SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Michael Haldas delivers lecture at Doxamoot - the first Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference

Michael Haldas delivers lecture at Doxamoot - the first Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference

DoxaMoot is a two-day conference on the relevance of the world of this bookish and eccentric Catholic Oxford don, J. R. R. Tolkien, and how this world (and worlds like it) can help us reclaim and rebuild our imagination, our faith, and our world in the face of the decadence that has so badly shaken each of them. The Orthodox Christian Tolkien Conference is a joint venture of The Amon Sûl Podcast and the St. Basil Center for Orthodox Thought and Culture. Michael Haldas deliver

Chance and Randomness

“I consider myself a pretty devout Christian—I’ve centered not only my career, but also my life around Christ and the Church. Many times I still wonder is my faith really as strong as I think it is, or do I lead others to believe that it is. Many things in the world still don’t make sense to me, whether it is my own shortcomings or the disappointing things that go on in society. I wonder about God’s “master plan” and what role I play in it. Sometimes I wonder if there really

Attuned

“Samuel's acuity in spiritual hearing came because he was a man prayerfully attuned to the Lord… The saints of all ages are persons whose sight-in-God was true, and they were also hearers of God on our behalf… A like attribute belongs to all those whose spiritual ears hear the Lord. Of course, the Source of the hearing ear or the perceptive eye wells up from God Himself; He gives to those who undertake the arduous path of prayer and ascetic discipline the capacity to know His

Rejecting God

“God is the creator of heaven and earth. God creates the world out of goodness. He is interested in His creation, and involved with it. Unlike philosophical systems (deism, secularism) that want God disinvolved, our Christian god is a caring and loving God, the Father in heaven. He creates, keeps things into being, and provides for them as well. Even if His creation turns against Him and rejects Him - that is, the mystery of God the Father's kenosis, self-emptying - God conti

Trust

““Trust in the LORD. The verb “trust” is complemented by the verb “lean.” Trusting in God is a conscious dependence on God, much like leaning on a tree for support…God never abandons a soul that puts its trust in Him, even though it is overpowered by temptations, for He is aware of all weaknesses.” (Foundation Study Bible, Proverbs 3:5-6, St. Nilus of Sora) “…every serious Christian soon recognizes: our faith must be planted and then carefully nurtured, for our trust in God m

Opportunities

“If we were but more attentive, we would soon discover that the normal conditions of everyday life offer many opportunities for us to recognize our weaknesses, and to acknowledge our dependence upon God. As we advance in years, for example, and begin to experience the physical weakness that inevitably result, we suddenly confront how fragile our mortal body truly is, in spite of our culture with its fixation on youthfulness and longevity. But we must acknowledge that it is mo

Individualism (Modern Notions)

“There is no such thing as an “individual” Christian. Being “knit together in love” (Col 2:2), we are called in Christ to suffer together, be honored together, and rejoice together.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 12:26) "Faith precedes the descent of the Holy Spirit but it is not the same thing. There is a trend in modern culture to stress the importance of the individual. Movies and literature celebrate the lone hero who faces down evil through his personal attributes

Life and Death

“When a seed dies, it produces fruit. Life comes by death. This principle is not only true in nature, but it is also true spiritually.” (Foundation Study Bible, John 12:24) “Every year we have autumn and winter when things begin to die and then die, and spring and summer when things begin to come back to life and then come back to life fully. What we see in physical nature is part of spiritual nature too. Often something about our lives and ourselves must begin to die and the

Attachments

“Beware of passionate attachments to the world. Although they deceive you with peace and comfort, they are so fleeting that you do not notice how you are deprived of them, and in their place come sorrow, longing, despondency, and no comfort whatsoever.” (St. Leonid of Optina) “When God discloses our attachments, our inordinate loves, and the idolatrous bondages in our lives, He is urging us to sell all – to do whatever is necessary to rid ourselves of anything holding us back

Encountering God

“First of all, it is very important to remember that prayer is an encounter and a relationship, a relationship which is deep, and this relationship cannot be forced either on us or on God. If we could mechanically draw him into an encounter, force him to meet us, simply because we have chosen this moment to meet him, there would be no relationship and no encounter. We can do that with an image, with the imagination, or with the various idols we can put in front of us instead

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