Dear friends in Christ

This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. Although He had no need for Baptism, He submitted to this public ritual in the way He did with other requirements of the law. He also shows us in this moment, the humility that is necessary for us to undergo this rebirth. The day we were Baptised was the most important day in our lives, because it was the day when we became a child of God and entered the life of the Church. Many people have the custom of celebrating their Baptism date with a renewal of the Baptismal vows and even lighting the candle that was presented to them on that occasion. Do we know the date of our Baptism? Do we thank God daily for the gift of His Divine life? This feast is surely the moment for us to renew our thanksgiving for such a momentous grace. In a Homily for Christmas, Pope Saint Leo the Great says: Thanks to the Sacrament of Baptism, you have been turned into a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not ever let it happen, that you drive away so noble a guest by your evil deeds, or ever again submit to the power of the demon: for the price you were bought with is the blood of Christ.

Baptism makes us part of the People of God; we are not isolated individuals, but part of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, members of the family of God, the family of the Church. For this reason, each year on this feast we invite those who have been recently Baptised as infants, to come to the evening service for a special blessing. We also on this occasion confer a Miraculous Medal on those children as a token of the special protection we can receive from Our Blessed Mother, protection we need in order to live as children of God in a world that can be so hostile to what we profess. God bless all those who will also be Baptised within our Parish Family here within the coming year. May God bless all of us who have received this consecration through water and the Holy Spirit.

Msgr Kevin Hale