Dear Parish Family,As we conclude the Christmas season this Sunday, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, we will miss the festive decorations and joyful songs. Nevertheless, I hope our Advent and Christmas liturgies have enriched our lives in meaningful ways, inspiring us to engage more fully in our Christian faith and prayer, and to foster hope for a better world. I pray that the new year brings us excitement and new goals for a more fulfilling, prosperous, and joyful life. May we continue to cultivate the courage, resilience, and positivity needed to navigate life’s struggles and trials this year.
How fitting it is to close the Christmas season with the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Indeed, the theme of fulfillment lies at the heart of the Christmas message. In the baptism narrative, we witness Jesus coming into our midst not only as a helpless infant but as our anointed Messiah for all people. He arrives, filled with the Holy Spirit, to baptize us in that same Spirit.
What a wonderful way to embrace the significance of this feast as we begin the new year. We all yearn for God’s anointing with the Holy Spirit, which casts away our fears, strengthens us in body and spirit, and inspires us to embrace our baptismal call—witnessing a life of holiness, proclaiming our faith in Jesus through our words and actions, and serving others, especially those on the margins of society.
On this Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, we may wonder why Jesus, the all-holy Son of God, sought John’s baptism of repentance. St. Maximus of Turin offers us this insight: “Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make water holy, and by cleansing to purify the waters which he touched. Since the Savior plunged into the waters, he sanctified the outpouring of every flood and the course of every stream by the mystery of his baptism. Therefore, when someone is baptized in the name of the Lord, it is not merely the waters of this world that cover him, but the waters of Christ that purify him. The Savior willed to be baptized for this reason—not to cleanse himself, but to cleanse the waters for our sake.”
May our minds and hearts be committed to fulfilling God’s will this year and beyond, sanctifying our lives and the world with the Spirit of Christ and the waters of our Christian baptism. Let us strive to lead true lives of holiness, marked by a fervent prayer life and an earnest desire to bring life, peace, and justice to our world.
Happy New Year!
Fr. Rodel “Odey” Balagtas