Gospel (Mk 1,7-11) - At that time, John proclaimed: «The one who is stronger than me comes after me: I am not worthy to bend down to untie the laces of his sandals. I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." And behold, in those days, Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in the Jordan by John. And immediately, coming out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending towards him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my beloved Son: I am well pleased with you."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The feast of the baptism of Jesus is a further Epiphany, manifestation of Jesus. At the Jordan the heavens opened and the Holy Spirit landed on Jesus, like a dove that finally finds his nest. The power of God has found his home. Not that the Spirit of the Lord wasn't there before. It had been there since creation, when "the spirit of God hovered over the waters" (Gen 1:2). He then continued to be present in the holy and spiritual men, in the prophets, in the righteous, in the witnesses of charity, both of Israel and of other religions. In Jesus the Spirit – since his birth and in his manifestation to the wise men – finds his full and definitive home. After his baptism, Jesus begins to speak. One could say that he came out of the water with a new vocation. He, on the day of his baptism, was born to a new life, to a new mission: he no longer had time to think about himself, his loved ones, his home, his usual worries. As soon as he was baptized, Jesus came out of the water and behold, the heavens opened and a voice from heaven said: "You are my beloved Son: I am well pleased with you." With the preaching of Jesus after his baptism, God becomes closer, the future of peace is no longer unattainable, hope is not over, man is not crushed on the earth, he is not a prisoner of his destiny. Each of us becomes a child, loved and cherished. God's love is personal, unique, with no other purpose than that of love with him. This is the future that God already makes present and offers to everyone and particularly to those whose lives seem to have lost all value and importance. The Christian is never an only child, because God is the father of all. Each baptized person receives brothers and sisters. And he is called to be so, that is, to enrich fraternity, to weave friendship, to cultivate solidarity. Today, of all of us, having returned as children at the baptismal font, generated as sons, the Lord does not ask for great speeches or promises, but only a heart capable of making itself loved in order to learn from God, a good father, to love everyone.