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