Over the years, I have had many people ask me a very simple question when we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. That question is: “Why was Jesus baptized?  If Jesus is sinless and the Son of God made flesh, why does He need to be baptized?”

The reason why Jesus chooses to be baptized is connected with who Jesus is. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus has become one of us in order to show us the way to salvation and how we are to live in order to be saved.  He is baptized, in order to show us that it is through Baptism that we are called to share in the life of the Holy Trinity. Jesus is anointed by the Holy Spirit before he begins His public ministry in order to show us that when we are anointed by the Spirit in the Sacraments of Initiation, we too share in His mission. Just as in Baptism, the Father declares Jesus to be His beloved Son, so too through our Baptisms the Father claims us to be His beloved sons and daughters. As Jesus took up His ministry after His Baptism and anointing by the Spirit, so too each one of us is given a mission within the Church through our Baptism and anointing at Confirmation.

There is a very powerful theology and image of the Church which describes the relationship between the events of Christ’s life and the call that each of us receives in Baptism and Confirmation. This theology goes back to the Apostle Paul and has the title “The Theology of the Mystical Body of Christ.” The beauty of this theology is that it articulates how we today are called to continue Christ’s work in the world. One of the best examples of this reality is seen in the two-part work of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. Written by the Evangelist St. Luke, in the first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how the Father sent Jesus into the world to reveal God’s salvation and forgiveness of all people. As we hear in today’s Gospel from Mark, Jesus was anointed by the Father to take up this mission at His baptism. In the Acts of the Apostles, after Jesus ascends into Heaven, on Pentecost Sunday, the members of the Church were anointed to continue Christ’s work in the world. In the Acts of the Apostles, the Church continues Christ’s saving work and spreads His mission throughout time and space, bringing His saving message to all people. Today, as we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, we are reminded that just as Christ had a mission from the Father, so too do each of us through Baptism and Confirmation, as members of the Church—the Body of Christ.

A few years ago, I spoke to you about a pastoral letter that Cardinal Collins had written to discuss the responsibility that each Christian has for the Church because of the gifts that he or she has received from God through Baptism and Confirmation. The word that he used in this letter to describe this responsibility is “Stewardship.” “Stewardship” refers to the call that is given to all of us to acknowledge the gifts that we have received from God and to give back to God and the community from among the gifts that we have received out of gratitude to God for these gifts. What we have received from God is the gift of time that makes up the duration of our lives, our talents and abilities, and the created things and treasures that life allows us to enjoy. For this reason, the gifts that we speak about rendering back to God consist of time, talent and treasure.

Shortly before the pandemic broke out, I had spoken to you about the efforts of our parish Stewardship/Discipleship Committee. At that time, we were hoping to emphasize time and talent and invite all parishioners to consider ways of getting involved in the parish community through different types of ministry. We were hoping to have a big Ministry Fair in September of 2020 as a way of inviting all parishioners to consider getting involved in the different ministries that we have in the parish. Sadly, that was all put on hold as a result of the pandemic. Even once we were allowed to re-open this past summer, safe distancing, and the many restrictions brought about by COVID 19, made it impossible for us to operate many of our outreach programs and parish activities. The pandemic has put everything in the parish on a temporary hold.

The one area throughout the pandemic in which people showed themselves to be extremely generous was in volunteering for the ministry of hospitality and our cleaning teams. For the time that we were able to re-open, each Mass was covered by excellent volunteers who greeted people outside of the church and acquainted them with the safety protocols and seating arrangements that had been made to keep people safe. Between Masses, so many volunteers were excellent at keeping our parish clean and safe. These generous volunteers sanitized our facilities between Masses and made it safe and possible for others to visit our parish and attend Mass safely. Thank you very much for all who assisted with this ministry. Those who volunteered for this ministry will be greatly needed again when our churches re-open up in the near future.

With the future in mind, I would like to return again to the themes of Stewardship and Discipleship.

The pandemic has made it so obvious how much the parish depends upon the ministry of the parishioners to be a thriving and vital community. During these days that we are not able to be together and operating as a normal parish community, I would like you to please consider how you might be fully engaged and involved when we return to normal operations. During the pandemic, some of our regular volunteers have moved away or may have decided that they are unable to continue in certain ministries because they have aged. Our community will need many volunteers to once again get us active and thriving. I would love to see us go ahead with our Ministry Fair in September of 2021, or perhaps even sooner, in the hopes of returning to the thriving life that we are so accustomed to here at St. Peter’s Parish.

A few things that will be new to us in the coming months is the opening of the new Archdiocesan Offices on our site. These will bring to our campus the Archdiocesan Office of Refugees and the Office of Catholic Youth. This should allow us some new opportunities to work in partnership with these two exciting offices from the Archdiocese. I hope to work with the Pastoral Council to discover new and exciting ways that our parish can build on relations with these offices.

Soon we will also be welcoming many new neighbours to our parish community as the apartments that are being developed at Bathurst and Bloor will bring many new residents to our area. It will be extremely important to have creative ways of welcoming and reaching out to those who will be occupying these new homes in our parish. This would be a good time to start thinking of ways that we might reach out to our new neighbours and make them feel welcome in our community.

When Cardinal Collins first started speaking about Stewardship here in the diocese a few years ago, he stated that he wanted to focus on the aspects of time and talent. In the wake of this recent pandemic, I feel that it is also necessary to focus upon the very unpopular aspect of treasure.  Since the pandemic began and it has not been possible to have our regular Sunday Masses and collections, the parish’s normal way of collecting funds has been greatly impacted. As there are no regular Sunday Masses, we have not been able to collect money at the parish Masses as we normally were able to do. The parish depends completely on the offerings of parishioners to pay it bills and its staff.

During the pandemic, the parish has asked parishioners to consider switching to pre-authorized giving. This allows you to contribute each week to the upkeep of your parish community, even if you are unable to come to Mass. Offerings can also be mailed to the parish office or they can be left in the mailbox at the Sisters of Life Entrance. It is also possible to donate through the Archdiocesan website by choosing our parish through the portal “DONATE NOW.” If you are able to support the parish at this time, please consider doing so and know that it is greatly needed and appreciated.

Just as so many parishioners volunteered to assist with hospitality and sanitizing the church between Masses when we re-opened after the first shutdown, so too many have donated very generously to assist the parish through this difficult time. While we have had to reduce some staff and office hours, the parish continues basic operations through this difficult time. I wish to thank everyone who has donated so generously in order to keep the parish going through this difficult time.

I clearly understand that this is a difficult time for many families. If your situation does not make it possible to contribute and support the parish at this time, please do not feel any pressure to do so. The first obligation is always to home and family. Please do not hesitate to call if you require assistance from the parish.

Jesus is baptized and anointed by the Spirit for only one reason: to show us how we are to live, and who we are to be as His anointed people. Just as the Father declares Christ to be His beloved Son, so too through baptism and confirmation, we are also raised to become the beloved daughters and sons of the Eternal Father. As members of the Body of Christ, the Church, we all have a mission because of our Baptisms and because we have been anointed by the Spirit and acknowledged by the Father as His beloved children. The word that best describes the responsibility that is given to each of us as gifted members of the Church is the word that Jesus Himself uses when He sends His disciples out to baptize—we are called to become His “disciples.” Let us pray, that in the coming months and years, we may each embrace the spirit of discipleship and stewardship that will allow us to bring vitality to our community as we share the gifts of time, talent and treasure that God has given to us to use during our lives.

Again, my heartfelt thanks to all who have supported the parish throughout this difficult time. Let us look forward with hope to the day that we are able to worship together again. Please, begin to think about how you can be involved as we return to normal operations. I look forward to a Ministry Fair sometime in 2021 that will call all of us to share our time and talent with our parish community. In order to keep us operating until then, any support that you are able to give the parish throughout this pandemic is much appreciated and certainly necessary.

May God bless you and your families and keep you safe throughout 2021.

Fr. Michael McGourty,
Pastor—St. Peter’s Church—Toronto, Ontario.

This reflection based on the readings for the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord- YEAR A: Isaiah 55: 1-11; 1 John 5:1-9; and Mark 1:7-11.

For Cardinal Collins’ letter on Stewardship, please see: Stewardship (archtoronto.org)