Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call him while he is near.
Let the scoundrel forsake his way,
and the wicked man his thoughts;
let him turn to the LORD for mercy;
to our God, who is generous in forgiving.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways,
says the LORD.
As high as the heavens
are above the earth 
so high are my ways above your ways
and my thoughts above your thoughts.

For just as from the heavens
the rain and snow come down
and do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
so shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
my word shall not return to me void,
but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it.

Commentary & Excerpts from the Book of Fr Michael Gaitley:

“Consoling the Heart of Jesus” 

We continue our retreat and our journey, learning about this Sunday – the Day of the Lord, a Sunday in which the Church celebrates the Baptism of the Lord. It is timely that the section from the book that we focus on today is that part in which Fr. Gaitley speaks about The Desire for Holiness. The topic of the desire for holiness, the desire to be baptized in the same baptism into which our Lord Jesus Christ submitted himself, is fitting as we celebrate this pivotal and final day of the Christmas Season.

In the book, Fr. Gaitley inquires: “Do you want to be a saint? Do you desire to be on fire with love for God and neighbor?” Then he continued to illustrate: “There was probably a time in each of our lives when we heard or read about the life of a saint, our hearts burned within us… After a while, however, especially as we became more conscious of our selfishness and sin, the flames of desire died down and maybe even went out.

Burning desire grows cold when what we desire seems to become unattainable.” The water in which we have been baptized can sometimes turn our hearts to ice. “At first, hearing or reading about the lives of saints captivates us and generates the desire to want to be like them. Then, we begin to realize others are more virtuous and better than we are. That’s when discouragement begins to kick in, and the flame of desire for holiness peters out. That’s when we start to settle for mediocrity and the bare minimum, “I just hope I can sneak into purgatory.”

This is where the invitation of today’s liturgical celebration comes into play. In the gospel reading, John the Baptist was aware of with what he baptized his followers: water. While his message was of preparation for the Real Thing; his message was of repentance and of a change and conversion of heart; his message was to direct his followers to the One who is to come after him – for he clarified: “I (John) baptize you with water, but He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” It strikes me that when repentance and conversion is done, the acceptance of the Real Thing is to be expected. Jesus Christ comes as the only one who can baptize us with the Holy Spirit. While it could be easy to receive John’s baptism of water, it is more challenging to receive the Baptism of Spirit. (Sometimes, it takes us a lifetime to actually receive it…)

While water cleanses and refreshes our souls, the Holy Spirit purifies our hearts with the fire of divine love. The Baptism of Jesus is the one that will draw us closer to be God’s chosen ones, his sons and  daughters; it is the Holy Spirit that inspires us to love – even our enemies; it is the Holy Spirit that moves us to do better, to become more integrated in our thoughts, words and actions; it is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit that will move our hearts to grow in and with each other – even with those people we find difficult to love; it is this baptism of the Lord that would allow us to be a community, united in Spirit, united in love with one another as brothers and sisters, united as one nation, trusting in God, and in communion with Him.

Today, while we continue to journey together in this spiritual retreat, we reexamine our desires. I remember Cardinal Tobin (our Archbishop) saying in one of his homilies:  “Be very attentive to desires of your heart; for your desires say a lot about you and where you are headed”; and, so too, to echo the thoughts of Rolheiser: Our desires forms our spirituality. We begin this spiritual retreat with a desire – the desire to be holy, and to be loved as we are – sons and daughters of God.