Welcome to the Church of Saint Anselm

Untitled Document

Baptism of the Lord - Paul Turner

The Christmas season comes to its close when we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord, an event recorded in all four Gospels. To begin his public ministry, Jesus presented himself to be baptized by John the Baptist, and God manifested Jesus as the divine Son.

Because we associate baptism with the forgiveness of sins, the idea that the sinless Jesus would undergo baptism seems out of place. The evangelists must have thought the same; as a whole, they downplay the incident. But the baptism of Jesus had nothing to do with forgiveness; it had everything to do with manifestation. It was a new beginning because it publicly revealed Jesus" identity, and that testimony came not from just any witness but from God.

Three incidents in the Bible are traditionally called the "epiphany" events or the "manifestations" of Jesus, newly arrived on the biblical scene: the visit of the magi, the baptism, and the miracle at the wedding in Cana. Prior to 1969 we heard all three of these Scriptures in successive weeks: Jan. 6, Jan. 13, and on the following Sunday. All three stories form a unit because they progressively reveal the identity, the authority and the power of Jesus.

In today's calendar the Sunday readings spread over a three-year cycle. On the Baptism of the Lord we hear a different evangelist's account each year. Only in year C does the following Sunday feature the Gospel of the wedding at Cana to unify the three celebrations.

In the United States we celebrate Epiphany on a Sunday. But in countries where the Epiphany is a holy day of obligation, it is celebrated on Jan. 6. In the United States, the Baptism of the Lord is usually the Sunday after the Epiphany, but if Epiphany comes late, falling on Jan. 6 or 7, the Baptism of the Lord goes to the next day, Jan. 7 or 8, a Monday, in order to make room for the weeks of ordinary time.

January 1 - Paul Turner

January 1 is New Year's Day to most of the world, but in the Catholic Church it is also the solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God. This is a relatively new title for the day. Older Catholics will remember that we used to call January 1 the feast of the Circumcision.

Circumcision may not seem like much to have a feast about. But the day commemorated an event in the life of Jesus, just as we have days for his conception, birth, presentation in the temple, baptism, transfiguration, death and resurrection. Luke specifically mentions the circumcision of Jesus (2:21). It took place, according to the custom, on the eighth day after his birth. That is why the feast commemorating the event fell on the eighth day of Christmas. It just happened to be New Year's Day. The same passage from Luke says Jesus then received his name.

That is why the old calendar celebrated the Most Holy Name of Jesus on the Sunday between the feasts of the Circumcision and the Epiphany. If no Sunday intervened, the feast occurred on January 2. It is now an optional memorial on January 3.

In present times the Gospel passage for January 1 still refers to the circumcision, but the new title for the feast seems to have another verse in mind, Luke 2:19. There we hear that Mary treasured all the things that happened and the words that were said and pondered them in her heart. On the octave day of the birth of Jesus, we celebrate Mary, who bore him.

On January 1 we are also expected to pray for world peace. In the United States, this day is a holy day of obligation unless it falls on a Monday or a Saturday.