The readings we just heard are challenging to say the least. There is really a lot going on there, especially in the Gospel. Jesus has been healing many people, healing them of their diseases, casting out unclean spirits, and now they are gathered there to listen.
In the opening prayer, the “Collect” that is given to us by the Church, we prayed, “Be my protector, O Lord…” And this seems to go perfect with these readings for today.
I have been preaching this month, really a little longer than that, to help prepare everyone for this Parish Mission which is essentially starting next weekend. Fr. Greg Bramlage, who is from Texas, will be here with his team, the Missionaries of the New Evangelization, so he will be preaching at all of the Masses next weekend.
The other night I watched a new animated movie called “Encanto.” My sister told me that I had to watch it, so I trusted her judgment and watched it, despite that being out of the norm for me to watch anything that isn’t sports, but, actually, I really enjoyed it.
The Gospel account we just heard is thought to be the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, the first miracle of His mission. Pope Benedict XVI said, “Christ's entire mission is summed up in this: to baptize us in the Holy Spirit, to free us from the slavery of death and "to open heaven to us."” I talked about this last weekend, baptizing in the Holy Spirit, and I talked about the Spiritual Gifts that the Spirit brings during this baptism, and here this weekend we have a reading talking about these specific gifts of the Spirit.
Today we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord and we heard how the Lord was baptized, but there is another way to look at this: the Baptism of the Lord, the Baptism Jesus performed, was different from John’s baptism with water.