For he rescues the poor when they cry out, the oppressed who have no one to help.
He shows pity to the needy and the poor and saves the lives of the poor. (Psalm 72:12-13)
January 6, 2026
Hello Everyone –
Happy New Year!! I pray rich blessings for you in 2026.
This week we move from having celebrated the feast of Epiphany to the Baptism of the Lord next Sunday. In doing so, we move from theophany to the deep dive into practical application. But “practical” seldom becomes much more than a good intention until there is the recognition of what is transpiring within oneself.
The life of Helen Keller continues to be a powerful inspiration to many people. Helen was left blind and deaf by scarlet fever when she was only 19 months old. She learned to communicate through Braille and eventually was able to speak — with the help of her teacher and friend, Anne Sullivan.
Keller even became a best-selling author and renowned lecturer. For many people, Helen Keller is a symbol of human determination to live life to its fullest — despite whatever limits and challenges confront us.
In her autobiography, “The Story of My Life,” Miss Keller writes about the day the outside world broke into her closed world. She writes:
We walked down the path to the well-house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Someone was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout.
As the cool stream gushed over one hand, she spelled into the other the word ‘water,’ first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motion of her fingers.
Suddenly, I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten — a thrill of returning thought — and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. The living word awakened my soul — gave it light — hope — joy — set it free!
There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could, in time, be swept away.
I left the well-house eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay on my bed at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time I longed for a new day to come.
If you think about it, Helen Keller’s discovery of water mirrors our own rebirth in the waters of Baptism. In Baptism, we not only discover the word for “God” — we discover God!
In the upcoming feast of the Lord’s Baptism, Jesus begins his public ministry by getting in line with the others and waiting his turn to be baptized by John. In that moment — Emmanuel — “God-with-us” — included God being in the river with us — in the flesh with us — in the sorrow of repentance and the joy of new life with us.
We periodically need to recall — the miracle of the Baptism of the Lord is not what Jesus gives up — but rather what he takes on — namely us — you and me! Jesus shows us that we are not just the subject of his work — we are his work! And as a result, we will not just be witnesses of his glory — we are taken up into his glory! In Christ, we are all in the river together. With Christ, we can transform our lives from darkness into light — as Anne Sullivan helped Helen Keller transform her life. Through Baptism, God has given us a new vision of what we can be — and of what the world can be.
May we never grow tired of refocusing our vision — and getting busy living it tangibly.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
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