INSIDE OLD CATHOLIC

By +Gabriel O. Obiano, D.D. Today, the Church remembers John the Baptist, the man chosen by God to prepare the way for Jesus. His life was not long, not easy, and not comfortable. Yet his life was powerful. He lived only to serve God and point people to Christ. John was born in a miracle. His parents, Zechariah and Elizabeth, were old and had no children. An Angel told Zechariah that they would have a son and that his name would be John. This child would be filled with the Holy Spirit and would prepare people for the coming of the Lord. At first, Zechariah doubted, and because of that, he became silent until John was born. When John came into the world, Zechariah praised God, and everyone knew this child was special. John did not grow up like other children. He lived a simple and hard life. He stayed in the desert, away from comfort and luxury. He wore clothes made of camel hair and ate locusts and wild honey. He did not live for pleasure. He lived for God. When John began to preach, h...

 By Bishop Gabriel Obiano, D.D. The life of the Church is built on mysteries—what we call Sacraments. They are not man-made rituals but divine encounters where Christ Himself touches us through visible signs and invisible grace. Each sacrament is a channel of God’s love, instituted by Christ and entrusted to His Church, that we might share in His life.  Sacraments is what we can't deny as a Church.  The word sacrament comes from the Latin sacramentum, meaning a sacred pledge or oath. In the early Church, it was often used to describe the mystery of God’s saving work in Christ. St. Augustine once called the sacraments “visible signs of invisible grace.” In them, heaven bends down to meet earth. 1. Baptism – Our New Birth in Christ Baptism is the door to all the sacraments. It's the first step we take before taking the next step. It is where we are washed from sin, born anew, and sealed with the identity of Christ. In baptism, we die with Him and rise to new life (Romans 6:...