OUR LORD'S BAPTISM SHOWED SOLIDARITY WITH MANKIND

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2003 (VIS) - Following the Baptism of 22 babies in the Sistine Chapel this morning, the feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, Pope John Paul appeared at his study window to recite the Angelus with the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope noted that when Jesus asked John the Baptist to baptize Him, "the precursor was disconcerted. But precisely this gesture reveals the singularity of the messianic nature of Jesus, which consists in fulfilling the will of the Father, becoming 'an expiatory victim for our sins'. Humble solidarity with sinners led Him to death on the cross."

He added that "immersing oneself in the death and resurrection of Christ radically frees man from sin and death and realizes a new birth according to the Spirit, for a life which has no end. This is the Baptism that the Risen One entrusted to the Apostles, sending them throughout the entire world. This same Baptism I had the joy to administer this morning, as is customary, to several newborns.

"The Baptism of children," affirmed the Holy Father, "so dear to Christian tradition, makes one understand with immediate eloquence the true nature of salvation. It is a grace, that is, a gift freely given by the Lord. ... For this reason, it is good that Christian parents take care to bring their children to the baptismal font so that they can receive, by force of the faith of the Church, the great gift of divine life."

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