Pope: Always keep alive the memory of one's baptism
During the Angelus, for the feast of the baptism of Jesus, Pope Francis noted that it is in baptism that we find "the roots of our life in God”. For the pontiff, it is important to know “the date of our baptism". During his baptism, Jesus "Jesus immersed himself in the crowd, joined it and fully assumed his human condition." He also “immersed himself in prayer, that is, in communion with the Father.”
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – At the end of the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square, Pope Francis urged the faithful to "keep the memory of one's baptism alive and up-to-date" and "remember [. . .] and keep in our heart” the date of our baptism”.
In view of this, the pontiff mentioned that this morning he baptised 27 children in the Sistine Chapel. "Let us pray for them and for their families," he said.
"On this occasion, I renew the invitation to everyone to keep the memory of one's baptism alive and up-to-date. That is where the roots of our life in God are, the roots of our eternal life, which Jesus Christ gave us through his Incarnation, Passion, Death and Resurrection."
Earlier the Holy Father mentioned the Gospel of today's Mass (Lk 3:15-16, 3:21-22), the feast of the baptism of Jesus, which marks the end of the liturgical season of Christmas.
In the Gospel account, Francis stressed that there are "two important parts: the relationship of Jesus with the people and the relationship of Jesus with the Father".
"Before immersing himself in water, Jesus immersed himself in the crowd, joined it and fully assumed his human condition, sharing everything except sin. In his divine holiness, full of grace and mercy, the Son of God became flesh to take upon himself and take away the sin of the world."
"After immersion in the people and in the waters of the Jordan, Jesus immersed himself in prayer, that is, in communion with the Father. Baptism is the beginning of Jesus’s public life, of his mission in the world as his Father’s envoy to manifest his goodness and his love for men.
“This mission is accomplished in constant and perfect union with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Even the Church’s mission and that of each one of us, to be faithful and fruitful, is called to ‘be grafted’ onto that of Jesus. It is a matter of continuously regenerating evangelisation and apostolate in prayer, to clearly bear witness as a Christian, not according to our human projects, but according to God's plan and style."
Hence, Francis called on everyone - as he has done on previous occasions - to remember "the date of our baptism" so as "to keep it in our hearts and to celebrate it every year".
After the final greetings, the pope called on those present to pray and bear witness. "Tomorrow,” he said, “with the Christmas period over, we shall resume the journey of the liturgy of Ordinary Time. Like Jesus after his baptism, let us be guided by the Holy Spirit in everything we do. But to do this we must invoke it! Let us learn to invoke the Holy Spirit more often, during our daily life, so as to live ordinary things with love, and thus turn them into something extraordinary."
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13/01/2019 12:53
