“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”……I hope to hear those same words one day as well.....Our journey begins at baptism….How it ends is completely up to me and you

Today at Holy Mass the Universal Church commemorates the Baptism of the Lord…Many people may ask - Why did Jesus get baptized by John in the river Jordan?…..Jesus by his baptism made the waters pure for us…We are all born tainted by original sin, our baptism wipes away this sin of our original parents and marks us as children of God….The mark of baptism is indelible, it can not be removed….In addition, the “seeds of grace” from our baptism are forever working within us…But like all “good seeds” they need to be cared for in order to bear fruit.............”The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ. John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”…….When we were baptized we became a new creation - Do we view it this way?…Do we take our baptism or the baptism of our children for granted?

“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him”

Of all the people born in the 20th century, one of the most noteworthy and most gifted was Pope John Paul II….He was intellectually gifted, an athlete in his youth, was geo-politically astute….He traveled the world and addressed more people then any human being that ever walked the planet…I could go on and on…One more thing….Mikhail Gorbachev, the former President of the Soviet Union said Pope John Paul II was the driving reason why communism and the Soviet Union fell….With all those accomplishments and gifts that Pope John Paul II had…When asked of him by the press, what was the greatest moment of his life….....Get this - This is what he said in an interview…The greatest moment of my life was when I was baptized….Think about that for a moment…We were baptized too and lets be honest, none of us will do what Pope John Paul II did…Yet he values something that we too have experienced, his baptism….So again I ask the question……Do we take our baptism or the baptism of our children for granted?…….Years ago there was a man named Angel who lived in the hospice run by Mother Teresa’s sisters in Lower Manhattan…Angel’s life was a wreck…He had AIDS, he fathered 13 plus children he had very little to no contact with, he had drug and alcohol issues, he had a criminal record…Angel was a wreck!!!….I got to know Angel over the years and as time went on, he requested to be baptized…Because of his behavior, the sisters were hesitant…They wanted to make sure Angel was “all in”…..I would sit with Angel and give him instruction in our Catholic faith on Saturday afternoons….Sadly, Angel continued to be his crazy self and would go in and out of the hospice due to bad behavior….However, he would always come back and apologize and the sisters would let him back in the house and we would all start over again….Finally, as Angel grew more serious about wanting to be baptized and enter the Catholic Church, the sisters approved and Angel was baptized in the chapel of the convent…He was made a “new creation”…..Ironically, soon there after Angel left the hospice in Lower Manhattan and died somewhere in the Bronx…..I personally believe God waited for Angel to be baptized before he passed from this life into the next….God’s ways are a mystery for sure!…Angel had a hard life, he was abandoned by his parents and raised by his poor grandmother…He also made a mess of his life…However, God had mercy on him and so did Mother Teresa’s sisters…Somehow Angel found his way to the sisters by means of him having AIDS…And Angel was baptized…And when he was baptized, he was so happy!……God’s ways are a mystery for sure!……Angel’s baptism really meant something to him…What Angel did not know was his baptism was preparing him for his death, which happened shortly thereafter….Let me ask the question again…..Do we take our baptism or the baptism of our children for granted?…Angel didn’t - Just think what would have happened to him if he had to stand before God without being baptized…One day too, we will stand before God as well.

“The grace of God has appeared, saving all and training us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live temperately, justly, and devoutly in this age, as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to deliver us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a people as his own, eager to do what is good”

Today in the gospel from Mass, we hear about John baptizing Jesus….”After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”……..Jesus came and walked the earth for one reason and one reason only…To open heaven up for us and giving us a vehicle (The Catholic Church, which he founded upon St Peter) by which our sins can be forgiven….Far too many take that gift for granted…..And our baptism is a big part of that gift….Our baptism “begins the journey” back to God….Our baptism is the first installment of the Holy Spirit, which is placed within us…But like all “small seeds”, this gift given to us must be nurtured…That comes down to a choice we each must make….At our baptism we were “wiped clean” from original sin and to commentate the event, the priest places upon the person baptized a white garment…When we die as Catholics, our casket is also covered by a white garment by a priest at the Funeral Mass….These are the words said.....“In the waters of baptism John Doe died with Christ and rose with him to new life. May he now share with Christ eternal glory. (The pall is placed on the coffin as the priest says:) In baptism, John Doe was clothed with Christ. May he know Christ’s victory over sin and death.”..........Our goal should be to return to God the way he created us - Pure and Clean….The ONLY way that can happen is if we avail ourselves to living a Sacramental life…Jesus did not write a book, he created a Church…And that Church is the means or better put “the vehicle” by which we are saved….When Jesus was baptized by John we heard these words read today at Mass…..”And a voice came from heaven, You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased”……I hope to hear those same words one day as well.....Our journey begins at baptism….How it ends is completely up to me and you