This weekend we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord. It is the hinge from the Christmas season into the period we call Ordinary Time (I actually think it should be called Extraordinary Time because it is the time of the Holy Spirit but that’s a topic for another time). Jesus is baptised in the Jordan by John his cousin and his Father speaks from heaven to Jesus (not us) and says “You are my Son, the beloved, my favor rests on you”. These words are spoken to us at our baptism, making us child of, beloved of and favored by God. That is a powerful connection. Our relationship with God is not one of subject but of cherished child of an all loving, all wise and all merciful Father. So perhaps the start of ordinary time we should think of our baptism and how through our familial relationship with God we can make the ordinariness of life extraordinary. We can do this by imaging God to others by the way we live and relate to them in charity and mercy, giving hope to all we meet. This is how we can live up to our parish motto of becoming one family in Christ.
Thanks for all the good wishes last week when I was laid up with the flu. Please remember that tomorrow ( January 11, 2016 ) at 7pm will be this month’s input for the Year of Mercy, Mercy and the Bible. This month the speaker is…lil’ ol’ me!
God bless you and your families this week.
Fr AP
May God bless you, your families, and the week ahead,
Fr Aidan Peter