Right on the heels of the feast of the Epiphany, the Holy Roman Catholic Church celebrates the baptism of Jesus, when as the Word of God from Matthew’s gospel, chapter 3: 16 – 17 testifies that after Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Spirit of God descended on him like a dove, then the voice of God thundered saying, “This is my Son, the Beloved, in whom I am well pleased.”

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Baptism of Our Lord. This brings

to an end the season of Christmas. The Church recalls Our Lord's second manifesta- tion or epiphany which occurred on the occasion of His baptism in the Jordan. Jesus descended into the River to sanctify its waters and to give them the power to beget sons of God. The event takes on the impor- tance of a second creation in which the entire Trinity intervenes.

Many of the incidents which accompanied Christ's baptism are symbolical of what happened at our Bap- tism. At Christ's baptism the Holy Spirit descended upon Him; at our Baptism the Trinity took its abode in our soul. At His baptism Christ was proclaimed the "Beloved Son" of the Father; at our Baptism we be- come the adopted sons of God. At Christ's baptism the heavens were opened; at our Baptism heaven was opened to us. At His baptism Jesus prayed; after our Baptism we must pray to avoid actual sin.