Solemnity of The Baptism of Our Lord

My dear Friends in Christ,

Today The Church celebrates the Solemnity of The Baptism of Our Lord. This brings to an end the Season of Christmas. The Church recalls Our Lord’s second manifestation or epiphany which occurred on the occasion of His Baptism in the Jordan. Tomorrow we will return to Ordinary Time in the Church Liturgical Calendar. We begin the transition from Jesus’ hidden life to that of His public ministry. It also echoes the theme of The Epiphany in that The Baptism of The Lord is another manifestation announcing Jesus’ divinity to all of His first followers and to the disciples of John the Baptist. The Church recalls Our Lord’s second manifestation on the occasion of His Baptism in the Jordan. Jesus descended into the River to sanctify its waters and to give them the power to beget sons of God. The event takes on the importance of a second creation in which the entire Trinity intervenes. Jesus didn’t need to be baptized. John was baptizing those in need of conversion and filled with sinfulness as they came forward as a sign of interior repentance. Jesus had no need to repent. Jesus came to John anyway. John resists at first but Jesus insists. So why was it necessary for Jesus to receive baptism? Jesus came to free us and liberate us from sin and darkness thus beginning His mission of salvation to the world.

What exactly does 20+C+M+B+22 mean? The letters can stand for “Christus Mansionem Benedicat” which means “May Christ bless this house.” Another interpretation suggests that CMB are the initials of the Wise Men who visited the newborn King. May God’s presence always be welcome in our homes.

May God bless you all,

Father John