Reading I Is 42:1-4, 6-7 Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. a bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Psalms 104:1B-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30 R. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.
1B O LORD, my God, you are great indeed! you are clothed with majesty and glory, 2 robed in light as with a cloak. You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth; R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
3 You have constructed your palace upon the waters. You make the clouds your chariot; you travel on the wings of the wind. 4 You make the winds your messengers, and flaming fire your ministers. R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
24 How manifold are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you have wrought them all– the earth is full of your creatures; 25 the sea also, great and wide, in which are schools without number of living things both small and great. R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
27 They look to you to give them food in due time. 28 When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are filled with good things. R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
29 If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust. 30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
2nd Reading – ACTS 10:34-38 34 Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
36 You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached,
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Luke 3:16 R. Alleluia, alleluia. 16 John said: One mightier than I is coming; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Luke 3:15-16, 21-22 15 The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.
16 John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
21 After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
The Holy Spirit, received for the first time on the day of our Baptism, opens our heart to the Truth, to all Truth. The Spirit impels our life on the challenging but joyful path of charity and solidarity toward our brothers and sisters. The Spirit gives us the tenderness of divine forgiveness and permeates us with the invincible power of the Father’s mercy. Let us not forget that the Holy Spirit is a living and vivifying presence in those who welcome him, he prays in us and fills us with spiritual joy. (Angelus, 10 january 2016)
FAUSTS - Through John, Luke wants to guide the Christian to welcome the Lord who comes. It can be said that in the figure of John a sketch of Christian anthropology is made: it describes how one must understand man in relation to Christ, who comes to give him his true identity as a son of God. God's promise should not be diminished. It is over every expectation of man. This must continually become greater in order to be "waiting for God". The function of the Baptist is to keep it always open, so that he does not reduce the gift and glory of God to the level of a simple human hope. John explains that he does not raise man to God. He simply immerses him in his truth, in the water of his limit and of his death, in his created nature, waiting for the strongest come. This one will immerse him in the Holy Spirit, in the very life of God. This and nothing else is man's salvation: to participate in God's life, in the fire of His Light. It is about the Baptism of the people and of Jesus. Luke first of all recalls that Jesus prayed. It is a theme that the evangelist develops in all his work. The enlightenment, already given in Baptism to every believer, is kindled and maintained in prayer. It realizes the new relationship that there is with God, the relationship of Son and Father, it is the place of the experience of the Holy Spirit, life and love of God, a gift infallibly connected to it. To pray is to return to God. Prayer is the breath of life as a son of God in which Baptism has placed us. Without prayer, our divine sonship, instead of sinking and developing to its full extent, is atrophied and falls upon itself. The result of Jesus' prayer is that heaven was opened. The sky had closed on earth because of the disobedience of Adam, who had closed his heart to God. The Prophet's great desire was for God to tear through the sky, His dress and His veil: "If you would tear the heavens open and come down!" (Is 63:19) Now this desire is fulfilled. In Jesus' obedience, the heaven opened up to the earth. Now this God, whose delight is to be with the children of men, descends definitively among us in the person of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God (Spirit = life, Holy = of God). The physical figure of this Spirit - or His Descent - is like a dove. This fluttering of the dove over the newly Baptized recalls that of the Spirit of God over the waters of primordial chaos. It is also an allusion to Noah, the father of those saved from the water, who eagerly awaits the return of the dove that announces to him the end of the flood. And a voice from heaven came, the definitive voice of God, of that God who had no face, the voice that expresses the Word, who is His obedient Son. The eternal Word of God resounds in time: the Spirit has descended upon Jesus, in Him the Father recognizes His Son, the liberating Messiah, the "Beloved" unique Son of His Heart. His Public Life, contained between Baptism and Ascension, is God's window on the world. The witness of the disciples will serve to bring, through the proclamation, all men to this light of God.
The Baptism of the Lord
RispondiEliminaLectionary: 21
Reading I
Is 42:1-4, 6-7
Thus says the LORD:
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
upon whom I have put my spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
a bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Psalms 104:1B-2, 3-4, 24-25, 27-28, 29-30
RispondiEliminaR. (1) O bless the Lord, my soul.
1B O LORD, my God, you are great indeed!
you are clothed with majesty and glory,
2 robed in light as with a cloak.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent-cloth;
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
3 You have constructed your palace upon the waters.
You make the clouds your chariot;
you travel on the wings of the wind.
4 You make the winds your messengers,
and flaming fire your ministers.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
24 How manifold are your works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have wrought them all–
the earth is full of your creatures;
25 the sea also, great and wide,
in which are schools without number
of living things both small and great.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
27 They look to you to give them food in due time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
29 If you take away their breath, they perish and return to the dust.
30 When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth.
R. O bless the Lord, my soul.
2nd Reading – ACTS 10:34-38
34 Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered in the house of Cornelius, saying: “In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
35 Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly is acceptable to him.
36 You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
37 what has happened all over Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power. He went about doing good and healing all those oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
Luke 3:16
RispondiEliminaR. Alleluia, alleluia.
16 John said: One mightier than I is coming;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Luke 3:15-16, 21-22
15 The people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Christ.
16 John answered them all, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
21 After all the people had been baptized and Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, heaven was opened
22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaThe Holy Spirit, received for the first time on the day of our Baptism, opens our heart to the Truth, to all Truth. The Spirit impels our life on the challenging but joyful path of charity and solidarity toward our brothers and sisters. The Spirit gives us the tenderness of divine forgiveness and permeates us with the invincible power of the Father’s mercy. Let us not forget that the Holy Spirit is a living and vivifying presence in those who welcome him, he prays in us and fills us with spiritual joy. (Angelus, 10 january 2016)
FAUSTS - Through John, Luke wants to guide the Christian to welcome the Lord who comes.
RispondiEliminaIt can be said that in the figure of John a sketch of Christian anthropology is made: it describes how one must understand man in relation to Christ, who comes to give him his true identity as a son of God. God's promise should not be diminished. It is over every expectation of man.
This must continually become greater in order to be "waiting for God".
The function of the Baptist is to keep it always open, so that he does not reduce the gift and glory of God to the level of a simple human hope.
John explains that he does not raise man to God. He simply immerses him in his truth, in the water of his limit and of his death, in his created nature, waiting for the strongest come. This one will immerse him in the Holy Spirit, in the very life of God.
This and nothing else is man's salvation: to participate in God's life, in the fire of His Light.
It is about the Baptism of the people and of Jesus. Luke first of all recalls that Jesus prayed. It is a theme that the evangelist develops in all his work.
The enlightenment, already given in Baptism to every believer, is kindled and maintained in prayer. It realizes the new relationship that there is with God, the relationship of Son and Father, it is the place of the experience of the Holy Spirit, life and love of God, a gift infallibly connected to it.
To pray is to return to God. Prayer is the breath of life as a son of God in which Baptism has placed us. Without prayer, our divine sonship, instead of sinking and developing to its full extent, is atrophied and falls upon itself.
The result of Jesus' prayer is that heaven was opened.
The sky had closed on earth because of the disobedience of Adam, who had closed his heart to God. The Prophet's great desire was for God to tear through the sky, His dress and His veil: "If you would tear the heavens open and come down!" (Is 63:19) Now this desire is fulfilled.
In Jesus' obedience, the heaven opened up to the earth.
Now this God, whose delight is to be with the children of men, descends definitively among us in the person of the Holy Spirit, the gift of God (Spirit = life, Holy = of God). The physical figure of this Spirit - or His Descent - is like a dove.
This fluttering of the dove over the newly Baptized recalls that of the Spirit of God over the waters of primordial chaos. It is also an allusion to Noah, the father of those saved from the water, who eagerly awaits the return of the dove that announces to him the end of the flood.
And a voice from heaven came, the definitive voice of God, of that God who had no face, the voice that expresses the Word, who is His obedient Son. The eternal Word of God resounds in time: the Spirit has descended upon Jesus, in Him the Father recognizes His Son, the liberating Messiah, the "Beloved" unique Son of His Heart.
His Public Life, contained between Baptism and Ascension, is God's window on the world. The witness of the disciples will serve to bring, through the proclamation, all men to this light of God.