Descent

“Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon His shoulders; He bore it down into the depths of the Jordan.”  (Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, “Jesus of Nazareth”).

The Baptism of Christ (Domenico Ghirlandaio)

I have been reflecting on the Mystery of the Baptism of Christ in the River Jordan, which we commemorate in the First Luminous Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary…

This is an interesting mystery, because Christ – who is without sin and who is God – went to a mere mortal man – Saint John the Baptist – and asked to be Baptised.

This was not a spur of the moment decision.

There was great preparation for this event and that preparation began before the two men were even born.

During the visitation, when the Blessed Virgin visited her cousin Saint Elizabeth, the mother of Saint John the Baptist, which is another mystery that we commemorate as the Second Joyful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary, Saint Elizabeth greeted the Virgin as “mother of my Lord” and noted that the child “child leaped in her womb”

“At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favoured, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.  Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!’” (Luke 1:39-45).

And that is significant.  You see, the leaping of the child in Saint Elizabeth’s womb was the moment during which the unborn Christ-Child baptised the unborn Saint John the Baptist.  And this means that when Saint John the Baptist was actually finally born, he was born without Original sin and did not need to be baptised.  He grew into a holy man and remained without sin throughout his life.

This was part of his preparation to be worthy as the Baptiser of the Lord…

And this was not a act that God chose to accomplish Himself.  He asked – through the message of the Angel during the Annunciation, which is the First Joyful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary – that the Blessed Virgin visit her cousin.  And the Blessed Virgin, without ever understanding the complexity of the course of action that would be set off by her consent, did as she was told…  And in doing so, she carried the Child within her womb to Galilee so that He could baptise the Baptiser who would Baptise Him in His life…  And this baptism of the Lord is necessary – not for God – who is without sin and has no need of the sacraments – but for humankind, who need the sacraments to achieve eternal life.

“The act of descending into the waters of this Baptism implies a confession of guilt and a plea for forgiveness in order to make a new beginning…  Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon His shoulders; He bore it down into the depths of the Jordan.”  (Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, “Jesus of Nazareth”).

And this means that through Christ’s baptism, He was able not to cleanse His soul (which is perfect and sinless and in no need of cleansing), but He was able to cleanse the waters – to baptise the waters through His own purity.  In this way Baptism would be forever a sacrament of rebirth – being born into the spirit.

And to prepare for that, Christ visited Saint John the Baptist inside the womb of His Blessed Mother.

And I have to wonder today – as we approach so close to the Perfect Sacrifice of my Beloved – whether I have ever obeyed my Lord in a way that allowed Him to work His wonders?  Have I ever?

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.