Episode Transcript
1
00:00:00,715 --> 00:00:03,287
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
2
00:00:03,720 --> 00:00:04,220
Amen.
3
00:00:04,520 --> 00:00:06,997
In today's Gospel, the baptism of Jesus,
4
00:00:06,997 --> 00:00:10,784
we hear powerfully the beautiful words in the first reading
5
00:00:10,784 --> 00:00:13,339
how he gathers the lambs in his arms
6
00:00:13,339 --> 00:00:15,212
and holds them close to his breast.
7
00:00:15,778 --> 00:00:18,468
Then we hear John speaking very clearly
8
00:00:18,468 --> 00:00:21,437
about this is the one who will baptise you
9
00:00:21,437 --> 00:00:24,655
with water, and the Holy Spirit with fire.
10
00:00:25,760 --> 00:00:28,522
The Lord shows us today
11
00:00:28,522 --> 00:00:32,606
that He Himself knelt down before John the Baptist in humility
12
00:00:32,606 --> 00:00:34,104
to be baptised
13
00:00:34,104 --> 00:00:38,230
to show that He needed to follow the path of righteousness
14
00:00:38,230 --> 00:00:41,119
to have the proper Coram Deo,
15
00:00:41,119 --> 00:00:44,692
the deep, proper relationship in the heart with God.
16
00:00:45,213 --> 00:00:47,760
As He began His public ministry,
17
00:00:47,760 --> 00:00:50,440
He showed us the way to the Father
18
00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,432
which is the way of tenderness.
19
00:00:53,352 --> 00:00:54,512
And what is tenderness?
20
00:00:54,804 --> 00:00:57,645
It's what Pope Francis refers to when he talks about
21
00:00:57,645 --> 00:01:00,727
in his early years of ministry as our Pope,
22
00:01:00,727 --> 00:01:02,818
that the Church needs a revolution,
23
00:01:02,818 --> 00:01:05,422
and the revolution is a revolution of tenderness.
24
00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,543
The Lord is a God of love and sensitivity.
25
00:01:09,543 --> 00:01:11,929
Tenderness is that ability
26
00:01:11,929 --> 00:01:15,137
to not only be sensitive to pain in me,
27
00:01:15,137 --> 00:01:18,228
but sensitive to pain more often in others.
28
00:01:18,626 --> 00:01:20,926
To be gentle, to be kind,
29
00:01:20,926 --> 00:01:23,714
to gather people, to bring them close to you.
30
00:01:24,209 --> 00:01:28,200
This is what the power of baptism does for all of us,
31
00:01:28,200 --> 00:01:30,293
it deepens our relationship,
32
00:01:30,293 --> 00:01:32,935
Coram Deo, with God the Father,
33
00:01:32,935 --> 00:01:35,535
the relationship of deep tenderness and love.
34
00:01:35,906 --> 00:01:38,929
Let us go out this week and do what we can
35
00:01:38,929 --> 00:01:41,474
to minister to the Lord in others
36
00:01:41,474 --> 00:01:43,426
especially those who are in pain
37
00:01:43,426 --> 00:01:45,357
to be sensitive to their pain
38
00:01:45,357 --> 00:01:47,070
and to show by gathering
39
00:01:47,070 --> 00:01:49,712
through the power of the spirit that's within us
40
00:01:49,712 --> 00:01:51,190
the presence of God
41
00:01:51,190 --> 00:01:52,728
for when we are baptised
42
00:01:52,728 --> 00:01:56,462
the Father, the Son, and the Spirit make our home in us
43
00:01:56,462 --> 00:01:58,110
as we make our home in them.
44
00:01:58,791 --> 00:02:01,480
As Teresa of Ávila would say,
45
00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,527
when Jesus spoke these words to her,
46
00:02:04,527 --> 00:02:08,143
I have no body now on this earth Teresa, but yours.
47
00:02:08,435 --> 00:02:13,693
No hands, no feet, no eyes, no ears, but yours.
48
00:02:14,170 --> 00:02:16,361
This is the God of tenderness and love.
49
00:02:16,555 --> 00:02:19,876
Let us use our bodies, our souls, our minds,
50
00:02:19,876 --> 00:02:23,286
to express the tender love of God for everyone.
51
00:02:23,666 --> 00:02:26,668
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
52
00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:27,380
Amen.
