'Beloved beginnings' — Encounter at Catholic Charities
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In the Cairngorm Mountains in the Scottish Highlands, there is a lake called An Lochan Uaine or The Green Loch.
I’ve taken cold plunges before, in recovery ice baths and Coloradan lakes and rivers, but nothing has ever compared to the wintry dip into The Green Loch’s snowmelt-fed waters.
If you’ve ever done a polar plunge, you know the sensation well: the pinpricks across your skin, the involuntary gasp that grasps your lungs.
The freezing water shocks your system, but eventually your body adapts.
Your breath returns.
And when you emerge from the chilly depths, adrenaline surges through you — alive and renewed.
I am no stranger to new beginnings.
From attending college out of state, to studying abroad, to recently graduating, each chapter has required stepping into unfamiliar waters.
Like a cold plunge, any fresh start — beginning a new job, moving or entering a new year — brings a moment of shock, a transition, before we learn to breathe again and carry on.
In a swift two weeks, from the Nativity to the Feast of the Holy Family to the Solemnity of Mary to the Epiphany, we arrive at the Baptism of the Lord in the River Jordan — the quintessence of new beginnings.
Jesus enters the water not out of necessity, but out of solidarity.
God became man, joining us in the fullness of human experience, to sanctify it, so we might have eternal life through him.
Jesus’s baptism reaffirms what has been true from the beginning: God draws near, not selectively or conditionally, but completely.
Jesus is baptized before he preaches a single sermon, heals the sick, or gathers his disciples.
Yet, the voice of the Father calls down from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11).
Identity comes before action.
Love comes before mission.
As Peter proclaims, “God shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34).
God’s love is not reserved for the accomplished or the secure.
It is not withheld from those who struggle or fall short.
It is poured without distinction, offered freely to all.
Through baptismal waters, sins are forgiven, and sanctifying grace is bestowed, not earned or deserved, but given.
Indeed, St. Paul calls baptism the “first installment of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14).
When an infant is brought to the baptismal font, they come with nothing to offer — only their need and their belovedness.
The Church receives them not for what they have done, but for who they are: a child of God.
This truth shapes everything we do at Catholic Charities of Central and Northern Missouri.
Every day, we encounter those seeking a fresh start — clients struggling with debt, families navigating complex immigration systems, and neighbors unsure where their next meal will come from — all brothers and sisters in Christ who reached out in moments of need.
And in each encounter, we strive to see what God already sees: a beloved child.
With this truth, through our Predatory Loan Relief Program, we walk with clients burdened by high-interest debt, offering financial education and refinancing options so they can regain stability and breathe again.
Through Family Immigration Services, we accompany families as they navigate complex systems to reunite with loved ones and begin life anew in a place of safety and hope.
Through our Food Pantry, neighbors facing food insecurity receive nourishment and dignity — support meant to carry them through a difficult season, so a temporary hardship does not become a lasting crisis.
As we transition from the Christmas season into Ordinary Time and plunge into the uncharted waters of 2026, we do so as a Church shaped by the Jubilee Year, reminded that hope is not merely a wish for a better tomorrow, but a steadfast trust in God, even, especially, amid sufferings, knowing our eternal inheritance lies with our Father.
In this season of resolutions, let us remember that the Christian life does not begin with our effort.
It begins with grace, with being named and claimed as beloved.
It begins when we allow ourselves to receive God’s love — a love that sustains us through all fears and failures.
And when we recognize that truth in ourselves, we recognize it more fully in one another.
Catholic Charities is an agency of new beginnings — for our neighbors and clients, who often arrive at our doors still catching their breath from life’s cold plunge, and for our diocesan community, who partners with us in Christian service.
Begin your new year with us at Catholic Charities.
Email serve@cccnmo.org to volunteer.
Visit cccnmo.diojeffcity.org/give/ to donate.
And it’s not yet too late to fill out our Community Needs Assessment, a short assessment that will allow us to build programs that meet real needs without duplicating services. Scan the QR code below to get started.
Above all this new year, remember, you are beloved.
