The Story So Far…..• We have encountered all

the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary.

• Three beautiful canticles which have become our prayers:

Magnificat Lk. 1: 46 – 55Benedictus Lk. 1: 68 – 79Nunc Dimittis Lk. 2: 29 – 32• Today we encounter the

First of the Luminous Mysteries – The Baptism of Jesus

AngelsHeb. 1:14 “They are spirits who serve

God and are sent by him to help those who are to receive salvation.”

“Angelos” (Gk) Messenger

The Archangels:Michael (Who is like unto God?)

Gabriel (God is mighty) Raphael (God heals)

Your Guardian Angel- Keeps you in touch with heaven- Is your devoted friend, ever ready

to help you on your way to heaven.- Honour, love and venerate your

guardian angel who is sent by God and does only God’s bidding.

The Baptism of Jesus, The Temptations in the Desert,

Jesus begins His Public Ministry.

SFX RCIA

2009/2010

THE SETTING• They were a small

obscure country on the fringe of (and colonized by) a great empire, but they were a monotheistic stronghold in a world of polytheism, superstition and rationalism. And their moral life was far above that of the Hellenistic world of that time.

Groups in Palestine at the time of Jesus

• Pharisees

• Scribes / Lawyers

• Sadducees

• The Zealots

• The Essenes

• The Romans

• The anawim

The mission of John the Baptist.

• At a precise point in history (Luke 3: 1 – 2)

• Description of the mission in all four Gospels: “A voice cries in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a way of the LORD, make his paths straight.’” (Is. 40:3)

• John’s baptism was a call to conversion and an announcement that one greater than himself was to come.

• He points to the true identity of Jesus

The Baptism of JesusLuke 3: 21 - 22

The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism

• His complete identification with sinners although He himself was sinless. (Hebrews 4:15)

• An immersion and a prefiguring of His death, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins

• A rising to new life prefiguring the Resurrection.• His communion with the will of the Father opens

heaven – the place where the Father’s will is perfectly fulfilled.

• The proclamation of Jesus’ mission by the Father: not what Jesus does but who He is: He is the beloved Son on whom God’s favour rests.

The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism

• A new identity born out of anointing by the Holy Spirit – Christ, the anointed one.

• The mystery of the Trinitarian God is beginning to emerge.

• An arc joins this beginning of Jesus’ journey with the mission he entrusts to His disciples after His Resurrection (Matt. 28:19)

The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism for me

• A personal acceptance of God’s call to a new life through Baptism

• It is a turning point in my life

• It is dying with Him and rising to new life.

• With Jesus as mediator, we too can lay claim to the term “children of God.”

• As sons and daughters of God and partakers in His Divine nature, all that we are and do is in Christ and His Body, the Church.

The Significance of Jesus’ Baptism for me

• Does this make sense to me? Is this what I want?

The Temptations of Jesus(Luke 4: 1 - 13 )

Parallels with OT

• 40 years wandering in the wilderness; 40 days in the desert

• Three failures of the Jews at a time of testing; three temptations of Jesus.- Jews complained about their hunger; that in Egypt they ate their fill of daily bread. (Exodus 16)- Broke their faith in God and worshipped the golden calf. (Exodus 32)

- Lack of trust that God would provide water for them. (Exodus 17)

The Temptations of Jesus(Luke 4: 1 – 13)

• The Bread Temptation: Trying to make Jesus prove His is the Son of God.

• One does not live by bread alone (Deut 8:3)• The Authority Temptation: Testing Jesus’ faithfulness

to God. • Worship the Lord your God and serve only him (Deut.

6:13) • The Trust Temptation: Trying to get Jesus to doubt

God; to test His trust in God• Do not put the Lord your God to the test (Deut. 6:16)

Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4: 16 – 30)

• Refers to His anointing by the Spirit

• Proclaims His “mission statement”

• Describes His mission as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecy.

Jesus in the Synagogue at Nazareth (Luke 4: 16 – 30)

• From initial approval, the mood of the people begins to change.

• The rejection, the violence prefigures the eventual fate of Jesus at the hands of His own people.

The Miracles of Jesus

Jesus accompanied his words with wonders and signs which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.

What writers say about miracles:

“For those with faith, no explanation is needed. For those without faith, no explanation is possible.”

SharingRead Luke 5: 1 – 11 Jesus calls his DisciplesWe have begun to read about Jesus’ ability to perform miracles. If you were one of those in the crowd who witnessed Jesus performing a miracle, what do you think your your reaction would be?

What do you think Jesus meant when he said to Simon, “From now on you will be catching people?”

For Next Week:

• Read:

• The Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5

Prayer For the Catechumens

Father of love and power,

It is your will to establish everything in Christ

And to draw us into His all-embracing love.

Guide these chosen ones:Strengthen them in their journey of conversion,

Build them into the Kingdom of your Son

And seal them with the Spirit of your promise.

We ask this through Christ Our Lord, Amen.