Catechism of Pope Francis on the descent of the Holy Spirit on Jesus in the Jordan

This Wednesday, August 21, Pope Francis delivered the sixth catechesis of the cycle entitled The Spirit and the Bride which began last May 29 and which on this occasion is focused on the coming of the Holy Spirit on Jesus in the baptism in the Jordan River.

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we reflect on the Holy Spirit who comes upon Jesus in the baptism in the Jordan and spreads from him into his body, which is the Church. In the Gospel of Mark the scene of Jesus’ baptism is described like this: «In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, when he came out of the water, he saw the heavens open and the Spirit descending toward him like a dove. And a voice was heard from heaven: ‘You are my Son, the beloved: in you I have put my pleasure’” (Mk 1:9-11). This, in the Gospel of Mark.

The entire Trinity gathered at that moment on the banks of the Jordan. There is the Father who is present with his voice; there is the Holy Spirit who descends on Jesus in the form of a dove; and there is he whom the Father proclaims as his beloved Son. This passage of the Gospel is an important moment in Revelation and in the history of salvation.

What happened at Jesus’ baptism that was so important for all the evangelists to relate? The answer is found in the words that Jesus pronounces shortly afterwards in the synagogue of Nazareth, with clear reference to the event at Jordan: «The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; That is why he has anointed me »(Luke 4:18).

At the Jordan, God the Father “anointed with the Holy Spirit,” that is, he anointed Jesus as King, Prophet and Priest. In fact, kings, prophets, and priests were anointed with perfumed oil in the Old Testament. In the case of Christ, instead of the physical oil, there is the spiritual oil which is the Holy Spirit. It is the same Spirit that descends on Jesus.

Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit from the first moment of his Incarnation. That, however, was a “personal grace”, incommunicable; Now, however, he receives the fullness of the gift of the Spirit for his mission that, as head, will communicate to his body that is the Church. That is why the Church is the new “royal, prophetic and priestly people.” The Hebrew term “Messiah” and the corresponding Greek “Christ,” both referring to Jesus, mean “anointed” with the oil of joy. Our very name “Christians” will be explained by the Fathers in the literal sense of “anointed in imitation of Christ”(1).

There is a psalm in the Bible that speaks of perfumed oil being poured over the head of the high priest Aaron and running down to the hem of his cloak (cf. Ps 133:2). This poetic image, used to describe the happiness of living together as brothers, has become a spiritual and mystical reality in Christ and the Church. Christ is the head, our High Priest, the Holy Spirit is the perfumed oil and the Church is the body of Christ in which it is diffused.

We have seen why the Holy Spirit, in the Bible, is symbolized by the wind and, in fact, takes its own name from it, Ruah. It is also worth asking why he is symbolized by oil, and what practical lesson we can draw from this symbol. In the Mass on Holy Thursday, when consecrating the oil called “Chrism”, the bishop, referring to those who will receive the anointing in Baptism and Confirmation, says: «May this anointing penetrate and sanctify them, so that, freed from their native corruption and consecrated as a temple of his glory, spread the fragrance of a holy life. It is an application that goes back to Saint Paul, who writes to the Corinthians: “For we are before God the aroma of Christ” (2 Cor 2:15). The anointing produces the perfume. Consecrated persons who live this anointing with joy perfume the Church.

We know that, unfortunately, sometimes Christians spread not the fragrance of Christ, but the bad smell of their own sin.

Let us never forget: sin distances us from Jesus. The devil, don’t forget, the devil normally enters through pockets.

But this should not distract us from our commitment to realize, to the extent of our possibilities and each one in his own environment, this sublime vocation of being the good odor of Christ in the world. The fragrance of Christ emanates from the “fruits of the Spirit”, which are “love, joy, peace, magnanimity, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22).

A loving, joyful person who creates peace; a magnanimous person; a benevolent person, a good person… It is beautiful to find a good person, a faithful person, a meek person who is not envious.

Some will feel a little of this fragrance when we find ourselves among these people. May we become more and more aware of being anointed by Him.