Jan. 13th

Post date: Jan 14, 2019 6:1:49 PM

Jan 13, 2019 Homily for Feast of Jesus’ Baptism by Fr. Karl Schray

At first people wondered if John the Baptist was the Messiah.

But John said: “No, I am not.” He said his baptism was only with water—

A baptism of repentance. The one who would come after him

would baptize in the Holy Spirit. In other words,

Jesus’ Baptism would be a baptism of re-birth. It would be a sacrament.

Our Baptism is the most important gift of our life.

From a spiritual point of view, it is the greatest thing that can happen to us.

St. Louis of France used to sign his documents Louis of Poissy

rather than Louis IX, King. When asked why, he answered,

‘Poissy is the place where I was baptized.

I think more of the place where I was baptized

Than of Rheims Cathedral where I was crowned King.

It is a greater thing to be a child of God than to be the ruler of a kingdom.

A kingdom I shall lose at death but being and living as a child of God

will be my passport to everlasting glory.’

When we were baptized, a parent or god-parent went to the

Easter Candle, lit our Baptismal Candle from it and brought it back to us.

When we bring our children for Baptism,

we ourselves make a commitment. We commit to lead them to Christ,

to educate by example and teaching, to help them take on for themselves

the Faith in which they were baptized.

In that sense, it takes years to “baptize” a child.

Baptism is not the end of a process. It’s the beginning;

it’s merely the first step.

First steps are very important, but so is the rest of life.

Jesus baptizes them by water and the Holy Spirit in a day!!

You are building on that for the rest of their lives.

Consider the image of grafting an apricot branch onto a different variety

apricot tree. It needs to grow and become part of the new tree.

If it doesn’t, it will soon die.

Once we are grafted into Christ, we must grow and become part of him.

If we don’t, we will die.

For that reason, I think we should stir up our own faith now by renewing

our baptismal promises and then I will sprinkle us with Holy water.