I read Fr. Alexander Schmemann's book, "For the Life of the World."

It is superb !!! It is a marvelous discussion on how Christ redeems the whole world and the whole man. First Christ redeems by His life, death and resurrection, and now He redeems through the sacraments / mysteries. His discussion of the Eucharist ("Man is what he eats .") is superb.

The crown jewel of this essay (in my unworthy opinion) is Fr. Schmemann's discussion of baptism. It is Chapter 4, and it is entitled "Of Water and the Spirit." It is a marvel of a sermon on how to live the life in Christ. Just substitute the words "repentance" or "confession" or "coming back to Christ" or "conversion" for the word "baptism."

(I also think that excerpts would make for very useful reading as an insert in the parish bulletin during Lent.)

I know I am waxing enthusiastic, but if you want the Gospel to be FRESH again: (1) Read the Gospel, (2) go to Divine Liturgy, and then (3) read "For the Life of the World," and Fr. Alexander will explain what happened to you.

God be praised for this wonderful book !

-- John

I first read this book more than 25 years ago, before I was even a Roman Catholic, and I loved it. Then I re-read it as a Roman Catholic and had a deeper understanding of it. I finally read it again 10 years ago as a Melkite Catholic. Wow. It is, indeed, an astonishing piece.

I'm glad you have found such rich nourishment for your soul.

Dear Penthaetria,

Being Melkite, you continue to be roman catholic, despite not latin, don't you agree?

Father Alexander's book is certainly well worth reading - it has been translated into many languages.

As to whether a Melkite is a Roman Catholic, that, believe it or not, depends on what language one speaks.

In Arabic, the word "Roman" refers directly to the "New Rome", Constantinople, and the Empire there. This applies not only where religion is concerned; say to someone in Christian Arab circles that a book or whatever is "bi-Romani" and he will at once understand that the book is in Greek.

Hence it is quite usual in Christian Arabic in the Middle East to find the expression "Roum Kathulik", meaning Greek-Catholic. It definitely does not mean anything to do with the Elder Rome; the direct adherents of the Elder Rome are called "Lateen", if one is being polite, or "Franji" is one is not being so polite. Nor would the Maronites call themselves "Roum Kathulik"; their name is "Maroniyeh". And so on.

The Orthodox also call themselves "Roum".

All this can get confusing when Arabic meets English. The first time I heard someone refer to a "Roman Orthodox" church, I was quite startled - until I realized that he meant a Greek Orthodox Church.

This still works in Turkish - the Ecumenical Patriarchate is called the "Rum Patrikanesi", the Roman Patriarchate.

Languages are such fun.

Fr. Serge