For many people, whenever they hear that Jesus was baptized, one of the first questions that come to their minds is: why? Why did Jesus have to be baptized? If Baptism is the sacrament that cleanses us from sin and re-establishes us in relationship with God, why did Jesus, who was born without sin and was always in relationship with God, need to be baptized? Continue reading →

Every year, on the first Sunday following Christmas, the Church celebrates the beautiful feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The purpose of this beautiful feast is to remind each and every one of us that the most important place where we are to encounter God’s love for us is within the family. Like all of us, Jesus was born into a human family so that we might all be reminded that it is first and foremost within the family that we are to make Christ’s love present to our brothers and sisters and where we are to encounter the love and acceptance that we all desire and long to know. This beautiful feast is to remind all of us that every family—mine and yours—is a sacred place where God’s love is to be encountered. Continue reading →