Baptism of the Lord
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Baptism of the Lord
"Everything that happened to Christ let us know that, after the bath of water, the Holy Spirit swoops down upon us from high heaven and that, adopted by the
Father's voice, we become sons of God."
St. Hilary of Poitiers
Learn more about the Sacrament of Baptism.
The Baptism of the Lord is celebrated the Sunday after the Epiphany and concludes the Christmas Season. The Baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of his public ministry. Jesus came from Galilee to be baptized by his cousin John the Baptist in the Jordan River. In his baptism, Jesus submits himself entirely to his Father’s will and out of love he consents to the baptism of death for the remission of our sins. After agreeing to be baptized along with sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the “lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”. By doing so, John reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of many as well as the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel’s redemption at the first Passover. When Jesus comes up from the water of his baptism, the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, comes upon Jesus and remains with him. As does the Holy Spirit comes down and remains in the purified hearts of all who are baptized. As the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus a voice from Heaven proclaims, “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased”. And with this the heavens were opened to us again which had been closed through Adam’s sin.
So let us enter into this mystery of Baptism as we join with Jesus in order to rise with him and walk in the newness of life.
“Let us be buried with Christ by Baptism to rise with him: let us go down with him to be raised with him; and let us rise with him to be glorified with him.”
-St. Gregory of Nazyanzus
As we celebrate the Baptism of our Lord let us remember how much our Heavenly Father loves us by coming and lowering himself to be among sinners so that He might always be standing side by side next to us, relating to us instead of judging from up high. Giving us this beautiful sacrament of Baptism so that we may be forever in communication with God.
Activities
-Discuss why we baptize. Watch a Baptism or discuss one you have witnessed while at Mass.
- When you attend Mass, remember to visit the Baptismal Font. Dip two fingertips into the water and make the Sign of the Cross in remembrance of your Baptism.
- Fill out and decorate the following certificate with either a photograph or drawing of the day you were baptized. Certificate print out
- The scalloped shell is one of the symbols of baptism. Either use a real shell or a paper shell, punch or drill a hole at the top and thread ribbon through and tie forming a loop. If you cannot drill a hole in a real shell then attach ribbon with hot glue. Write your name and date of baptism on the inside (or smooth) part of the shell.
- Coloring sheets Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4