Dear Parishioner,

In the Gospel this week we hear John the Baptist saying that, while he was sent to baptise with water, “He (Jesus) on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit”. John’s baptism was only for the forgiveness of sins. The baptism we receive enables us to live supernatural lives – i.e. the life we are intended to live by the God who made us. A life that is sacrificial and which is to be forever with God in heaven.

     When I think of my own baptism, (which, being a baby at the time I do not recall!) it was the love that my parents had for me which prompted them to seek my baptism. That love was a supernatural love, the love which they had received through their own baptism. When we sin, we sin against love because God is love. Thinking of our own baptism reminds us of our vocation of love. It helps us to recall our own Christian histories and to reflect on the effects of God’s grace and love on each one of us. It may prompt us to think of the times specifically when we were able to make our faith count, for instance by trying to help someone, or when weathering a crisis in our lives. It may remind us of the times when we failed to live the life of baptismal grace, for example, if we stopped going to Mass or failed to be an example to others. 

      In all this we should take heart. God, through his Holy Spirit, is inviting us to live our lives in Christ more fully. Even if we feel that we have badly failed to live as Christ wants us to, or perhaps lapsed from the faith altogether, we must be certain that the Holy Spirit we received at baptism is urging us to return in our hearts and, of course, avail ourselves of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In this way we will find the joy of the Gospel through the renewal of the grace and love given us at our baptism.

            This Sunday is Peace Sunday – I am sure we are all praying especially for Ukraine and Russia, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, and Gaza. There seems to be an even higher level of conflict than usual. We might see this as our opportunity to show the peace and hope in our lives which we have just heralded at Christmas.

Yours in Christ, 

Dom Timothy Gorham OSB