St. Joseph the Worker

Dear Parishioners of St. Joseph the Worker:

 This Sunday, January 11^th, is the last day of our Christmas season liturgically.   We have celebrated the Lord’s Birth; the Feast of the Holy Family; Mary, the Mother of God; the Epiphany, and now the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River.  What a wonderful way to end this joyous time in our Church.

We are blessed here at SJW to have baptisms throughout the year.  This shows that our Church is growing, as well as our parish.  No matter what age they are, our new baptisms should bring us joy because it shows we are growing as a community of faith. 

And these baptisms should lead us to reflect on the day we were baptized.  Do we celebrate that important day each year?  After each baptism, I invite the parents to remember and celebrate that day annually.  As we enjoy our physical day of birth, should we not do the same on our spiritual day of birth, our baptismal day?  The parents could get the baptismal garment and baptismal candle out and make it a day of true celebration.  This teaches the child that there is no greater day in their life than becoming that special child of God.

Do we ever think that way?  Do we hold our baptismal day as one of the most important times in our lives, no matter whether we are 10 years old or 95?  To become God’s special child is hard to beat in ranking special times, wouldn’t you agree?

Let us reflect on the 4 special items we use at a baptism:

          WATER---to wash away original sin.

          GARMENT---to put on Christ from this day forward in living our Catholic faith.

          OIL---to strengthen us as a disciple of Christ.

          CANDLE---to have Jesus be the light that guides us.

May all of us baptized immerse ourselves daily in the living waters of our faith.  Let us pray a prayer of gratitude to God for calling us to be His special son or daughter.

Your Baptized Pastor,

Father Joe