Contemplative Corner #195
On this day, we celebrate the revelation and realization of Jesus’ full identity: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mk 1:11). After a lifetime of praying, learning, and gradually opening to the Divine Presence that he is and always has been, Jesus emerges from his baptism fully conscious of his place in the Trinity, of his union with Father and Spirit. It is this full awareness of his True Self that empowers Jesus to move forward in his ministry of “reconciling all things to himself” (Col 1:20).

The true purpose of our contemplative practice is to lead us to an awareness like what Jesus experienced at his baptism. In fully opening our hearts, minds, and bodies in contemplative practice, we open to our own participation in the Trinitarian Flow of love given and love received. We too experience what St. John of the Cross called our “substantial union” with God – the indwelling Spirit that is our life, given to us moment by moment. From this place of consciousness of ourselves and all creation as expressions of the Love of God, we receive the grace to play our part in the reconciliation of the world. Our doing flows from our being!