The Baptism of Jesus – January 10th

The Baptism of Jesus marks the beginning of His public ministry. John, the forerunner, was preparing the way for Jesus by preaching repentance and baptizing people in the Jordan as they acknowledged their sins.

John also proclaimed that one greater than he would come and “baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (Mark 1:8). With these things in mind, it is not surprising that John resisted when Jesus asked to be baptized by him.

Why did Jesus need to be baptized? Why would he submit to John in this way? There are a number of reasons worthy of exploration. First, Jesus certainly was not baptized for forgiveness of sins, since He was sinless. There was no need for Him to repent. Still, in this act, He showed His solidarity with sinful humanity and gave indication of His role as Savior. Second, as indicated in the second reading, this event expresses Christ’s anointing as the Messiah. It also reveals His identity as the Son of God through the voice coming from Heaven and brings to light the Trinity through the action of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit seen at the baptism.

Finally, Jesus’ baptism prefigures the Sacrament of Baptism that He would institute, in which we receive the Holy Spirit and are adopted as children of God, while also being cleansed of our sins.

As we now move into a full lockdown, the UK Government has seen fit to allow public worship to continue, but in a safe and sensible way. We will continue to offer a simplified regular worship pattern here at Holy Trinity Church. As your parish priest, it is my paramount concern for people to be safe and protected from the virus, yet I am also well aware that many people need even more spiritual support and the healing power of the Sacraments during lockdown.

The pattern will be as follows:

Parish Mass will be Sung every Sunday at 9:30AM

Wednesday Low Mass will be offered with homily at 6:00PM

There will be no Daily Office recited in Church, but at The Rectory at 9:00AM and 5:00PM each day as normal.