Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Baptism of Jesus by Giotto de Bondone

What a good day to thank God for my baptism, the day I was freed from the bondage of sin through the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. Every time I turn on water today or hear the stream in the back yard or take a drink I want to remember the great goodness of God in letting me be born of Catholic parents who were serious about the faith. Up to now, the greatest day of my life was the day I was baptized because it opened the way to eternal life. It opened all the treasures of the kingdom. Only through my baptism did the Holy Eucharist and the other sacraments become my birthright. So today I will pray my rosary in thanksgiving for my parents and for the tremendous love they had for me by taking me to the church for my baptism. 

Cicero called gratitude the "parent" of all the virtues. And what a gift if we can be grateful for everything, every little thing. This morning I was putting away yesterday's eggs gathered from my beloved chickies. I placed them gently in the egg boxes my daughter-in-law painted for me. That always makes me smile and I thought how grateful I was for that little gift of love. I think I'll write her a note to say so. 

G.K. Chesterton said many things about gratitude.

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder."

“The aim of life is appreciation; there is no sense in not appreciating things; and there is no sense in having more of them if you have less appreciation of them."

“You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing and grace before I dip the pen in the ink.”

And my favorite:

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?”

On this feast of the Baptism of Jesus let us be thankful for all God's gifts, especially His Son and Jesus' cousin, St. John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Him. May God give us all the realization of how much we have for which to thank Him and for the people around us who lead us to the Lord.

And here's my gift to you today from one of my favorite artists, Murillo. Thank you, Lord, for giving us such talented men and women who enrich our lives with their gifts!

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.

St. John the Baptist, pray for us.