The baptism of Jesus
“And he was baptized in the Jordan by John.” How great is his mercy: he who was sinless was baptized as a sinner! In the baptism of the Lord all sins are forgiven. However it is only a kind of prefiguration of the Savior’s baptism since the real remission of sins is in the blood of Christ, in the mystery of the Trinity.
“And on coming up out of the water he saw the heavens being torn open.” This is all written for our sakes. For before receiving baptism our eyes are closed and we do not see heavenly realities.
“He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him. And a voice came from the heavens: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” We witness the mystery of the Trinity: Jesus is baptized; the Holy Spirit descends under the appearance of a dove; the Father speaks from the heights of heaven.
“He saw the heavens torn open.” The expression “he saw” indicates that the others had not seen. Let no one go so far as to imagine the skies as being simply and materially open: we ourselves, standing now in this place, according to the diversity of our worthiness, see the heavens either open or shut. Complete faith sees the heavens open but a faith that doubts sees them shut.
“He saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him.” (Jn 1 32) Take note of what Scripture is saying: “remain” means not to go away. The Holy Spirit has come down and remained on Christ, whereas on us he comes down but does not remain. Indeed, do we expect the Holy Spirit to remain on us when we hate our brother or have evil thoughts? So if we have good thoughts we should know that the Holy Spirit dwells in us, but if we have evil ones then it is the sign that the Holy Spirit has withdrawn from us. This is why it is said concerning the Savior: “On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one.” (Jn 1:33)
-St. Padre Pio