Happy Feast of the Baptism of Jesus!

Pope Benedict explains the significance of baptism:

...With baptism, he said during his homily, the child is inserted into the "mutual exchange of love" between God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


"The love of God is poured out over them, inundating them with his gifts."

The Pope told the parents that in the sacrament their children join in the life of Christ, who was crucified to free man from sin and resurrected to conquer death.

They are thus "immersed spiritually in His death and resurrection" and "freed from original sin and a life of grace begins in them, which is the very life of the Risen Jesus," he said.

The parents and godparents ask the Church to pass on the gift of faith, "that which is most precious in life, and that is the truest and most beautiful reason to live," he explained.

He explained that through baptism, children are consecrated and called to follow the Lord and to realize the vocation he has for them. Education in the faith is important, he told parents and godparents, so that "the seed of faith that they receive today will grow in them and they might reach full Christian maturity."

During the Angelus that followed in St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI explained that through Christ's own Baptism by John the Baptist, he "established the regeneration in the Spirit and opened, to all who want it, the opportunity to become children of God.

"Not by chance, in fact, every baptized person acquires the character of 'son' starting with their Christian name, an unmistakable sign that the Holy Spirit gives birth 'anew ' to man from the womb of the Church."

Blessed Antonio Rosmini wrote that man is "raised to the supernatural order" through the sacrament, thus renewing his communication with God, noted the Pope...