Nicole Berlucchi, Writer on a Mission

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission,
and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

This is the final week of the “That We May Imitate What They Contain and Obtain What They Promise” series will take a daily look at one mystery of the Rosary and how we have the opportunity to imitate it and rejoice in what it promises us. These are called the mysteries of light. I don’t know if there is an explanation for this beyond that each mystery sheds more light onto Jesus as the Messiah. Each one is a step as Jesus receives his identity from the Father and carries out the mission He has been given as our Redeemer. As a whole we can consider how to imitate these mysteries of light by becoming lights ourselves, using our God-given gifts to partake in His plan as well as being lights pointing the way to Jesus, helping our friends recognize Jesus as the Messiah and our Redeemer.

Today, we look at the first Luminous Mystery of the Rosary: the Baptism of Jesus.

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?” Jesus said to him in reply, “Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed him. After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened [for him], and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove [and] coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son,” with whom I am well pleased. Matthew 3:13-17 (NABRE)

We are all anxious to get to heaven someday, but Mary’s coronation reminds us that we are royalty and we are expected to work for the Kingdom as long as we are on earth.

1. Serve the Lord with humility and trust like John the Baptist. If you’ve read any of the Gospel verses surrounding this passage, you know that many thought John might be the promised Messiah. He did not try to play that up and take advantage of people. He knew exactly who he was and what he was supposed to do. When he does come face to face with the Messiah, his reaction is not one of look at all I have done, Jesus, to get people ready for you. No, his reaction is I am not worthy. Just like Mary, just like his mother, Elizabeth, he is humbled before God, asking: you are coming to me? In prayer, we can sometimes want to show the Lord all we have done to follow and serve Him, but all He really wants is to be humbly welcomed, so He can reign in our lives. John’s reaction to Jesus telling him to baptize him is a trusting one– even though John feels unworthy to do so, he does what he is asked. How often do we feel unworthy of something God set before us? A relationship, a vocation, a baby, a work opportunity, a deeper calling to relationship with Him, a calling to do something outside of our comfort zone. John the Baptist would be a great intercessor for helping us carry out what the Lord asks no matter how ill-equipped we might feel. Trust in God’s plan for you. Let us listen for the Lord’s encouragement to do what He is asking.
2. Receive the Lord in the Eucharist and know He continues His mission in us. I bring the Eucharist back into our mind’s view. Jesus comes to us under the host. Can we think like that and listen to Jesus say, for now, let it be that way. We cannot imagine the splendor with which we will behold Him in heaven. I imagine if the scene were to take place on earth, we would be terribly intimidated. Jesus makes it so we are not intimidated by His glory and majesty. He humbles himself, so can we receive him with equal humility? I was recently holding our tiny baby Jesus which fits in the palm of my hand. I was thinking about Mary and how she experienced Jesus’ physical growth within her and what that must have been like. Similarly, we have the opportunity to experience spiritual growth within us, growth of the Holy Spirit, each time we receive Holy Communion. God the Father is over us saying: this is my beloved son or daughter with whom I am well pleased.
3. Let the Holy Spirit pour out the truth of who you are and Whose you are. Jesus is then baptized and the heavens split open—the veil between heaven and earth is torn open, so that the spirit pours down and God speaks over Jesus, revealing Him as His Son. Jesus very simply receives this blessing from the Father. He is not written as responding back or proclaiming Himself as the Messiah, checking to see if everyone heard that voice from Heaven. He received His identity from the Father. If Catholic, we have already exercised our baptism where the Spirit has poured forth over us and God welcomed us into His family as sons and daughters. We confirm this at our Confirmation and every year on Easter we renew our baptismal promises and receive Holy Water. Do we, like Jesus, receive our identity from the Father? Do we let it wash over us and receive the Spirit as He calls us His sons and daughters? Let us look to those times where we bless ourselves with holy water as we enter the Church and say, “In the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” as an opportunity to remember we are a beloved daughter or son of the Father and He loves us so much. Let Him speak that truth in our lives.

The fruit of this mystery is openness to the Holy Spirit. When we humble ourselves, trust the Lord, receive Him in the Eucharist, and root our identity in Him, we allow the Holy Spirit to work in profound ways in our lives.

Visit Tribe of Many Arrows on Etsy. These images are used with their permission, and I am grateful for these beautiful creations accompanying my reflections this month.

If you missed the previous weeks’ reflections, catch them here:

The Joyful Mysteries: Annunciation, Visitation, Birth of Jesus, the Presentation, and the Finding of Jesus in the Temple.

The Sorrowful Mysteries: Agony in the Garden, Scourging at the Pillar, Crowning of Thorns, Carrying of the Cross, Crucifixion.

The Glorious Mysteries: The Resurrection, The Ascension, Pentecost, The Assumption, The Coronation of Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth.