This Week at Home
(Haga clic para esta semana en casa ) Loving Father, you sent the gift of the Spirit upon your beloved Son on the banks of the Jordan long ago… For the full final Christmas reflection, Click here for a printable PDF.
Sunday, January 9, 2022
In You, I Am Well Pleased
John the Baptist pointed away from himself and toward Jesus. He spoke God’s Word to the people and baptized those who came to him, but he knew that he was not the messiah, the one who will baptize “with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And then one day, Jesus came to him to be baptized. The heavens opened and the Spirit came down in the form of a dove. “You are my beloved Son; with you, I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit descended bodily, making Jesus ready for his public ministry. What joy John must have felt to see the fulfillment of God’s promises to him and to the people of Israel! It was the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, in which he preached the kingdom of God but also revealed it in everything that he did.
On the day of our baptism, we receive the same Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus two thousand years ago. It is the beginning of our own vocation to reveal the kingdom of God in our words and our actions: to be like Jesus. How is God calling you today? You are God’s beloved child, in whom God is well pleased. How will you carry the joy of that revelation into your life beyond the Christmas season?
This Week and Beyond
January 10—March 1 Ordinary Time
The word ordinary can feel like a synonym for “boring,” but Ordinary Time is far from it. This season takes its name from the ordinal numbers (first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and so on) that are used to count the Sundays and the weeks that follow them. While the seasons of Advent, Christmas, Lent, and Easter have a certain importance in the liturgical year, that does not diminish Ordinary Time. Consider that as the priest prepares the paschal candle at the Easter Vigil, he states, “All time belongs to him.”
How might you use this season to grow closer to God?
St. Francis of Assisi used service to others, care for the poor and creation, daily prayer, mass, adoration, and quiet time to grow closer to God. How might you use this season of “Ordinary Time” to grow closer to God?
Click for this month’s readings.
SING A SONG TOGETHER
“Let Us Build the City of God” is a song you might hear in church during this season. Sharing songs with your family that you sing together in Church can bring families together, and closer to God.
1. Awake from your slumber!
Arise from your sleep!
A new day is dawning for all those who weep.
The people in darkness have seen a great light.
The Lord of our longing has conquered the night.
Refrain: Let us build the city of God. May our tears be turned into dancing! For the Lord, our light and our Love, has turned the night into day!
2. We are sons of the morning; we are daughters of day. The One who has loved us has brightened our way. The Lord of all kindness has called us to be a light for his people to set their hearts free.
© 2021 USCCB, additional text by Liturgy Training Publications. 800-933-1800 and Kathryn Ball-Boruff. Permission to publish was granted by the Archdiocese of Chicago on February 9, 2021.
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