He did it for me….
The celebration of the solemnity and the season of Christmas left in my mind this thought:Whatever Jesus did, He did it not for Him but for me.
 
During my fifteen years of priesthood, I realize that the celebration of each
solemnity, feast and ordinary Sunday as well as daily Mass and prayers have a special message to me for each day. I strive to deepen each prayer
and celebration with prayer of meditation and contemplation that open the mind and the spirit of the faithful to the understanding of the mystery
celebrated and to the Holy Spirit who gives new life of grace in Christ. While loneliness and solitude for a priest can be challenging, I have come to find that only prayer of the heart consoles me, comforts me and helps me build a strong relationship with Jesus as I learn to speak with him in the circumstances of each day. I am still learning to elevate my prayer  to the level where I see that each moment of my life is a moment of prayer.The meditation on the gospel of the Baptism of the Lord moves us to see that this holy event has opened our lives to another theological dimension, which is the life in the Spirit and in the presence of God. His baptism gave meaning to our baptisms and opened human kind to new life in the Spirit of God. Yes, John the Baptist was right because Jesus did not need a baptism of forgiveness, but when he did it, He did it for us, and He introduced us to the life of the Holy Trinity.
 
“And when he came up out of the water,” St. Mark says, “immediately he saw the heavens opened (1:10). ”  We can say with Pope Francis that at his baptism, Jesus ended the time of the “closed heavens” which indicates the separation between God and man, the consequence of sin. Sin alienates us from God and breaks the bond between heaven and earth, thus determining our misery and the failure of our lives. The opened heavens indicate that God has bestowed his grace so that earth might bring forth fruit (cf. Ps 85:13). Also with the Baptism of Jesus not only are the heavens opened, but God speaks again by making his voice resound: “Thou art my
beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11).
God makes himself heard in the world, and the
Holy Spirit is visible in the form of a dove.

As Jesus embarked on his new ministry of preaching, healing and liberating, it is the Holy Spirit, who
wholly animated Jesus’ life, and it is the same Spirit who today guides the Christian life, the life of the
baptized man and woman who call themselves and desire to be Christians.
 
In this Ordinary time that will begin on Monday after the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, let us open our hearts and minds and pray to the Holy Spirit to help us meditate on the teachings of Jesus and
contemplate his miracles with faith in the One who did it for us.  I truly believe that if His words touch our hearts and His deeds our daily deeds, God’s
miracles will continue to happen in my life and yours. Yes, Jesus does every thing not for Himself but for me. We enter ordinary time, and our lives remain
ordinary but with the Emmanuel, God –with – Us.
 
With the Ordinary time, we change the liturgical color to green. But also it is the custom for many that on this Sunday they put Christmas decorations away
if this practice was not done on the feast day of Epiphany. Others wait all the way until the feast day of the Presentation. I found this prayer inspiring as our homes return to normal:
 
Prayer for Putting AwayChristmas Decorations
Lord Jesus, today we have put all of our Christmas decorations away. We are entering into Ordinary Time, and our house looks “ordinary” again, too.
But Lord, you know and we know that our house has a secret. Deep inside it, all of our Christmas decorations are still here. The blessing of Christmas is always with us, kept in the deep, quiet places of the house. And Lord, our lives will become ordinary again, too, but you know that each of us has the grace of baptism. The grace you gave us is always with us, in the deep, quiet places of our soul. May we live the grace of Christmas every day, only without all the trappings. May we always give generously, receive gifts gratefully, welcome others, and study your life. Make our house be a home with Christmas at its core, and our souls a home where Jesus always dwells.
Amen.