BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) Whenever I stand here before you at this time during the Mass I have a dual responsibility — the responsibility to teach and to preach. That is particularly true today as we celebrate the Baptism of the Lord. Let’s begin now with the teaching aspect. We might ask ourselves why Jesus Christ submitted to the baptism of St. John the Baptist. After all, if Christ is the incarnate Son of God, the sinless Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, why would it be necessary for Him to be baptized? That’s a good question calling for an insightful answer. The answer begins with a clear understanding that Jesus Christ did not need to be baptized. He, the Holy One of God, sanctified the waters of baptism, He wasn’t sanctified by them. He, the Holy One, made Baptism holy, not the other way around. By being baptized His intention was to reveal the love of God for us even though we have sinned against Him. By His own ...

Fr. Charles Irvin Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for Sunday’s readings ) The Feast of the Epiphany was celebrated in Eastern Churches before being observed in Rome. It seems originally to have been a feast of the nativity of our Lord. January 6th. For those Churches it was the equivalent of December 25th in the Roman Church. The Epiphany, as you know, celebrates the manifestation of our Lord to the whole world… the shining forth of the Light of the World… the manifestation of the Incarnation to the entire world beyond the Jewish world. The three kings symbolize the coming of God to the Gentiles… the entrance of God into all of the world in all of its history. Today’s Liturgy is surrounded with other epiphanies… the manifestation of God’s marriage to us, symbolized in the wedding feast at Cana, the manifestation of Christ’s Sonship in His baptism by John the Baptist in the River Jordan… and finally His Presentation in the Temple, otherwise known as Candlemas Day – Februar...