| |
Vol. 36 No. 10
(Cycle B)
Baptism of the Lord
You are my beloved son; in you I am well pleased
ENTRANCE ANTIPHON
When the Lord had been baptized, the heavens opened, and the Spirit came down
like a dove to rest on him. Then the voice of the Father thundered: This is my
beloved Son, with him I am well pleased.
PENITENTIAL RITE
Dear friends, our baptism is a personal choice to accept the invitation of
Jesus, to continue his mission on earth. And this radically demands of us to
become a new creation and to be born again in Jesus. The question therefore, we
ask ourselves is: is my baptism a continuous, ever unfolding journey of faith
that enables me to encounter God or is it an event that took place once in my
life and forgotten? (Pause)
I confess ….
Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth. Lord God,
heavenly King, almighty God and Father, we worship you, we give you thanks, we
praise you for your glory. Lord, Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father, Lord God,
Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us; you are
seated at the right hand of the Father, receive our prayer. For you alone are
the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ,
with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.
OPENING PRAYER
Let us pray. Almighty, eternal God, when the Spirit descended upon Jesus at his
baptism in the Jordan, you revealed him as your own beloved Son. Keep us, your
children born of water and the Spirit, faithful to our calling. We ask this…
FIRST READING
(In the reading, we are given a portrait of a true servant of God. It is
something realized perfectly in Christ, and something to which his followers
ought to aspire.)
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (42:1-4,6-7)
Thus says the Lord: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my
soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him, he will bring forth justice to the
nations. He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a
bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he
will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not fail or be discouraged till he
has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. I am
the Lord, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and
kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
This is the Word of the Lord
PSALM (28)
Response: The Lord will bless his people with peace.
O give the Lord, you sons of God, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord
the glory of his name. Adore the Lord in his holy court. R/.
The Lord’s voice resounding on the waters, the Lord on the immensity of waters;
the voice of the Lord, full of power, the voice of the Lord, full of splendour.
R/.
The God of glory thunders. In his temple they all cry: “Glory!” The Lord sit
enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits as king for ever. R/.
SECOND READING
(This passage contains a reference to Jesus’ baptism, and is an example of the
early Christian preaching to the non-Jews.)
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles (10:34-38)
Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I perceive that God shows no partiality,
but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to
him. You know the word which he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace by
Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), the word which was proclaimed throughout all
Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: How God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with Power; how he went
about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was
with him.”
This is the Word of the Lord
ACCLAMATION (Mk 9:7)
Alleluia, alleluia! A voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son,
listen to him.” Alleluia!
GOSPEL
(St Mark in his account of Jesus’ Baptism reveals Jesus as the royal Messiah and
suffering servant.)
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St Mark (1:7-11)
John the Baptist preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I,
the thong of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have
baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” In those
days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.
And he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the
Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “Thou art
my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased.”
This is the Gospel of the Lord
(Homily)
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in
Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy
Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was
crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he
rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the
Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the
Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness
of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL
Cel: Dear friends, through our baptism we are privileged to be called the
beloved children of God. We know that God will not refuse us his beloved what we
ask in faith. And so we pray:
Response: Lord, hear our prayer.
1. That our Pope, bishops, priests and religious may faithfully and radically
renew the baptism they have received in the name of the Triune God, and become
dynamic witnesses of God’s love to his people, let us pray to the Lord. R/.
2. That all Christians may come to know the purpose and seriousness of the
baptism they have received and may truly become the beloved children of God, let
us pray to the Lord. R/.
3. That those who have great difficulty in accepting Jesus as their Lord and
God, might have the grace to return to God’s love and accept Jesus as their
redeemer, let us pray to the Lord. R/.
4. That all of us gathered here may grow in appreciation of sharing Jesus’ life
and mission, let us pray to the Lord. R/.
Cel: God our Father, through water and Holy Spirit, you gave us a new life. In
your goodness, help us to participate in the life and mission of your beloved
Son. We ask this….
PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS
Lord, we celebrate the revelation of Christ your Son who takes away the sins of
the world. Accept our gifts and let them become one with his sacrifice, for he
is Lord for ever and ever.
PREFACE (7)
Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to
give you thanks.
You celebrated your new gift of baptism by signs and wonders at the Jordan. Your
voice was heard from heaven to awaken faith in the presence among us of the Word
made man. Your Spirit was seen as a dove, revealing Jesus as your servant, and
anointing him with joy as the Christ, sent to bring to the poor the good news of
salvation.
In our unending joy we echo on earth the song of the angels in heaven as they
praise your glory for ever:
All: Holy, holy, holy...
COMMUNION ANTIPHON
This is he of whom John said: I have seen and have given witness that this is
the Son of God.
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Lord, you feed us with bread from heaven. May we hear your Son with faith and
become your children in name and in fact. We ask this…
Liturgy & Life
We might rightly wonder, along with John the
Baptist, why Jesus needed to be baptised. “It is I who need baptism from you,”
John said to Jesus, “and yet you come to me!” John was baptising all those
people as a sign of repentance for their sins and as a sign of their resolve to
change their lives. How could Jesus, the Son of God, be part of this?
Jesus in so doing was expressing his total solidarity with the human race as he
made himself truly a part of it. He identified with them, not as a sinner but as
a fellow human being. The expression of that solidarity was a risk which he
constantly took because the needs of the sinner were more important to him than
his reputation with the self-righteous. It will have its final dramatic
expression as Jesus dies on a cross, executed with two convicted criminals.
What is being really emphasised at the River Jordan is that Jesus’ total
solidarity with the human race is being totally accepted and confirmed by his
Father. As he stands there in the River Jordan, he is being ‘commissioned’ by
his Father for the work he is just about to begin. He is here getting the total
endorsement of his Father for that work. He was beginning his public life, his
mission. His baptism was his initiation, his entrance into that mission.
As he steps out of the water, the heavens open and the Spirit of God comes down
on Jesus to fill him with all God’s fullness. “This is my Son, the Beloved in
him I am well pleased.” This, we might say, is Jesus’ Pentecost experience. It
is really what the baptism in the Jordan is about. He emerged from the water
commissioned by the Father to do his work.
Today we reflect on the meaning of our own baptism and how it relates with that
of Jesus. Baptism should mean for us exactly what it meant for Jesus that day he
stepped into the river Jordan. In the waters of baptism we have been initiated,
called and commissioned. We have been initiated into a life of total solidarity
with the people and commissioned by the Father to continue Jesus’ ministry.
“This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased…Listen to him.” The
importance of this epiphany lies in the words of the Father. Jesus and Jesus
alone is our Master anointed, approved and appointed by the Father. In a world
full of gurus, dynamic preachers and unimaginable types of teachers with
thousands and thousands of followers, we need to look to only one place, to only
one person for guidance. We only need to look to Jesus Christ. Our way to God
the Father is through the person of Jesus Christ. We take these steps by
responding to his call for us to take up our crosses and follow him. Any theory
or practice that diminishes the need for Jesus in our lives and reduces the
importance of his presence in our lives cannot be our way to the Father.
The writer Annie Dillard had a mystical experience that led her to the convent.
She was walking through the woods when she saw a valley below her and two men in
the water. She realized it was John the Baptist and Jesus. She saw Jesus come
out of the water. Suddenly, she was right next to the Lord. She saw the beads of
water on Jesus’ shoulders. She looked closer and in each bead of water she saw a
nation, a city, a home, a person’s face. It was then that it occurred to her
that Jesus knew everyone of his people and was baptized to care for and to serve
each one of us.
When you leave Church and dip your fingers into those miniature baptismal fonts
we call holy water fonts, think of your dignity, your call and God’s statement
of your commission: “You are my Beloved in whom I am well pleased. Go and be my
disciples.”
January 2009
READINGS OF THE WEEK
Psalter Week 1
12 Mon (G) Heb 1:1-6/ Ps 97:1 & 2b.6 & 7c.9/ Mk 1:14-20
13 Tue (G) Heb 2:5-12/ Ps 8:2ab & 5.6-7.8-9/ Mk 1:21-28
14 Wed (G) Heb 2:14-18/ Ps 105:1-2.3-4.6-7.8-9/ Mk 1:29-39
15 Thu (G) Heb 3:7-14/ Ps 95:6-7c.8-9.10-11/ Mk 1:40-45
16 Fri (W) Bl Joseph Vaz (M), Heb 4:1-5.11/ Ps 78:3 & 4bc.6c-7.8/ Mk 2:1-12
17 Sat (W) St Anthony (M), Heb 4:12-16/ Ps 19:8.9.10.15/ Mk 2:13-17
|