ANGELUS: BAPTISM, THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN LIFE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 9, 2000 (VIS) - Prior to praying the angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father recalled that the feast of the Baptism of Christ, which is celebrated today, concludes the Christmas period.

The Pope highlighted that Christmas this year has been lived with "particularly deep involvement and intensity" because "on Holy Night, with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's, the Great Jubilee began."

"Recalling Christ's nativity," he continued, "we have celebrated the great mystery of the Redemption, to which we look with particular attention during the entire Jubilee period. The Son of God was made Man in order that man could be elevated to the dignity of God's adoptive son."

John Paul II went on to refer to the feast of the Baptism of Christ, and spoke of the sacrament that he had just administered to 18 children in the Sistine Chapel. "All the good we do with God's help has, in effect, its foundation in Baptism which, linking us to divine grace, makes us children of God and incorporates us into the community of believers."

The Pope closed by requesting that the Virgin may help everyone "during thus Jubilee year, to conform ever more to our baptismal pledges."

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