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Lent Day 31: Cyril of Jerusalem: Catechetical Lectures: Lecture XX

..., Son and Holy Spirit. Three times in the water as Christ was three days in the grave. Though we don't really die, nor get buried, nor get resurrected in that moment physically, “our imitation was in a figure, and our salvation in reality”. Like many other early church writers, Cyril views baptism as a way in which our sins are washed away, probably due to passages like Acts 2:38 (“...so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”) and 2 Peter 3:21 (“And baptism, which this prefigured, now saves you—not as a removal of dirt from the body, but as an appeal to God for a good conscience…). So Cyril writes that...

On the Feast of the Nativity, a sermon by Leo the Great

...n, in the Holy Spirit , Who for His great mercy, wherewith He has loved us, has had pity on us: and when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-5), that we might be in Him a new creation and a new production. Let us put off then the old man with his deeds: and having obtained a share in the birth of Christ let us renounce the works of the flesh. Christian, acknowledge your dignity, and becoming a partner in the Divine nature, refuse to return to the old baseness by degenerate conduct. Remember the Head and the Body of which you are a member. Recollect that you were rescued from the power of darkness and brought out into God's li...

The Temptations of Jesus: Testing God

...that the Holy Spirit gives (1 Corinthians 12:10) so we can go forth in the full armour of God under the protection that God actually promised us (Ephesians 6:10-18).   Further reading: Josephus: Antiquities, 15.11,5 (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/josephus/ant-15.html#b19) https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionary/pinnacle/ http://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/4-5.htm  ...

Unveiling the Trinity: Exploring the Nature of Jesus and the Incarnation

...on of the Holy Spirit as God, rather than a separate or lesser being (John 14:15-31). The New Testament further clarifies these theological concepts, especially regarding the incarnation: John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." Philippians 2:6-7 "[Jesus], who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men." So, when Jesus was praying, He was communicating with the F...

A Prayer You Can Hold: A Maker’s Reflection on Beads, Scripture and Attention

..., Son and Holy Spirit. It is shaped by Scripture and centred on Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, crucified and risen. Prayer beads do not broaden that confession into something less definite. At their best, they help us stay with it. A faith that takes flesh seriously Christian prayer is never only an activity of the mind. We speak and sing. We stand, kneel and bow. We fold our hands, make the sign of the cross, and receive bread and wine. The Christian faith does not ask us to escape being embodied creatures. At its centre is the astonishing declaration that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Material things are not God, but they can ser...

Lent Day 36: Ambrose of Milan: Concerning the Mysteries: 5-9

...Day Thirty-six: St. Ambrose of Milan: Concerning the Mysteries: 5-9 Who: Bishop of Milan from 374 to 397; born probably 340, at Trier, Arles, or Lyons; died 4 April, 397. He was one of the most illustrious Fathers and Doctors of the Church. What: The treatise was composed for use during the latter part of Lent, for the benefit of those about to be baptised, the rites and meaning of that Sacrament, as well as of Confirmation and the Holy Eucharist. For all these matters were treated with the greatest reserve in the Early Church, for fear of being misused by unbelievers. Why: Ambrose states that after the explanations he has already given of Holy living (in pre...