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NEW NATURE: WHAT DO I BECOME? Consider if you were born without func- tioning legs; in a sense, they are dead. Then, one day, as a child, you encounter an unknown healer who performs an impossible feat: he does not give you prosthetic legs; instead, he takes your own legs in his hands, and he recreates them. They are not just healed; there is a new life in them, making them capable of some- thing humanly unthinkable: the life in your legs makes you capable of walking on water. This is like what God did to your nature in Baptism, gifting you with sanctif ying grace. God did not merely make you look externally redeemed. No, grace works at the depths of your soul, changing you and making you some- thing new. Rather than continuing as a dead child of Adam, you are alive and participate in the life of the Son of God, becoming "par- takers of the divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4). Your "old nature" is not destroyed nor replaced; it is healed by the forgiveness of sin and elevated to new life in the Holy Spirit. The Church Fathers call this divinization, becoming like God. Thus, being a "son in the Son," you receive a share of how he lives and how he loves the Father (see Romans 8:15-17). From Baptism, the answer to the ques- tion "What do I become?" is that you become a divinized human, a son or daughter of the Father, in Jesus the Son, establishing the foun- dation of your Christian life. ⊲ BAPTISM? DENVER CATHOLIC | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2026 " More extraordinary than death is the new life in Jesus Christ, his divine life. By his Passion, Death and Resurrection, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the mute speak and the dead rise." We put living into senior living! Our independent senior living community offers exceptional amenities without all the worries of traditional home ownership. • Maintenance-free private living options • Meaningful social & spiritual opportunities • Chef-prepared meals Explore our independent living options by calling 303.964.2000 or visit CHILivingCommunities.org/TheGardens. Schedule a visit today.