As the Christmas season comes to a close, the hearts of believers shift from meditating on the birth of the Lord to the beginning of his mission. This weekend we contemplate St. Matthew’s version of ...

Bethany Beyond the Jordan was a spiritual experience my lapsed Catholic self was not expecting. It reminded me that whatever your religious constructs, the teachings of Jesus are of kindness, ...

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., ...

I love the narrative of our Lord’s baptism. From John’s reaction to Jesus’ approach to the decent of the Dove and the Father’s proclamation, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased,” it ...

On the banks of the Jordan River where the Bible says Jesus was baptized, 15-foot-high reeds rustle in the wind. The site on the Jordanian side of the river looks much like the New Testament describes ...

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).

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 ...