January 8 Saints of the Day

Baptism of the Lord, first Sunday after Epiphany on January 6

This is how it happened in the Bible:
¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John tried to deter him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
¹⁵Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John consented.
¹⁶As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. ¹⁷And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
(Mt.3:13-17... Mc.1:9-11, Lk.3:21-22, Jn.1:1-34)

Baptism in Christianity means the cleansing (remission) of sins and marks the Christian's entry into the church and receiving the Holy Spirit.
A person becomes Born Again by Baptism, which is the sacrament of spiritual rebirth. By Baptism, a person is cleansed of all his sins and incorporated into Christ. He becomes a member of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, and Christ lives in him, receiving the graces of the supernatural life. The person before Baptism is in sin, at least the original sin, and a slave of the devil; after Baptism, becomes a saint, with Jesus in his heart.

    There are then two main things involved in Baptism:
    1- The immersion into water means the cleansing of all sins... we have died to sin, crucified and died with Christ, says Romans 6:1-8.
    2- The coming out of the water means to be resurrected with Christ, to live with Him too, to live the life of Christ within ourselves (Romans 6:1-8), a most glorious adventure!.

    Children can and should be baptized with the faith in the Church. Jesus included children when he ordered the disciples, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (Matt.28:19). The disciples acted accordingly, when they baptized the whole "household", including the children (Act.16:15,33, 18:8, 1Cor.1:16). Baptism is the greatest gift the parents can give to their children, and the most biblical time to do it is 8 days after birth, because "circumcision" was done 8 days after birth, and it was replaced by Christian Baptism (Luk.2:21, Col.2:11).
    If your church can not baptize children, it is a church without power, it is not the Church of Christ, where there is power to baptize children… the most beloved persons to Jesus!
    Born Again, by Baptism

Baptism

1 Background in Jewish ritual

2 Explanation

3 Ecumenical statement

4 Mode

5 Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox baptism

5.1 Emergency Baptism

6 Baptist baptism

7 Latter-day Saint baptism

8 Baptism in Churches of Christ

9 Non-Christian baptism

10 See also

St. Peter Thomas, 1305-1366

   Carmelite at age 21. Noted preacher and homilist. Order's procurator-general to the papal court at Avignon in 1345; while there, he entered the papal diplomatic service.
    Papal legate to Genoa, Milan, and Venice. Bishop of Patti and Lipari in 1354. Bishop of Coron in 1359. Papal representative to the Eastern Churches, working for peace, unity, and healing of the Great Schism. Papal legate to the East in 1359.
    Archbishop of Crete and Candia in 1363. Latin Patriarch of Constantinople in 1364.
    Preached Crusade against the Turks throughout Serbia, Hungary, and Constantinople, and traveled with the armies. Enjoyed a reputation among both Catholic and Orthodox spheres as an apostle of Church unity.

Born 1305 in southern Perigord, France

Died 1366 at Famagorta, Cyprus from wounds received in a military action in Alexandria, Egypt in 1365

Beatified 1608 (cultus confirmed)