The Sunday after Epiphany is always the Baptism of the Lord (unless Epiphany is observed on Jan. 7 or 8 in those countries like the United States where it is transferred to a Sunday, in which case the ...

The Baptism of the Lord closes the Christmas season. The next day begins the First Week of Ordinary Time, Lent following in five weeks on Feb. 17. The Christmas season is full of theophanies, i.e., ...

Bethany Beyond the Jordan was a spiritual experience my lapsed Catholic self was not expecting. It reminded me that whatever your religious constructs, the teachings of Jesus are of kindness, ...

Remember the day of your baptism? It's highly unlikely, but your parents and godparents and an assortment of relatives probably do. Perhaps they remember the event itself, or the party, or something ...

I think as we hear the Gospel today, we’re not surprised, in a way, that John objects to Jesus when Jesus comes to John for baptism -- because John has the idea that he had been sent to prepare the ...

On the banks of the Jordan River where the Bible says Jesus was baptized, 15-foot-high reeds rustle in the wind. The site on the Jordanian side of the river looks much like the New Testament describes ...

But John tried to deter him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” — Matthew 3:14 It’s a good question: Why did Jesus Christ need to be baptized? That’s basically the question ...

Baptism is an outward sign of an inward decision. It signifies a dying to the old man as you are plunged underwater and a new birth into spiritual life in Christ. We baptize people to commemorate a ...