The Baptism of the Lord, January 11 Homily

January 11, 2026

English and Español

Today, I celebrated a baptism for one of our families that’s journeying through OCIA – the process by which an adult becomes a member of the Catholic Church. The little one was so sweet – she hardly made a peep. Of course, warm water and a calm voice definitely help! Well, anyway, since today we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord – the celebration of Jesus making holy the waters of our baptism – I thought it would be fitting to talk a little bit about this first and foremost sacrament of initiation.

Now, first and foremost, Jesus is the only-begotten Son of God the Father. In taking flesh, He became one of us – true God and true man. He entered into our human condition, which means Jesus could now experience death. Death wasn’t part of God’s plan from the beginning of creation, but rather something that entered in as the result of sin. As Scripture teaches us in Romans, “the wages of sin is death”. And so, on the cross of Calvary, Jesus died for us – a man for all men. But as God, death could not hold Him captive. And so, three days after His death, He rose triumphantly from the grave. In His Resurrection, Jesus defeated sin and death.

The thing is, Jesus did this historically nearly 2,000 years ago. So, how is it that something that happened so long ago could have any effect on our lives personally today? Well, it’s through the Church that Jesus founded – the very Body of Christ – and in particular, the sacraments, by which the very ministry of Jesus continues on to all people of all times and places. And so, what happened in history now passes over into the mystery of the sacraments we celebrate.

Through baptism, we enter into and participate in Jesus’ death on the cross, so that we can also enter into and participate in His rising from the dead. In baptism, then, we experience a rebirth. We die to the old life of sin, and we’re born again as beloved children of God the Father – sons and daughters in Christ, the only-Begotten Son. As a result, we are washed clean of all sin, including original sin – that broken relationship we’re all born into as a result of the Fall of Adam and Eve at the origin of humanity.

And the symbolism of the sacrament shows this: the person to be baptized is lowered into the font and blessed water is poured over his or her head three times, symbolizing the death and burial of Jesus in the tomb for three days. But then, just as Jesus Himself conquered the grave, and rose from the dead, so too, the person, who is brought up from the font, receives the precious gift of eternal life, won for us by Christ. In baptism, we personally receive what Jesus has already historically done for us.

Now, we might say to ourselves, “Really, all of that with just a little bit of water?” -- - AND the power of the Holy Spirit! Jesus says in the Gospel of John “Unless you are born again of water AND the Spirit, you cannot enter the Kingdom of God.” My friends, the Holy Spirit, who enables us to cry out “Abba, Father”, comes to dwell within us. It is He who enables us to experience this spiritual rebirth through the waters of baptism.

Think of it this way, “Moms, when your water broke”, out came baby sometime later”. This was natural birth – and we celebrate natural life with such great fervor every year on our birthday! But by coming to the womb of Holy Mother Church – that is, the baptismal font – we receive the gift of eternal life. Baptism is not merely a ritual. It actually brings about our rebirth as sons and daughters of the Father.

Baptism is truly a miracle given to the Church by her Savior. And while we can only receive this sacrament one time, Jesus left the Church another way of entering into His saving sacrifice on the cross to be nourished again and again in our celebration of the Eucharist at Mass. In the Sacrament of Holy Communion, we again share in the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, when we receive His Body and Blood sacrificed for us. And this gift strengthens us week by week in our daily lives of discipleship. And so, Father, please help us through these great sacraments of Baptism and holy Eucharist to always live worthy of our dignity as your beloved sons and daughters. For indeed we are! God bless you.

Español

Ayer, yo celebré el bautismo de una niña en la iglesia histórica. La pequeña era tan dulce, casi no hizo ningún ruido. ¡Claro que el agua tibia y una voz tranquila definitivamente ayudan! Bueno, en fin, ya que hoy celebramos el Bautismo del Señor, la celebración de Jesús santificando las aguas de nuestro bautismo, creo que sería apropiado hablar un poquito de este primer y principal sacramento de iniciación.

Ante todo, Jesús es el Hijo unigénito de Dios Padre. Al encarnarse, se hizo uno de nosotros: verdadero Dios y verdadero hombre. Entró en nuestra condición humana, lo que significa que Jesús ahora podía experimentar la muerte. La muerte no formaba parte del plan de Dios desde el principio de la creación, sino algo que entró como resultado del pecado. Como nos enseña la Escritura en Romanos, “la paga del pecado es muerte”. Y así, en la cruz del Calvario, Jesús murió por nosotros: un hombre por todos los hombres. Pero como Dios, la muerte no pudo retenerlo. Así, tres días después de su muerte, resucitó triunfante de la tumba. En su resurrección, Jesús venció al pecado y a la muerte.

La cuestión, es que Jesús hizo esto históricamente hace casi 2000 años. Entonces, ¿cómo es posible que algo que sucedió hace tanto tiempo pueda tener algún efecto en nuestras vidas personales hoy? Bueno, es a través de la Iglesia que Jesús fundó — el Cuerpo mismo de Cristo — y, en particular, los sacramentos, mediante los cuales el ministerio de Jesús continúa a todas las personas de todos los tiempos y lugares. Y así, lo que sucedió en la historia, ahora pasa al misterio de los sacramentos que celebramos.

Mediante el bautismo, entramos y participamos en la muerte de Jesús en la cruz, para que también podamos participar en su resurrección. En el bautismo, entonces, experimentamos un renacimiento. Morimos a la vieja vida de pecado y nacemos de nuevo como hijos amados de Dios Padre: hijos e hijas en el Hijo Unigénito, Jesús. Como resultado, somos lavados de todo pecado, incluyendo el pecado original – esa relación rota en la que todos nacemos como resultado de la Caída de Adán y Eva.

Y el simbolismo del sacramento lo demuestra: la persona que va a ser bautizada es bajada en la pila bautismal y se le vierte agua bendita sobre su cabeza tres veces, simbolizando la muerte y sepultura de Jesús en el sepulcro durante tres días. Pero luego, así como Jesús mismo venció a la muerte y resucitó, así también la persona, al ser levantada de la pila bautismal, recibe el precioso don de la vida eterna, que Cristo nos ganó. En el bautismo, recibimos personalmente lo que Jesús ya ha hecho históricamente por nosotros.

Ahora, podríamos preguntarnos: "¿De verdad, todo eso con solo un poco de agua?" - -- ¡Y con el poder del Espíritu Santo! Jesús dice en el Evangelio de Juan: "Si no naces de nuevo del agua y del Espíritu, no puedes entrar en el Reino de Dios". Amigos míos, el Espíritu Santo, quien nos permite clamar "¡Abba, Padre!", viene a morar en nosotros. Es Él quien nos permite experimentar este renacimiento espiritual a través de las aguas del bautismo.

Piénsenlo así: "Mamá(s), cuando rompieron aguas, salió el bebé un tiempo después". Este fue un parto natural, ¡y celebramos la vida natural con gran fervor cada año en nuestro cumpleaños! Pero al llegar al seno de la Santa Madre Iglesia, es decir, a la pila bautismal, recibimos el don de la vida eterna.

El bautismo no es simplemente un ritual. En realidad, produce nuestro renacimiento como hijos e hijas del Padre. El bautismo es verdaderamente un milagro que nuestro Salvador le ha dado a la Iglesia. Y aunque solo podemos recibir este sacramento una vez, Jesús dejó a la Iglesia otra manera de participar en su sacrificio salvador en la cruz para ser alimentados una y otra vez en la celebración de la Eucaristía en la Misa. En el Sacramento de la Sagrada Comunión, al recibir el Cuerpo y Sangre de Jesús – sacrificados por nosotros – volvemos a participar en su pasión, muerte y resurrección. Y este don nos fortalece semana tras semana en nuestra vida diaria como discípulos. Por lo tanto, Padre, ayúdanos a través de estos preciosos sacramentos del Bautismo y la Sagrada Eucaristía a vivir siempre dignos de nuestra dignidad como tus amados hijos e hijas. ¡Porque en verdad lo somos! Que Dios los bendiga.

The Epiphany of the Lord, January 4 Homily

January 4, 2026

We celebrate today the Epiphany of the Lord – a special moment of focusing on how Jesus was revealed to the world as the only-begotten Son of God, the Messiah of the nations. Typically, we reflect on the wise men, or the magi, coming to adore the Christ-child, bringing him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. While the Scriptures don’t provide many details about the magi, Christian tradition fills in some of the gaps. For example, we learn that the wise men were possibly astronomers from the Orient – the East. As men familiar with stars, they were very familiar with the belief of the time that every great person in history had a star to announce his arrival. And so, when they saw the Star of Bethlehem rising over Israel, they must have known that this was the sign of a great king being born for the Jews. After all, when they came before Herod, they asked him, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.”

Tradition also tells us that there were three wise men, presumably because there were three gifts offered to the infant Messiah. And the names of Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar have been given them, names which mean “Master-of-Treasure”, “King-of-Light”, and “Protect-the-King”, respectively. Whether or not they were of different races, representing the various continents, as some traditions suggest, they definitely were Gentiles. And as such, they were the first non-Jews to come and accept God’s Messiah, who came so that all might be saved.

It’s customary that on Epiphany Sunday, the blessing of homes take place, since God made His home with us in the person of Jesus. This blessing takes the traditional form of using the first letter of each of the names of the three magi over the inside of their front door, along with the numbers of the new year. Interestingly enough, C – M – B also stands for the Latin words, Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless this home”. Since this home blessing was performed in the new year, it was also a witness of people’s faith in Christ, and a prayer of protection against all evil that might come. After Mass today we’re providing cards to take home. They have the phrase I just mentioned on one side, and a short explanation and prayer on the other. Simply offer the prayer on the reverse side together as a family, and then place the card over the main door inside your home.

Now, all of this got me thinking about the magi – they were students of the heavens after all. But the wise men must have been so convinced by the meaning of this star that they were willing to leave their homelands far behind in order to follow it. The light of this one lone star guiding them on this pilgrimage – imagine! That one star guiding them through the darkness of night on a journey they had never taken.

Well, what about us as we navigate through life? Here’s a question to ask yourself: What is the guiding star of my life? I mean, what is it that really determines what I do with my life? Is it a particular goal, maybe like happiness or success? Is the star that I’m following reliable? Is it leading me to the person I really want to be and the best life I’m called to live?

I can tell you the only truly reliable star is Jesus Christ, who the Book of Revelation calls the bright Morning Star. When we think about it, what is the real goal of this life? Yes, there are many goals – graduating school, finding a satisfying job, living our lives to the fullest, finding happiness. But then what? As we journey through this life, it only leads to one place – the end. And then what?

You and I were created by God, for God – by divine Love, for divine Love. The terminus of our journey is God, and the destination of our lives is heaven. The only sure, reliable star that guides us there is Jesus Christ. So, as we begin this new year, let's consider how oriented my life is toward Him. Am I just a few degrees off course? Or, do I need a major course correction? And so, as we receive Jesus in this Holy Eucharist today, may we be guided by “the one Morning Star who never sets” each day of our lives. God bless you.

Father Marcoe’s 2025 Homilies

Father Marcoe’s 2025 homilies can be found here.