Sacraments
Holy Baptism - Chrismation
	
	After Christ died on the cross, He rose from the dead, He 
	ascended into Heaven, and He prayed that the Father would 
	send the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-11). When we are baptized, 
	we are reconciled to God and rededicate our bodies to God 
	through our anointing with oil. When we are immersed in water, 
	we receive a new life - our own personal Pascha; and when 
	we are anointed with holy chrism we receive the "seal of the 
	gift of the Holy Spirit" - our own personal Pentecost. 
	Similar to the anointing with oil, the priest anoints the 
	carious arts of the body with holy chrism. The Holy Spirit 
	through the chrism, is given as a gift and grace to us by 
	God to further integrate our life into His, to further bring 
	us into communion with Him. As the priest anoints each part 
	of the body (forehead, eyes, nose, lips, ears, breast, hands 
	and feet), he says: "The seal of the gift of the Holy Spirit. 
	Amen." The godparents in turn reply "Seal!" The holy chrism 
	is God's seal on us.
	
	
	The sacrament of baptism allows us to receive this a gift 
	of chrism. It takes the newly illumined (baptized) to the 
	next step by allowing him to be the "anointed one."
	

I move in the power of a mighty past.

If you have ever doubted your ability to survive, look 
at who you came from. Don't limit yourself to parents 
and grandparents, go all the way back to the root. In 
your family line is the genius of those who were born 
into a barren land and built the pyramids. In the oasis 
of your mind is the consciousness of those who charted 
the stars, kept time by the sun and planted by the moon. 
In the center of your being is the strength of those who 
planted the crops, toiled in the fields and banqueted 
on what others discarded. In the light of your heart is 
the love of those who bore the children who were sold 
away only to one day hang from a tree. In the cells of 
your bloodstream is a memory of those who weathered the 
voyage, stood on the blocks, found their way through the 
forest and took their case to the Supreme Court. With 
all of that going for you, what are you worrying about?


We are the children of those who chose to survive.