"Baptism is the Greatest Gift" - Baptism of the Lord Homily

I'm really excited for the upcoming March for Life, a week from Friday, January 23rd.

It's one my favorite days of the year, where thousands of people gather downtown and really celebrate and defend life, especially in the womb.

We're excited for our cadets to come again from West Point.

hope they big group of them.

It keeps growing every year.

They spend the night here.

Just to be among all the youth downtown and that group, it's really invigorating.

It's fun, a really peaceful and joyful day.

Looking forward to it.

Trying to the bus, one of many hundreds of buses coming from around the country.

Hopefully you can join us.

Speaking of babies, why do Catholics baptize babies?

Why does the Catholic Church have infant baptism?

These are questions that our Protestant brethren like to ask us.

We point to the early church that

In scripture, the New Testament documents whole families were baptized together, and the early church spoke of doing infant baptism.

When I'm talking to my parents or anyone who asks about it, I'll use the analogy with parents feeding their children.

They don't wait until they're old enough to choose their own diet.

You wait, I mean, sorry, you do it right away.

You feed them the proper food and drink after birth.

So it is for the soul.

You don't wait until your kid's old enough to choose for Christ or against him.

You give him or her what's best for the soul as soon as possible after birth, and that's baptism.

I the church is giving us a nod to infant baptism.

By placing this feast of the baptism of the Lord so close to Christmas, it's a 30-year gap in real time.

Jesus was baptized around 30.

So we span three weeks less than that.

We span 30 years in less than three weeks.

Because the church is emphasizing we should baptize as soon as possible after birth.

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So in Christmas, Jesus is born of flesh.

He's born of Mary.

From the baptism of the Lord, as we just heard, the entrance of the Spirit coming down upon him, the voice from heaven, we trust that's the Father.

He's born of the Spirit.

He is born again.

When we hear that phrase, we know it's different from the physical birth.

Someone's born again.

It's spiritual.

It's for the soul.

It's about heaven, eternal life.

But God makes that happen.

We don't.

God makes rebirth happen, we don't.

He makes it happen in baptism.

So you're on the feast and thinking, why was Jesus baptized?

He didn't need to be cleansed.

He didn't need to repent.

There is a shift today.

This is still Jewish baptism that he received, but then it changed forever after this.

And every baptism going forward, Christian baptism is a father, son, and Holy Spirit.

And so he showed us the way.

He was baptized so that we would be baptized.

He took up the cross so that we would take up the cross.

Like a coach not asking the player to do something he or she wouldn't do.

But the point about receiving and that God is the source is a huge point.

That's why this exchange with John comes about.

John's like, you should be baptizing me.

And Jesus says, let this happen.

I need to show them to fulfill all righteousness.

They need to receive baptism.

They need to be baptized.

So I need to be baptized.

And that's a huge distinction.

when it comes to infant baptism, baby, baptizing babies.

And when I talk to our parents, you know, D.

Ted leads the class, then I meet with them and give them the big picture.

Like why baptize your babies?

And yes, it's what's best for their soul in this life and bring out the best in them with grace, but also looking ahead the next life.

And you want them saved, you know, as soon as possible.

You want them to go to heaven, of course.

The point is made for us with the body.

It should be made with the soul.

So with the body we recognize we didn't bring about our own birth, our own physical birth, our parents did, so we don't bring about our own rebirth.

God does.

Back to feeding and eating, we didn't feed ourselves as babies, we were little children.

Our parents fed us.

So now with the Eucharist, we don't feed ourselves with the bread of life, God feeds us.

That's why we receive Holy Communion.

We receive baptism.

It's a gift.

God gives, we receive.

Jesus received baptism as a way for us to receive it.

And it's the greatest gift.

I often quote the dad of one of the kids I first baptized.

He came out.

After the baptism, he said, that's the greatest gift I'll ever give my kid.

He's so right.

The gift of faith, life in Christ, indwelling in the Trinity, incorporation of the church, removal of original sin, heaven, the kingdom of heaven in the soul, and affirmation.

Affirmation.

As Jesus received, so did you at your baptism.

And it's really important for you and I to remember why we dip our fingers in the holy water when we come and go up to church, to remember our baptism and the affirmation given

to you as it was to Jesus.

This is my beloved son.

This is my beloved daughter with whom I'm well pleased.