"Every piece of my flesh and every drop of my blood
tell you that I am a Christian."
--St. Chi Zhuzi
"Every piece of my flesh and every drop of my blood
tell you that I am a Christian."
--St. Chi Zhuzi
January 10, 2021
The Baptism of the
Lord
Lectionary: 21
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.
OR:
Is 55:1-11
Thus says the LORD:
All you who are thirsty,
come to the water!
You who have no money,
come, receive grain and eat;
come, without paying and without cost,
drink wine and milk!
Why spend your money for what is not bread,
your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well,
you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully,
listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant,
the benefits assured to David.
As I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of nations,
so shall you summon a nation you knew not,
and nations that knew you not shall run to you,
because of the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, who has glorified you.
Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
As high as the heavens are above the earth
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.
For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (11b) The Lord will bless his people with peace.
Give to the LORD, you sons of God,
give to the LORD glory and praise,
Give to the LORD the glory due his name;
adore the LORD in holy attire.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The voice of the LORD is over the waters,
the LORD, over vast waters.
The voice of the LORD is mighty;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
The God of glory thunders,
and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
The LORD is enthroned above the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as king forever.
R. The Lord will bless his people with peace.
OR:
Is 12:2-3, 4bcd, 5-6
R. (3) You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the LORD,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Give thanks to the LORD, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Sing praise to the LORD for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst
is the Holy One of Israel!
R. You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.
Reading 2 1 Jn 5:14-21
Peter proceeded to speak to those gathered
in the house of Cornelius, saying:
“In truth, I see that God shows no partiality.
Rather, in every nation whoever fears him and acts uprightly
is acceptable to him.
You know the word that he sent to the Israelites
as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all,
what has happened all over Judea,
beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached,
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.”
OR:
1 Jn 5:1-9
Beloved:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is begotten by God,
and everyone who loves the Father
loves also the one begotten by him.
In this way we know that we love the children of God
when we love God and obey his commandments.
For the love of God is this,
that we keep his commandments.
And his commandments are not burdensome,
for whoever is begotten by God conquers the world.
And the victory that conquers the world is our faith.
Who indeed is the victor over the world
but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ,
not by water alone, but by water and blood.
The Spirit is the one who testifies,
and the Spirit is truth.
So there are three that testify,
the Spirit, the water, and the blood,
and the three are of one accord.
If we accept human testimony,
the testimony of God is surely greater.
Now the testimony of God is this,
that he has testified on behalf of his Son.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John saw Jesus
approaching him, and said:
Behold the Lamb of
God who takes away the sin of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
This is what John the Baptist proclaimed:
“One mightier than I is coming after me.
I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.
I have baptized you with water;
he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
It happened in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee
and was baptized in the Jordan by John.
On coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open
and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him.
And a voice came from the heavens,
“You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
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Celebrating Baptism
Jesus united himself to sinners. First he humbled himself to become one of us, a human living with the same needs we have every day. Then he surrendered himself to the baptismal water so that when we are baptized, he is there in the water with us, raising us up to a new life, the holy life, everlasting life.
Everything that Jesus did shows us by example who we are: what the Father created us to be like and how we are to live as children of God. When Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended upon him and the Father said, "You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased," he showed us by example what happens at every person's baptism.
The Holy Spirit descended upon YOU and the Father said about YOU: "You are my beloved child; with you I am well pleased!"
Baptismal water is the womb of God from which we are reborn into his family and his ministry. When we bless ourselves with drops from holy water fonts, making the sign of the cross, we renew our baptisms.
In the Jordan River, Jesus was reborn from ordinary life to a life of ministry. Baptism does that for us, too. Is there some repentance you need to do so that you can be reborn more fully into what the Father created you to do - your divine purpose, the ministry he has called you to do?
Let us begin the Church Season of Ordinary Time with a renewal of our baptismal purification and commitment, so that we may be renewed as followers of Christ in holiness and in ministry:
Do you reject Satan?
And all his works?
And all his empty promises?
Do you believe in God,
the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?
Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?
Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?
Next, use the following prayer (or one of your own):
"Dear God, I am a sinner. I sometimes fail to put You first in my life. Forgive me. Change me. Renew me. To demonstrate that I mean it, that I truly want You to be Lord of my life completely, I will do a special act, just as Jesus put his life fully into the Father's hands by surrendering to John's baptism and allowing his own rebirth. The act that I choose to do is __________. Amen!"
And God the Father says of you:
"This is my beloved son/daughter; with him/her I am well pleased!"
Today's Prayer
Pour, Lord, the anointing of Your Spirit upon me so Your plans will be fulfilled and I will be an instrument of Your love for my brothers and sisters. Amen.
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God Bless You.....
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