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BAPTISM OF OUR LORD
Today's feast of the Baptism of the Lord is the last day of the Christmas season, yet it also functions as the First Sunday in Ordinary Time. Only one week has passed since we celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany. No longer are we focused on the images of the child Jesus surrounded by his parents and the magi at the manger in Bethlehem. Today we celebrate his baptism in the Jordan. When the Lord Jesus rises from the waters of baptism, the heavens open and a voice announces, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This event sets the stage for the unfolding of Jesus Christ's life and work, which will become our focus for the rest of the year as we tune our ears to St. Matthew's Gospel. As we prepare ourselves for this work, let us be reminded that we, too, were counted among God's beloved at the moment of our own baptism. Theologically, the feast is linked to the Epiphany, since in its own way it, too, celebrates an 'epiphany' or revelation of the Lord. In fact, in the liturgical tradition of the East, the Lord's baptism was celebrated on Epiphany itself. The liturgical reform of Vatican II has made it clear that today's celebration should be seen as the culmination of the Christmas cycle of feasts.
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