Pope Francis: in Christ’s baptism, the heavens were opened

January 12, 2015

Pope Francis reflected on Christ’s baptism during his January 11 Angelus address.

Speaking to the crowds that had gathered in St. Peter’s Square on a rainy day, the Pope said that “the time of the ‘closed heavens’ was over, which indicated the separation between God and man, a consequence of sin.”

“Sin alienates us from God and interrupts the link between earth and heaven,” he continued. “The opened heavens show that God has given His grace so that the earth may bear fruit.”

Recalling that the Holy Spirit descended upon Christ in the form of a dove, the Pope noted that we often fail to pray to the Holy Spirit.

“To place our Christian lives and mission under the action of the Holy Spirit, whom we have all received in virtue of our baptism, means to find the apostolic courage to overcome easy worldly comforts,” the Pope added. “Instead, a Christian or a community that is ‘deaf’ to the voice of the Holy Spirit, who urges us to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth and society, become also a Christian or a community that is ‘mute,’ that does not speak or evangelize.”

 

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Further information:

• Le Parole del Papa alla recita dell’Angelus (Holy See Press Office)
• Pope Francis: Lord's Baptism Mass and Angelus (Vatican Radio)
• Angelus Domini 2015.01.11 (Vatican YouTube)
• Zenit translation