St. Jude's Pastor's Page - From the Desk of Fr. Peter

Reflecting….               In today’s Gospel, people gather along the banks of the Jordan River to hear John the Baptist proclaim his message of repentance.  Many willingly and contritely go to John and ask for baptism.  They repent and desire forgiveness and are deeply sorry for their sins.  Others along the river, however, may hesitate.  They may not understand John’s message; they may fear the demands of conversion; they may be caught in the chains of pride and are not willing to admit to their own sinfulness.                          And then there’s Jesus.  The One who needs to repent of nothing and be forgiven for nothing enters the waters of the river, approaches John, and asks to be baptized.  John recognizes that he himself should be baptized by Jesus, but he humbly follows Jesus’ direction.               John’s baptism is a symbol of repentance and the willingness to change one’s life.  Jesus receives this baptism and then, through His life ministry, death and Resurrection, brings us the baptism that is ours today—a baptism through which we become beloved daughters and sons of God and sisters and brothers to Jesus and all others in God’s family, the Church.  We share the life of God—which is everlasting.  On this solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord, we celebrate the gift of our own baptism.  We give thanks to God for the grace of new life in Christ by which we, too, become God’s beloved.    Prayer:    Dear God, we are your beloved sons and daughters.  May we live every day in ways that show our joy because you are our Father and Jesus is our brother.  Amen.                  .