Hope does not disappoint

Reflection for the Baptism of the Lord, 2025 (U.S. Catholic)

There’s a curious tension in Catholic imagination regarding the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River by John the Baptist. In the Rosary, the Baptism in the Jordan is the first of the Luminous Mysteries—the still somewhat nouveau mysteries of Jesus’ public ministry, which were popularized by Pope St. John Paul II. In the liturgical calendar, though, the Solemnity of the Baptism of the Lord is less a beginning than an ending: the last day of the Christmas season, followed by, but not belonging to, the first days of Ordinary Time.

There’s always something a little melancholy about taking down the Christmas tree and putting away the lights and decorations, but perhaps especially in a year like 2025, a Jubilee Year—in fact, the first regular Jubilee Year of the third Christian millennium. You may have heard about Pope Francis opening the holy door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Christmas Eve for the Jubilee…

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