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Benjamin Jansen S.J.Jan 12, 2025 12:00:00 AM1 min read

12 January 2025

The Baptism of the Lord

One of the greatest perils for Christians is that we can become so familiar with the content of the Gospels that we get desensitized to just how marvelous, mysterious, bizarre, beautiful, and profound they truly are. The Baptism of the Lord is a particularly singular example of this phenomenon.
How incredibly beautiful and mysterious it is that the Holy One of God who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire first consents to be baptized Himself. How utterly amazing that the Son of God who has no sin and needs no purification intentionally humbles Himself to be baptized in order to sanctify and elevate this Sacrament to an infinite degree for all future generations. How beautiful that John the Baptist, who was so specially blessed by the Presence of Christ before his birth is now blessed again by the honor of baptizing his Creator and Lord.
The Baptism of the Lord presents an incredibly rich opportunity for contemplation as Christ embraces his baptism in the same way that He later embraces his Cross: both are acts of infinitely selfless, infinitely precious self-gift made from his boundless love and desire for relationship with us.

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