Pope Francis: Every baptized child is a miracle of faith

Baptism of Jesus - Giotto

“Every child who is born is a gift of joy and hope, and every child who is baptized is a miracle of the faith and a feast for the family of God.” These were the words of Pope Francis today (Sunday) as he greeted the tens of thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus address. Referring to the day's Gospel, Pope Francis said: “God gives us in Christ the guarantee of an indestructible love.”

We, too, can see the Heavens opened, “if we allow ourselves to be overtaken with the love of God, which is given to us for the first time in Baptism, by means of the Holy Spirit.” He repeated: “Let us allow ourselves to be overtaken by the love of God! This is the great time of mercy!”

When Christ, Who had no need of baptism, received the baptism of repentance of John the Baptist, He was in solidarity with “the penitent people.” It is precisely because “He shared our condition, our poverty” that Jesus received the approbation of God the Father: “This is my beloved Son, with Whom I am well pleased.” “Sharing,” the Pope said, “is the true way of love.” By sharing our condition, Jesus made us His brothers, and together with Him, makes us sons of God the Father.

“Doesn’t it seem like we need an increase of fraternal sharing and of love in our time?” the Pope asked. “Doesn’t it seem like we all need an increase of charity?” Not a disinterested charity, he explained, “but a charity that shares, that cares for the hardship and the suffering of the brother.”

He concluded his Angelus address with a prayer that the Holy Virgin Mary would, through her intercession, “support us in our duty of following Christ along the way of faith and charity, the way traced out in our Baptism.”

At the conclusion of the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father greeted pilgrims from around the world, with a special greeting for parents who are preparing their children for Baptism.

Finally, Pope Francis made the long-awaited announcement of the names of the first group of new Cardinals-election - including Archbishop Vincent Nichols, who will be created at the upcoming consistory in February. For more information and a complete list of the new Cardinals-elect see: ICN 12 January 2014 Archbishop Vincent Nichols to be named Cardinal www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=23937