Project BLACK MAMBA: The Baptism of the Lord

'Tis the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord: Wikipedia-link Baptism & Wikipedia-link Feast.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Redeemer bulletin:

The Baptism of the Christ is the feast day commemorating the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by [St.] John the Baptist [24 June, 29 August].

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
The Book of Isaiah, chapter forty-two, verses one thru four, six, & seven;
or, the Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-five, verses one thru eleven;
or, the Acts of the Apostles, chapter ten, verses thirty-four thru thirty-eight;
or, the First Letter of John, chapter five, verses one thru nine;
Psalm Twenty-nine, verses one & two, three & four, & nine & ten;
or, the Book of Isaiah, chapter twelve, verses two & three, four(b/c/d), & five & six;
The Gospel according to Mark, chapter one, verses seven thru eleven.

Commentary: Reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, on this feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us meditate on John the Baptist. Young John, the son of the priest Zechariah, grew up in and around the Temple, acquainted with its rituals. And he sensed that the true Messiah was on the horizon. And so he went away from the old Temple, but he continued to act as a priest of a new Temple.

He was baptizing people. Why this ritual? Well, in the Jerusalem Temple, a pilgrim would cleanse himself in a mikvah, a ritual bath, before he entered to make sacrifice. John was acting as a priest, and the River Jordan was his mikvah. But what—or, better, who—was the new Temple? Jesus who came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John. The heavens were torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descended on him.

This is Temple talk. When the high priest entered into the holy of holies, he was entering into the heavenly realm. The holy of holies was the place where the "heavens were torn open" and a humble human being could enter. So the point is that Jesus is himself the new holy of holies.

Video reflection by Msgr. James Vlaun (Telecare T.V.): United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

†

Bible Study—Pauline Letters
The Letter to the Romans, chapter five (verses one thru twenty-one);
The Letter to the Romans, chapter six (verses one thru twenty-three);
The Letter to the Romans, chapter seven (verses one thru twenty-five).

Commentary: Results of Justification (Romans, 5:1-11), Adam & Christ (5:12-21), Dying & Rising with Christ (6:1-14), Slaves of Righteousness (6:15-23), an Analogy from Marriage (7:1-6), the Law & Sin (7:7-12), & the Inner Conflict (7:13-25).

Otherwise, 8 January would be the festival of Saint Apollinaris Claudius, Bishop (died circa 177; A.K.A. of Hierapolis, the Apologist): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

Commentary: Wayback Machine.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Severinus of Noricum, Abbot (circa 410-482): Saint-link & Wikipedia-link.

'Twould also be the festival of Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani, Bishop, C.R.S.A. (1381-1455, Anglicized as Lawrence Giustiniani), first Patriarch of Venice: Saint-link & Wikipedia-link; Wikipedia-link Patriarch.

Saint Quote o' the Day

"Occupy your mind with good thoughts, or the enemy will fill [it] with bad ones."
—St. Thomas More (1478-1535, feast day: 22 June)