R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The heavens were opened and the voice of the Father thundered:
This is my beloved Son, listen to him.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

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.”

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.”

The river Jordan in the Holy Land where Jesus was baptized by his cousin John the Baptist did not seem to me when I saw it for the first time to be no wider than our own Mahoning River — but the river Jordan has a context that is essential to all human history. 

There in the river Jordan the greatest of all the prophets, John the Baptist, was preaching and doing a baptism of repentance — a conversion of life itself from a life of sin to a life of moral virtue and giving of one’s life to God.  His Baptism of repentance was very profound.   And while John was baptizing in the Jordan, Jesus arrives.  Jesus seeks the baptism of John to be an example.  Jesus approves of John’s baptism — of turning away from a lifestyle of sin.  While John was baptizing Jesus, all of a sudden, the voice is heard from the sky, that is, God the Father in Heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am most pleased; listen to Him.”  Now the new baptism in Jesus begins to take its shape: a baptism now which brings life in the Holy Spirit and causes the very indwelling of the Spirit in us, with all stain of original sin washed away from the soul.

And so today we refresh our awareness of the Sacrament of Baptism instituted by Christ Himself.  Saint John Paul II, in one of his homilies, describes some of the elements that we celebrate at the time of our Baptism:

“We are anointed with the oil of catechumens on the upper chest to fight against evil.  Then blest water is poured over us three times in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit purifying and cleansing us of original sin through the gift of the Holy Spirit.  After Baptism we are anointed on the forehead with the Sacred Chrism Oil in that we are consecrated by baptism in the image of Jesus as the Priest, Prophet and King.  Then the Baptismal candle is lit from the Pascal Candle with the address to the parents and the godparents, ‘Safeguard the light of Christ in this child by the way you live.”

A grandfather went to a flower shop.  He said to the florist, “I want the most beautiful corsage you have but it has to be very small.  My granddaughter has a very special date tomorrow.” “How old?” the florist inquired.  “Only two weeks old.   But it must be special since she will never again have a more important date.  You see, tomorrow my little granddaughter will be baptized.”

Monsignor Michael J. Cariglio, Jr., Pastor, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Basilica and Saint Anthony Parish

Comfort, give comfort to my people,
says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her
that her service is at an end,
her guilt is expiated;
indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD
double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
In the desert prepare the way of the LORD!
Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God!
Every valley shall be filled in,
every mountain and hill shall be made low;
the rugged land shall be made a plain,
the rough country, a broad valley.
Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together;
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Go up on to a high mountain,
Zion, herald of glad tidings;
cry out at the top of your voice,
Jerusalem, herald of good news!
Fear not to cry out
and say to the cities of Judah:
Here is your God!
Here comes with power
the Lord GOD,
who rules by a strong arm;
here is his reward with him,
his recompense before him.
Like a shepherd he feeds his flock;
in his arms he gathers the lambs,
carrying them in his bosom,
and leading the ewes with care.

R. (11b)  The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.

Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Spirit and power.
He went about doing good
and healing all those oppressed by the devil,
for God was with him.”

It has long been a Catholic understanding that when circumstances prevent one from receiving Holy Communion, it is possible to make an Act of Spiritual Communion, which is a source of grace. Spiritual Communion is an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament and lovingly embrace him at a time or in circumstances when one cannot receive Him in sacramental Communion. The most common reason for making an Act of Spiritual Communion is when a person cannot attend Mass. Acts of Spiritual Communion increase our desire to receive sacramental Communion and help us avoid the sins that would make us unable to receive Holy Communion worthily.

Spiritual Communion Prayer

My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the Most Holy Sacrament.

I love you above all things and I desire to receive you in my soul.

Since I cannot at this moment receive you sacramentally,

Come at least spiritually into my heart.

I embrace you as if you were already there

And unite myself wholly to you.

Never permit me to be separated from you.

Amen.