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., ...

That’s a good question. The word baptize means “to wash.” Peter, however, tells us that baptism isn’t the washing of dirt from the body, but rather a cleansing of the conscience (1 Peter 3:21).

Search the Scriptures, and except for the Holy Family, no person is more favored by God than St. John the Baptist. All four Gospels acclaim this holy man and set him apart from others. From before his ...

Today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. Mark describes the event with a few key details—Jesus is baptized by John in the Jordan River; the heavens part; the Spirit descends like a dove and a voice in ...

Our knowledge of the figure of John the Baptist is very limited. We have only those references to him in the Christian gospels, where he stands alongside of Jesus. We also have references to him in ...

Along with yesterday’s feast of the Epiphany and the wedding at Cana, today’s feast, the Baptism of the Lord, is one of the three epiphanies of Jesus’ humanity, according to the early Church Fathers.

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 ...

QASR AL-YAHUD BAPTISM SITE, West Bank — One by one, the pilgrims plunged under the cool, khaki-toned waters of the Jordan River, wading in from the Israeli-controlled western bank to rededicate their ...