St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
January 4
1 John 3:7-10  +  John 1:35-42

“Come, and you will see.”

Christmastide is about new life.  Yet we might be tempted to think of this Christmas Season only in terms of the birth of the Christ Child.  If we were to do so, we would overlook much of the richness of this holy season.

In the Ordinary Form of the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar, the last day of Christmastide is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord.  This gives us a clue to one of the major themes of Christmastide, the expression of which makes up much of the season’s richness.

In a word, much of Christmastide celebrates the new life that comes from one’s “vocation”.  The event of Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan River is the “inauguration”, if you will, of Jesus’ public ministry:  His vocation to save fallen man.  In the latter days of Christmastide, including in today’s Gospel Reading, we hear of the vocations—the callings—of several of Jesus’ key disciples.  In turn, their vocation stories ought to help each of us stop and reflect upon our own vocations:  our own share in the saving mission of Jesus’ Church.