Sacraments
St. Gregory of Nyssa, a great saint who lived long ago, said "this water truly to be for us both tomb and mother…" What does this mean? Do you remember reading about Adam and Eve? They didn't obey God and the paradise that God created for them was destroyed. When we are baptized, we enter the water and "die" to the world (hence it becomes a tomb) and to sin and suffering. When we come out of the water, when we "rise up" from the water, we are "reborn." We experience our own personal "Pascha". We are immersed three times when we are baptized. Our baptism is done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We are even know by a different name - Christian. When we are baptized, we become a vital and important part of this "body". That is why it is so important for us to take our faith seriously.Holy Baptism - Immersion
Today I will take a long, hard look at me Many of us do not realize we have a problem because the way we live is a reflection of what we have lived with. There are men who don't know they are abusive. There are women who do not know they are being abused. There are people who don't know how to take care of themselves. There are people who believe just getting by is fine. There are children who think it is okay that they are not nurtured. There are people who do not know how to ask for what they need. There are people who fall down and never try to get up. There are people are people who get up by stepping on the people who fell down. Each one of us believes we are fine just the way we are, so we make no effort to get better. If the world and how it works is a reflection of the people who live in it, what will it take for us to realize we have a lot of work to do? Until you free yourself from the final monster in the jungle of your life, your soul is up for grabs.