Only those who are humble will “see”

Today the Universal Church celebrates the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord…..Our baptism grafts us into the life of God….St John Paul II when asked by a report what was the greatest event of his life stated it was when he was baptized…Do we view our baptism this way or do we take it for granted?….......”Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness”…….By allowing John to baptize him, Jesus shows us the way forward is through humility….John realized straight way he had no business baptizing the son of God…But as we see in Scripture, Jesus allowed it…..This exchange between John the Baptist and Christ should teach us something very important - That in order to approach God properly, we too must acknowledge the creature / creator relationship as John did…So the question is - Do we?….Do we humble ourselves before God and his Church….Or….. Do we in a de-facto manner make ourselves out to be God and do as we please..…….Jesus tell us…….”Amen, I say to you, among those born of women there has been none greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”…….And just as John the Baptist was great among men, he realized his insignificance when it came to God......Today in the Gospel, Jesus exhibited for us great humility……How about us?…..When we approach the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, do we realize who we are standing before?……As John the Baptist rightful stated….“I baptize with water; but there is one among you whom you do not recognize, the one who is coming after me, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to untie”….Why do you think John the Baptist recognized Jesus for who he truly was and the people of his day did not?….The answer should be obvious…John was humble - Therefore he was given eyes to “see”

“The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered: This is my beloved Son, listen to him”

Mother Teresa would often say……”I can understand Jesus majesty but I can never comprehend his humility”…..Humility is the foundational virtue for all the virtues…There are no humble people in hell just as there are no proud people in heaven…..Humility is simply understanding who we truly are in relationship to God….As St Francis prayed often before the Cross of San Damiano saying…....”Who are you Lord and who am I”…….When I pray before the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration, I often contemplate the humility of our God, who makes himself so vulnerable and small to this very day, taking the form of mere bread….He even permits the world to disregard him and sadly in some cases receive him at Mass unworthily…….Jesus is “hidden” under the appearance of bread and wine and only when we approach the Blessed Sacrament in the state of grace - Is when we “see” him…..One day Jesus will return to us in glory at the second coming…..…No one knows that day…….The secular world and frankly even the best of us can take the return of Christ for granted...….I think that is the case because, even the best of us take for granted the humility of Christ…But one day he will return and when he does we will see him as he truly is…..”Then I saw the heavens opened, and there was a white horse; its rider was [called] “Faithful and True.” He judges and wages war in righteousness. His eyes were [like] a fiery flame, and on his head were many diadems. He had a name inscribed that no one knows except himself. He wore a cloak that had been dipped in blood, and his name was called the Word of God. The armies of heaven followed him, mounted on white horses and wearing clean white linen. Out of his mouth came a sharp sword to strike the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod, and he himself will tread out in the wine press the wine of the fury and wrath of God the almighty. He has a name written on his cloak and on his thigh, “King of kings and Lord of lords”……Until that day, Jesus is cloaked in humility….Knowing this - Let us give thanks and praise that the God of the Universe allows us to approach him…….Not only approach him, but consume him in the Blessed Sacarment

“Give to the LORD, you sons of God, give to the LORD glory and praise, Give to the LORD the glory due his name; adore the LORD in holy attire”

Today the universal Church rightly brings to our attention the importance of the Baptism of our Lord…..This day should serve as a reminder to us of the importance of our own baptism and also our need to cleave to the Church…..Jesus gave us the Catholic Church and gave it authority to administer the Sacraments….Why?…Because all of us, even the greatest among us are a fallen and are susceptible to sin…..And our Baptism is the first installment into the life of grace, which we need in order to live as Christ commands us….Do we take this reality for granted?….Do we dismiss our baptism and the baptism of our children as some meaningless “ritual” as opposed to the life giving gift it truly is?………Only those who are humble understand this great mystery - That God Almighty, came down from heaven and made himself “small” so we can one day have eternal life….Again, only the humble can understand this reality…..Why? - Because humility is truth, without it, we are blind and will never see the greatest of God….God remains to this day “hidden” to the eyes of the world……….Only those who are humble will “see”………JMJ