Peace and Grace to you!
This weekend John the Baptist publicly testifies that Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” John also says of Jesus “he is the Son of God” and he baptizes with the Holy Spirit!
The reading from Isaiah reminds us that we evangelize and demonstrate our discipleship through servant leadership.
The Catholic Church has repeatedly stated that everyone, by their baptism and Confirmation, shares in the mission of Christ—to proclaim the good news to all people! Every Catholic is an evangelist and disciple of Jesus, therefore the continuing study and understanding of the faith is necessary so that we always have a reason to explain the cause of our joy. The ability to explain the faith is not the special prerogative of priests and theologians. It is the grace of revelation and conversion given by God. Jesus did not give the mission solely to the religious and ordained so that they could fulfill the obligation for everyone else; all must work at it. It is important to remember that upon our baptism we are anointed priest, prophet and king. For living out the priestly office, all of us should be engaged in daily prayer and some kind of ministry and activity because life in the Spirit requires it. The greatest gift of ministry is not what we give to others but what happens in the exchange: they also give to us. In these encounters we experience concretely the divine blessing of the Church and the communion we have in the life of Jesus. All of us experience transformation, conversion, liberation and a deep sense of peace knowing that God is present and active at all times. As our journey continues, we realize that we are one on whom the Spirit has come upon and remained. God bless you always! +++ Fr. Peter