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St. Ephrem the Syrian: His birth gives us purification, his baptism gives us forgiveness, hisdeath is life to us, his ascension is our exaltation. How we should thank him!”
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St. Leo the Great: "The Lord Jesus placed in the font of baptism that very origin which he hadassumed in the Virgin's womb. He gave to the water what he had given to his Mother. For,the same power of the Most High and overshadowing of the Holy Spirit that caused Mary tobear the Savior makes the water regenerate the believer."
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St. Ignatius of Antioch: “Let your baptism be ever your shield.”
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St. Thomas Aquinas: “The Lord was baptized not so that the waters would cleanse him butso that he could cleanse them, purifying them by his sinless flesh to assume the power of baptism. When the sons of Israel passed through the river Jordan they entered the promisedland. What is special about Christ’s baptism is that it admits one to the kingdom of God:unless one is born again of water and the Spirit, one cannot enter into the kingdom of God.Christ’s passion opened heaven to men in general, but needs to be applied to those who areto enter heaven through baptism: when we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptizedin his death. As the begetter of the Word of the Father was appropriately revealed at Christ’sbaptism through a voice, a voice bearing witness to the Sonship of the Word. At the momentwhen Christ came of age, and the time was opportune for him to teach and work miraclesand turn people to himself, his Father witnessed publicly to his divinity so that his teachingmight be believed.”
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St. Thomas Aquinas: “Christ shared features of all three states in which men have foundthemselves: the state of innocence, of guilt, and of glory. He shared the sight of God with thesaints’ state of glory, immunity from sin with Adam’s state of innocence, and the necessity of suffering this life’s pains with our state of guilt. And because he himself suffered and wastried, he has the power to help others who are tried. It was fitting for the Son of God to takeon a body subject to human weaknesses and failings, since he came into the world to makeamends for the sin of mankind, and one makes amends for another’s sin by taking on oneself the penalty the other has incurred. Our bodily failings—death, hunger, thirst, and so on—arepenalties of the sin Adam brought into the world, so it was fitting, given the purpose of theIncarnation, that the Son of God should take on these penalties on our behalf—surely he hasborn our infirmities. Moreover, doing this buttressed our faith in his Incarnation: we knowhuman nature only with such failings, and if he had taken a nature without them he would nothave seemed real but imaginary. So he emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, born inthe likeness of men. By seeing his wounds Thomas was recalled to faith. Thirdly, bycourageously bearing human sufferings and failing, the Word of God gave us an example of patience: consider him who endured the hostility of sinners, and do not grow weary or fainthearted. But, whereas the material, so to speak, which makes amends for another’s sinare the penalties born on is behalf, the efficacy of the amends made depends on thedisposition of soul which inspired this making amends for others, the love of charity.”
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St. Gregory Palamas: “Christ came for baptism partly out of obedience towards the One whosent John. Other reasons were to make himself known, to make a beginning of guiding ustowards salvation, and to confirm to his followers, who were baptized in accordance with histeaching and commandments, that the Holy Spirit is given in baptism, and that through theHoly Spirit baptism is made a cleansing remedy for the stains sunk deeply into us, becauseof having been born and living in the passions. Even if the heavy burden of mortal flesh stillweighs them down so as to exercise, test, and correct them, and so that they might forsake
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