Blessed Trinity. This is made clear at the moment of Jesus' own Baptism, when He emerges from the waters: the voice of God the Father is heard, and the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a Dove. All this is a picture of the life of Blessed Trinity that is poured into the souls of all those who receive Christian Baptism. As a consequence of our own Baptism, our natural life has been raised to a supernatural level; we are human but we have been made quasi-divine. This is expressed beautifully in a Homily for Christmas Day:

Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God's own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God's kingdom. Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ. (Pope St Leo the Great).

This Sunday each year, we invite those recently Baptised to come for a special blessing during the Evening Devotions. It is both a celebration of the new life given to us in Baptism and a reminder to all of us of our high and noble Christian vocation.

God bless you all this week!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
The Sunday Homily is available as a podcast at LourdesLeigh.org