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January 11, 2026
The Baptism of the Lord
11 de enero de 2026
Fiesta del Bautismo del Señor
Y una voz se oyó desde el cielo, que decía:
«Este es mi Hijo amado, en quien tengo mis complacencias».
And a voice came from the heavens, saying,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Reflection on Sunday Readings by Fr. Raj
Reflexión sobre las lecturas dominicales del P. Raj
The Baptism of the Lord
Today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the Gospel presents us with an astonishing scene: it is the first time that Jesus appears in public after his hidden life in Nazareth. He arrives on the bank of the River Jordan to be baptized by John (cf. Mt 3:13-17). It is a rite by which the people repented and committed to converting; a liturgical hymn says that the people went to be baptized “with a bare soul and bare feet” — an open, naked soul, without covering anything — that is, with humility and with a transparent heart. But, seeing Jesus mingling with the sinners, we are surprised and we wonder: why did Jesus make that choice? He, the Saint of God, the Son of God without sin, why did he make that choice? We find the answer in Jesus’ words to John: “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (v. 15). Fulfil all righteousness: what does it mean?
By having himself baptized, Jesus reveals God’s justice, that justice he came to bring into the world. Very often we have a limited idea of justice, and think that it means: those who do wrong pay, and in this way compensate for the wrong they have done. But God’s justice, as the Scripture teaches, is much greater. It does not have the condemnation of the guilty as its end, but their salvation, rebirth and their being made righteous: from unjust to just. It is a justice that comes from love, from the depths of compassion and mercy that are the very heart of God, the Father who is moved when we are oppressed by evil and fall under the weight of sins and fragility. God’s justice, then, is not intended to distribute penalties and punishments but rather, as the Apostle Paul affirms, it consists of making us, his children, righteous (cf. Rm 3:22-31), freeing us from the snares of evil, healing us, raising us up again. The Lord is never ready to punish us. His hand is outstretched to help us rise up. And so, we understand that, on the banks of the Jordan, Jesus reveals to us the meaning of his mission: He came to fulfil divine justice, which is that of saving sinners; he came to take on his own shoulders the sin of the world and to descend into the waters of the abyss, of death, so as to rescue us and prevent us from drowning. He shows us today that God’s true justice is the mercy that saves. We are afraid to think that God is mercy, but God is mercy because his justice is indeed the mercy that saves. It is the love that shares our human condition, that makes itself close, in solidarity with our suffering, entering into our darkness to restore light.
We are afraid to think of such a merciful justice. Let us move forward: God is mercy. His justice is merciful. Let us allow him to take us by the hand. We too, disciples of Jesus, are required to exercise jus-tice in this way, in relationships with others, in the Church, in society: not with the harshness of those who judge and condemn, dividing people into good and bad, but with the mercy of those who welcome by sharing the wounds and frailties of their sisters and brothers, so as to lift them up again. I would like to put it like this: not dividing, but sharing. Let us do as Jesus did: let us share, let us carry each other’s burdens instead of gossiping and destroying, let us look at each other with compassion, let us help each other. Let us ask ourselves: am I a person who divides or shares? Think a little: am I a disciple of Jesus’ love or a disciple of gossip that divides. Gossip is a lethal weapon: it kills, it kills love, it kills society, it kills fraternity.
Let us pray to Our Lady, who gave life to Jesus, immersing him in our frailty so that we might receive life again. [Synthesized from Pope Francis, Angelus, 08 I 23]
Fr. Raj M.S.C.
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El Bautismo del Señor
Hoy celebramos la Fiesta del Bautismo del Señor, y el Evangelio nos presenta una escena asombrosa: es la primera vez que Jesús aparece en público después de su vida oculta en Nazaret. Llega a la orilla del río Jordán para ser bautizado por Juan (cf. Mt 3, 13-17). Era un rito con el que el pueblo se arrepentía y se comprometía a la conversión; un himno litúrgico dice que el pueblo iba a bautizarse «con el alma desnuda y los pies descalzos», es decir, con un alma abierta, sin ocultar nada, con humildad y con un corazón transparente. Pero, al ver a Jesús mezclándose con los pecadores, nos sorprendemos y nos preguntamos: ¿por qué tomó Jesús esa decisión? Él, el Santo de Dios, el Hijo de Dios sin pecado, ¿por qué tomó esa decisión? Encontramos la respuesta en las palabras de Jesús a Juan: «Deja que así sea por ahora; porque así conviene que cumplamos toda justicia» (v. 15). Cumplir toda justicia: ¿qué significa?
Al hacerse bautizar, Jesús revela la justicia de Dios, esa justicia que Él vino a traer al mundo. Muy a menudo tenemos una idea limitada de la justicia y pensamos que significa que quienes hacen el mal deben pagar, y así compensar el mal que han cometido. Pero la justicia de Dios, como enseña
la Sagrada Escritura, es mucho más grande. No tiene como fin la condena del culpable, sino su salvación, su renacimiento y su justificación: pasar de injusto a justo. Es una justicia que nace del amor, de lo más profundo de la compasión y de la misericordia que constituyen el corazón mismo de Dios Padre, que se conmueve cuando estamos oprimidos por el mal y caemos bajo el peso del pecado y de la fragilidad. La justicia de Dios, por tanto, no pretende distribuir penas y castigos, sino que, como afirma el apóstol Pablo, consiste en hacernos justos, a nosotros sus hijos (cf. Rm 3,22-31), liberándonos de las trampas del mal, sanándonos, levantándonos de nuevo. El Señor nunca está dispuesto a castigarnos; su mano está extendida para ayudarnos a levantarnos. Así comprendemos que, a orillas del Jordán, Jesús nos revela el sentido de su misión: vino a cumplir la justicia divina, que es la salvación de los pecadores; vino a cargar sobre sus hombros el pecado del mundo y a descender a las aguas del abismo, de la muerte, para rescatarnos y evitar que nos ahoguemos. Hoy nos muestra que la verdadera justicia de Dios es la misericordia que salva. Tenemos miedo de pensar que Dios es misericordia, pero Dios es misericordia porque su justicia es precisamente la misericordia que salva. Es el amor que comparte nuestra condición humana, que se hace cercano, solidario con nuestro sufrimiento, entrando en nuestra oscuridad para devolvernos la luz .
Tenemos miedo de pensar en una justicia tan misericordiosa. Sigamos adelante: Dios es misericordia. Su justicia es misericordiosa. Dejémonos tomar de la mano por Él. También nosotros, discípulos de Jesús, estamos llamados a ejercer la justicia de este modo, en las relaciones con los demás, en la Iglesia, en la sociedad: no con la dureza de quienes juzgan y condenan, dividiendo a las personas en buenas y malas, sino con la misericordia de quienes acogen
compartiendo las heridas y fragilidades de sus hermanas y hermanos, para así levantarlos de nuevo. Me gustaría expresarlo así: no dividir, sino compartir. Hagamos como hizo Jesús: compartamos, llevemos las cargas unos de otros en lugar de chismear y destruir; miremos a los demás con compasión, ayudémonos mutuamente. Preguntémonos: ¿soy una persona que divide o que comparte? Pensemos un poco: ¿soy discípulo del amor de Jesús o discípulo del chisme que divide? El chisme es un arma letal: mata, mata el amor, mata la sociedad, mata la fraternidad.
Recemos a Nuestra Señora, que dio vida a Jesús, sumergiéndolo en nuestra fragilidad para que nosotros pudiéramos recibir de nuevo la vida. [Sintetizado del Papa Francisco, Ángelus, 08 I 23
Rev. Rajesh Peter M.S.C.
Baptism of the Lord – 2026
My friends, the Baptism of Jesus is a gospel story which baffled Scripture Scholars for centuries. Why would Jesus come to be baptized ?
The Gospel for most of this year is the Gospel according to Matthew. Matthew does a lot of in-depth explaining in his gospel because his primary readers were devout and knowledgeable Jews, who knew Scripture and the Law. That’s why we hear so many times in Matthew: “This was done to fulfill what the prophet had said.” Matthew was written about 50 years after the death of Jesus and he knew that his readers would be looking at Scripture and the Law as they read about the life, death and Resurrection of Jesus.
It’s interesting that Matthew changes some of the wording in his gospel, making it different than Mark’s gospel, which was written about 20 years earlier than Matthew’s. In Mark’s gospel, we read that, “Jesus came to be baptized by John, who was baptizing for the forgiveness of sins…”
Matthew eliminates, “forgiveness of sins.” How could and why would Jesus, who is a sinless Jew, come to be Baptized – if Baptism was for the forgiveness of sins ?
Obviously, John the Baptist thought the same. When Jesus came to John to be baptized, John was startled and unwilling to baptize him. Jesus finally asked him to just go along with him for the time being. So, the question, “Why would Jesus come to be Baptized?”
During the days of Jesus:
Baptism was for the forgiveness of sins. It was, in a sense, a form of Confession.
Jews were not baptized. For the record, the Jews believed that they were the Chosen Ones and baptism was only for those who were converting to Judaism. Although the Jews believed that Baptism was for forgiveness, they also believed that no Jew could ever sin enough to be shut out from the Grace of God. Ergo, Jews were not baptized.
So, here we have Jesus, a sinless Jew, coming forward for Baptism. Why ?
The preaching of John the Baptist stirred up an such an awareness in the people’s hearts that they recognized the fact that they indeed had sinned. And because of John’s peaching, they were able to recognize their need of forgiveness.
BUT – given the belief that Jews did not need to be baptized – how could a Jew possibly endure the embarrassment and come forward to be baptized for forgiveness in the presence of their family, neighbors and community ?
My friends, Jesus used his baptism as a way to identify himself with the people he came to save. In the hour of the awareness of their sin and in their search for God, Jesus stepped forward to be part of this ritual as a way of giving strength to those who needed it. Jesus also used this opportunity to identify himself with those who were not Jewish.
Another aspect of the Baptism was that it symbolized (or ritualized) a life-changing event, like converting to Judaism or turning from a life of sin to a life of holiness, which is certainly life-changing. The Greeks had a word for it, “Metanoia” meaning to turn around or have a change of mind and heart.
At the time of his Baptism, Jesus was about to embark on a life-changing journey. He was about to begin his public ministry. For thirty years, he had waited in Nazareth, faithfully performing the duties of the home and of the carpenter's shop.
All this time, he grew increasingly aware of his waiting task. He knew, however, that he had to wait until his hour had come, as we are told in the Wedding Feast of Cana. When John the Baptist emerged and began preaching and baptizing, Jesus knew that the hour had arrived.
A life-changing event ? Absolutely. In this event, there was the certainty that Jesus was the Chosen One of God. He knew that he was chosen to be King, but he also knew that his throne would be a Cross.
At his Baptism, when the heavens opened and the Spirit of God descended upon him – and God’s voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” These words are so significant !
"This is my beloved Son," is a quotation from Psalm 2. Every knowledgeable Jew knew that this Psalm is a description of the Messiah… "This is my beloved Son."
The next words, “with whom I am well pleased” is from Isaiah 42 and is a description of the Suffering Servant. This description goes from Psalm 42 all the way to Psalm 53. We hear and read these Psalms during Lent, Passion Sunday, Holy Week and Good Friday.
So, my friends, the Baptism of Jesus was a ritual but this ritual cannot be taken lightly. It was a lot more than “going through the motions.” Because this ritual, like our Sacraments, was a sign and a symbol of a deeper reality. It was a BIG DEAL!
And here we are 2,000 years later, celebrating the Sacrament of Baptism – a sign and a symbol of a deeper reality. The reality is that we welcome adults as members of our Church at the Easter Vigil Mass. That’s a life-changing event. That’s a BIG DEAL!
And, when we Baptize infants and children we not only welcome them as members of our Church – the parents and godparents make a promise and a commitment to that child – that Church will be a significant and integral part of that child’s life. Many times, it’s the parents and godparents who experience the life-changing event.
My friends, the Baptism of children also brings up painful memories for some people. One of them was my mother, who had 3 miscarriages. For centuries, the Church taught that infants who died without Baptism would not go to Heaven. Rather, the Church had the notion of Limbo: A place where unbaptized infants would go. Thankfully, Pope Saint John Paul II commissioned a document which was released and published by Pope Benedict. The document states “the concept of Limbo should be abandoned” and more importantly, it states that “infants who die without Baptism are indeed – in Heaven.”
“Before you speak of peace, you must first have it in your heart.” –Francis of Assisi
“Antes de hablar de paz, primero debes tenerla en tu corazón”. –Francisco de Asís
