At the time of his baptism, Jesus was sustained by one single experience in his life. After his baptism in the Jordan, while in prayer, he experienced a theophany: The Father with great joy said: “You are my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” And the Spirit filled Jesus in his humanity with a fresh outpouring of anointing and power. The Fathers of the Church, along with St. John Paul II, said that this was the kiss of the Father that sustained Jesus throughout his life even on the cross.

The Father has said to us and says it again at this moment: “You are my beloved son and daughter in whom I am well pleased.” And the Spirit has anointed and empowered you and desires to do it again this day.

Our image of God as Father and our image of ourselves as beloved sons may not reflect the reality of God and the reality of our true identity.

Our image of God as Father is sometimes colored, determined and blurred by our image of our earthly father. If our human father was kind, loving, encouraging, caring, patient but firm, outreaching, personal, intimate, correcting but accepting, then we see God the Father similarly. If our human father was distant, uncaring, disapproving, unemotional, never hugged us or said verbally nor physically that he love us, too busy for us, never close, hard to talk to, made us fearful of him, punished us unreasonably, then we will see the Heavenly Father with the same understanding.