Day 114: Baptized with Him
13:11 Share

I am Fr. Mark Mary with Franciscan Friars of Renewal, and this is the Rosary in a Year podcast, where through prayer and meditation, the rosary brings us deeper into relationship with Jesus and Mary and becomes a source of grace for the whole world. The Rosary in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. This is day 114. To download the prayer plan for Rosary in a Year, visit ascensionpress.com forward slash rosary in a year or text R-I-Y to 33777.

You'll get an outline of how we're going to pray each month, and it's a great way to track your progress. The best place to listen to the podcast is in the Ascension app. There are special features, both just for this podcast and also recordings of the full rosary with myself and other friars. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the Rosary in a Year Prayer Guide, a book published by Ascension that was designed to complement this podcast. You'll find all the daily readings from scripture, saint reflections, and beautiful full page images of the sacred art we'll be reflecting on.

Today we'll be meditating upon and praying with the first Luminous Mystery, the baptism of Jesus with help from St. Gregory of Nazianzus and his work Oration 39. The point of emphasis of our meditation is going to be our salvation is in Jesus. All right, we got a new author. So a little introduction to St. Gregory of Nazianzus, born in 329, died in

In the year 374, he is part of what are called the Cappadocian Fathers, along with St. Basil the Great, or some call it St. Basil the Great, and St. Gregory of Nyssa. St. Basil the Great and St. Gregory of Nyssa were brothers, and St. Basil and our St. Gregory, St. Gregory of Nazianzus,

We're very close friends, which brings us to, if you'll let me, one of my very all-time favorite stories of seminary is when we were talking about the Cappadocian fathers. And we just learned that, you know, Basil and Gregory of Nyssa were brothers. And then Basil and Gregory of Nazianzus were really good friends. And one of the New York seminarians was like, oh, so professor, so you're saying that they were boys and him not aware of this slang gets very serious and very literal and says like, boys, no, no.

They were men. They were men. They were not boys. Anyway, it was very funny. So anyway, in that class, we learned about the Cappadocian fathers and our professor Monsignor learned that boys in common parlance these days can also mean bros or very close friends. So I'll always remember the Cappadocian fathers. More importantly about St. Gregory of Nazianzus and really the Cappadocian fathers is that, uh,

Their writings and their work were profoundly, profoundly influential, especially on offering us some of the language and the understanding necessary for properly understanding the most holy trinity and some of the language of one God, like one divine nature and three divine persons. And also, particularly St. Gregory of Nazianzus, he did a great job at helping us to understand and really to teach people

The true nature of the Holy Spirit as sharing in this divine nature, as being a divine person. St. Gregory is a doctor of the church. As I said, a member of the Capitocian Fathers. At times he's been called Gregory the Theologian. And at other times he's called one of the boys with St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory of Nyssa. So now our reading.

From St. Gregory of Nazianzus and his Oration 39: "Christ is illumined, let us shine forth with him. Christ is baptized, let us descend with him, that we may also ascend with him." But John baptizes, Jesus comes with him, perhaps to sanctify the Baptist himself, but certainly to bury the whole of the old Adam in the water. And before this, and for the sake of this, to sanctify Jordan.

For as he is spirit and flesh, so he consecrates us by spirit and water. I have no need to be baptized by you, says the voice to the word, the friend to the bridegroom. He that is above all among them that are born of women, to him who is the firstborn of every creature. He who was and is to be the forerunner, to him who was and is to be manifested. I have need to be baptized by you, add to this and for you. For he knew that he would be baptized by martyrdom.

But what says Jesus? "Allow it to be so now, for this is the time of his incarnation; for he knew that yet a little while, and he should baptize the Baptist." And what is the fire? The consuming of the chaff and the heat of the Spirit. Jesus goes up out of the water, for with himself he carries up the world, and sees the heaven opened, which Adam had shut against himself in all his posterity, as the gates of paradise by the flaming sword.

And the Spirit bears witness to his Godhead, for he descends upon one that is like him, as does the voice from heaven. For he to whom the witness is born came from thence, and like a dove, for he honors the body. For this also was God, through its union with God, by being seen in a bodily form. And moreover, the dove has from distant ages been wont to proclaim the end of the deluge. The end of the reading. Thanks be to God.

What we'll see here is St. Gregory's particular awareness and his commitment to a proper understanding, a true understanding of the Most Holy Trinity. And this writing offers us a couple of really beautiful images from Scripture. The first is this, "For with himself he carries up the world and sees the heaven open which Adam had shut against himself and all his posterity as the gates of paradise by the flaming sword." Like do you understand all the allusions here, right? After the sin of Adam, Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden.

And at the entrance was placed a cherubim with a flaming sword. Through sin, and because of sin, man was banished from Eden. The gates of heaven were closed. And this is revealed right through the angel and his flaming sword. So this is all Genesis 3. What Gregory sees here at the baptism in the rending of the heavens is Jesus taking into the waters the sin of Adam where they are buried. And then he comes out of the water and with him all of humanity is

And in this act, the heavens which Adam had shut because of his sin are now opened by the new Adam. Just a little note here, right? Jesus uses the word baptism, referring to this baptism, the baptism at the Jordan, but also to the baptism of his passion. We see here at this baptism at the Jordan by John, an opening of the heavens. But then, right, if you remember at his baptism on the cross,

the veil to the temple, the veil to the Holy of Holies is torn open, which also refers to this opening of heaven, the new access that man has to God. I think we could say that what begins at the baptism at the Jordan is perfected and completed by the Lord's baptism at Calvary. And secondly, what we see here is the emphasis on the divinity of the Holy Spirit being communicated at the baptism of our Lord. St. Gregory, he takes time to make clear

that the Holy Spirit descends from heaven in the form of a dove as a divine person. The Holy Spirit is God and he is being manifested to Jordan. Also, the Holy Spirit comes in the form of a dove and this harkens back to the dove which Noah released from the ark in Genesis chapter 8. The dove which as St. Gregory notes indicates the end of the deluge or the flood. It indicates the beginning of something new, the beginning of new life.

And so the scent of the dove, now not like a bird, but the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove, it descends not upon the ark, like made of wood, but it descends upon Jesus, what we call like the perfect ark, the one alone through whom we will have eternal salvation. As the ark saved Noah from the flood, our Lord saves us from, if you will, the existential flood, the result of sin.

So as we pray today, we can focus on a couple of things. We can focus on the Holy Spirit as Lord. We can rejoice in the opening of heavens. Or you can join me in my prayer today in recognizing anew the person of Jesus and my baptism into his mystical body as the means of my eternal salvation. It's through baptism, if you will, we enter the ark. And as Noah, obviously he had to remain in the ark. So you and I, we need to remain in Christ.

But in him, if we remain in him, we are sure to weather any storm. And he'll bring us to the perfect new creation, the perfect new Eden, eternal life with the most holy Trinity. And now with Mary, let us pray. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

All right, thanks so much for joining me and praying with me today. I look forward to continuing this journey with you again tomorrow. Poco a poco, friends. God bless you all.