When Jesus began his ministry in Nazareth , he stood before a group of faithful people who had gathered in the synagogue there, and he quoted words that had been written by the prophet, Isaiah, centuries before: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, for he has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted and broken hearted.” (Luke 4:18) 

I’m unashamed to say that I’m a “Mama’s Boy”. Whenever I needed something and I couldn’t get it from my dad, I always turned to my mum and without a doubt my dad would give in.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Baptism of the Lord and, with it, conclude the Christmas season. Last week we celebrated Jesus’ manifestation to the world as the Light of the Nations, and today we celebrate the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus begins his ministry with his baptism through John the Baptist in the river Jordan.

During this Christmas Season, I am sure we have been touched by the rich expanse of our human story that this Season offers in utter simplicity.

I feel squeamish when I see those paintings of Jesus, with Mary and Joseph, which depict this trio as the ideal family!  In reality, no one in the Middle East, either now or 2000 years ago, would consider a mother+father+child as a family unit.

The account in Luke’s gospel of Mary going to visit her cousin Elizabeth tells us that Our Lady “arose and went with haste” to share the joy she carried in her heart and in her womb, reflected Pope Francis in last Sunday’s Angelus address.

“She arose and went. In the last stretch of the journey of Advent, let us be guided by these two verbs. To arise and to go in haste: these are the two movements that Mary made and that she invites us also to make as Christmas approaches.”

The Arnoldus Family has this month celebrated the 125^th anniversary of the founding of the Sister Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP).

The Sisters were founded by St Arnold Janssen, who also founded the Society of the Divine Word and the Holy Spirit Missionary Sisters (SSpS) in Steyl, Holland in the late 1800s.

Staff, residents and hospice patients came together at the SVD’s Mother of Perpetual Help Centre in Thailand this week to celebrate Christmas with a shared meal and fellowship.

The Mother of Perpetual Help Centre, located in Nong Bua Lamphu, in the North-East of Thailand, about 100km from the Mekong River on the Thai-Laos border, works to make a difference in the life of people living with HIV/AIDS. The Ban Mae Marie Home for Teenagers began as a home to care for orphans of AIDS, but has now been opened up for care of non-HIV-related teenagers and the elderly.

It is exactly one year since I was ordained a priest, writes Fr Clement Baffoe SVD. What has the experience been in this first year of my priesthood? For me, it's been a time of great learning. I have tried to unlearn some things and learnt new things. I have experienced love from people ranging from parishioners to many others who are not even parishioners. I have laughed with families at baptisms and weddings, I have been privileged to share in their sacred stories around meals, and also I have cried with some at hospitals and funerals. I have equally been privileged to celebrate many school Masses and liturgies and they've been opportunities for 'encounter' as I get to share stories with our beautiful students.

My first year of the priesthood has been a ministry of presence. That is, being where I am most needed at any point in time. 

Dear brothers and sisters, in the second and the third Sunday of Advent, the gospel talks about John the Baptist two times in row, calling us to prepare our heart, to make a straight way for the Lord.