My dad grew up with two relatives who were eccentric, to say the least. One was an uncle who showed up periodically to sleep on the front porch — often deciding that clothing was an unnecessary ...

Along with yesterday’s feast of the Epiphany and the wedding at Cana, today’s feast, the Baptism of the Lord, is one of the three epiphanies of Jesus’ humanity, according to the early Church Fathers.

"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). This verse is from the Gospel of Matthew, one of the three synoptic Gospels in the New Testament of the Bible, and is about the ...

Pope St. John Paul II, in his 2002 Apostolic Letter, Rosarium Virginis Mariae, proposed adding a fourth quintet of mysteries to be contemplated when praying the Rosary: the Luminous Mysteries. Leaving ...

The Christmas Season comes to a close with the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. The outpouring of the Spirit and the Father’s declaration “You are my beloved Son” make Jesus’ baptism one of the ...

The Baptism of the Lord Jesus teaches us something about the theology of geography. There are many places where water for baptism could be found in the land of Israel. Why was Jesus baptized by John ...

I think as we hear the Gospel today, we’re not surprised, in a way, that John objects to Jesus when Jesus comes to John for baptism -- because John has the idea that he had been sent to prepare the ...

Of all the sacred places in Israel, few are as humbling as the Jordan River. At first glance, it looks ordinary—a winding river, sometimes muddy, lined with reeds and trees. Yet it was here, in these ...

The baptism is an event that is very important in Jesus’ ministry. In this story we see clearly the relationship between Father and Son and the use of the title ‘Son of God’. The events that occurred ...