This is the Liturgy of the Hours for December 31. Your local date is .
After Epiphany of the Lord
Feast
“And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens opened and the Spirit descending upon him like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, ‘Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased” (Mk 1:9-11).[1]
Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. In Baptism, we are brought to Christ and united to the mystery of His death and Resurrection. In this effective sign of our purified life and heart, we acknowledge the Messianic identity of Jesus Christ and celebrate His reign. May our baptized lives, nurtured by the Sacraments, testify to those in darkness and confirm the truth of Jesus’ identity, just as the Holy Spirit did in the Jordan.[2][3]
“Jesus did not need to be baptized, but the first theologians say that, with His body, with His divinity, in the Baptism He blessed all the waters, so that water would have the power to give baptism. And then, before ascending to Heaven, Jesus told us to go into all the world to baptize. And from that day until the present day, this has been an unbroken chain: they baptized their children, and their children [baptized] their children, and their children… And so goes the chain of faith! What does this mean? I would just tell you this: you are the ones that transmit the faith, the transmitters, you have a duty to pass on the faith to these children. It’s the most beautiful legacy that you leave to them: the faith! Only this. Today, take this thought home with you. We must be transmitters of the faith. Think about this, always think of how to transmit the faith to the children.”[4]
Written by Sarah Ciotti
Reviewed by Fr. Hugh Feiss, OSB, STD
Updates by Divineoffice.org
[1] Revised Standard Version s.v., “Mark, The Gospel According To.”
[2] John Paul II, Homily, January 12, 2003.
[3] Benedict XVI, Angelus, January 8, 2006.
[4] Pope Francis, Homily at the Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 12, 2014, en.radiovaticana.va