He Will Baptize with the Holy Spirit
January 11, 2025 at 9:57 p.m.
The Baptism of the Lord
Imagine being a leader, with full authority over everyone else. How would you reign? What would be your rules? How would you ask people to follow you? Jesus is our leader whom we can turn to always. He is the Lamb of God, King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords, the Prince of Peace, yet … He too had to be baptized.
Now before we start, what is baptism? Baptism is the first Sacrament that one receives when entering the Catholic Church. It is a sacrament of initiation, it can only be received once, can never be repeated. Once you have received this Sacrament, you are an adopted child of God, your sins have been forgiven, including the stain of original sin which has been wiped away, you receive the Holy Spirit, and you have officially entered the Catholic Church.
Jesus doesn’t get baptized because He is a sinner. He is, in fact, sinless. Jesus was baptized to invite us to be with Him, accepting His mission as God’s servant, to do the will of the Father, just like all of us – we should be striving to do the same.
So, who did Jesus ask to baptize Him? None other than St. John the Baptist! Isn’t that extremely humble of Jesus, to ask someone else to baptize Him? Isn’t that crazy!!! He is literally JESUS!!! St. John the Baptist said in the Sunday Gospel, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” St. John the Baptist knew his place; he knew that he was not worthy. Yet, Jesus still called him.
We, by ourselves, will never be worthy, but because God is so merciful and so loving, He allows us to receive graces to be in union with Him. He is calling us… He is calling you, to follow Him, to be of service, to do His Father’s will. We must not succumb to the world and our desires, but always seek the Father first, may His will always be done.
I wrote a song just around this time last year, during the season of Advent and Christmas. And the song is about St. John the Baptist and his perspective, and it includes the Baptism of the Lord! The lyrics are below, I invite you to take time to reflect on these words.
He arose from the water,
The dove came down,
The heavens opened,
A voice cried out,
“This is my beloved,
whom I am well pleased.”
O Lord, My God
You are the Light.
Related Stories
Sunday, April 06, 2025
E-Editions
Events
The Baptism of the Lord
Imagine being a leader, with full authority over everyone else. How would you reign? What would be your rules? How would you ask people to follow you? Jesus is our leader whom we can turn to always. He is the Lamb of God, King of all Kings, the Lord of all Lords, the Prince of Peace, yet … He too had to be baptized.
Now before we start, what is baptism? Baptism is the first Sacrament that one receives when entering the Catholic Church. It is a sacrament of initiation, it can only be received once, can never be repeated. Once you have received this Sacrament, you are an adopted child of God, your sins have been forgiven, including the stain of original sin which has been wiped away, you receive the Holy Spirit, and you have officially entered the Catholic Church.
Jesus doesn’t get baptized because He is a sinner. He is, in fact, sinless. Jesus was baptized to invite us to be with Him, accepting His mission as God’s servant, to do the will of the Father, just like all of us – we should be striving to do the same.
So, who did Jesus ask to baptize Him? None other than St. John the Baptist! Isn’t that extremely humble of Jesus, to ask someone else to baptize Him? Isn’t that crazy!!! He is literally JESUS!!! St. John the Baptist said in the Sunday Gospel, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” St. John the Baptist knew his place; he knew that he was not worthy. Yet, Jesus still called him.
We, by ourselves, will never be worthy, but because God is so merciful and so loving, He allows us to receive graces to be in union with Him. He is calling us… He is calling you, to follow Him, to be of service, to do His Father’s will. We must not succumb to the world and our desires, but always seek the Father first, may His will always be done.
I wrote a song just around this time last year, during the season of Advent and Christmas. And the song is about St. John the Baptist and his perspective, and it includes the Baptism of the Lord! The lyrics are below, I invite you to take time to reflect on these words.
He arose from the water,
The dove came down,
The heavens opened,
A voice cried out,
“This is my beloved,
whom I am well pleased.”
O Lord, My God
You are the Light.