SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

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“We see all around us in our culture the impulse of secular humanism: the so-called ideal of the perfection of man apart from God. We see this attempt to perfect man without God. For Eastern Christian spirituality, the perfection of man is only possible because the ‘image of God’ was deposited in man, according to which man was created (and which is the source of what is distinctly “human”), and which progresses to the likeness of the Creator through the deifying mysteries of

Sacramental World/Creation

“In all its most ancient traditions Christianity is a sacramental religion. Sacraments form the very life of the Church through which the Spirit of God flows into the world...[a] sacramental view of the world is a world suffused with the grace and love of God. It is a world view as warm as the rationalist view is cold, as profound as the rationalist view is superficial, and as full of meaning and hope as the rationalist view is pointless and despairing.” (Archpriest Lawrence

Grace (of the Holy Spirit)

“Man of himself is powerless to fulfill God’s commandments, wherefore it is said, ‘Ask, and it shall be given you’ (Mt. 7:7). And we if we do not ask, we torment ourselves and deprive ourselves of the grace of the Holy Spirit; and without grace many things perplex the soul because she does not comprehend the will of God” (Saint Silouan the Athonite) “Sin leading to death is willful, continual disbelief in the grace of the Holy Spirit toward us.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 John

Holy Trinity

“The Son of God has become Son of Man in order to make us, men, sons of God, raising our race by grace to what He is Himself by nature, granting us birth from above through the grace of the Holy Spirit and leading us straightway to the kingdom of heaven, or rather, granting us this kingdom of heaven within us (Luke 17:21), in order that we should not merely be fed by the hope of entering it, but entering into full possession thereof should cry: our ‘life is hid with Christ in

Vessel

“Although this “likeness” does not refer to the outward appearance of a person, but rather to the state of her heart and soul, still it cannot be denied that one is purified, illumined, and experiences theosis [union with God] in mind, soul, spirit, and body. This is why saints’ relics are venerated, since they are vessels of holiness, eternally connected and attached to the holy souls that dwelt within their carnal bodies.” (Constantina R. Palmer) "It is through the saints t

Interior/Inner Life

“The spirit of Christianity is a spirit of ‘internalization’…Only internal spiritual experience leads to cognition of God.” (Ivan Ilyin, A. Calmet) “It is another thing to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ...[but there is a] difference between having something be true of you in principle and fully appropriating it, using it, and living in it—in your “inner being” (Eph 3:16) or “in your heart” (v. 17).” (Pastor Timothy Keller) “The Lord looks at t

Michael Haldas Delivers Lecture at Doxacon 2019

God's Presence

“Within our daily lives, if we confront the day with thanksgiving, the Cross will quickly reveal itself. The first moment that the giving of thanks becomes difficult, we have reached the wood of the Cross itself. We stand in the very gates of Hades. If in that moment of difficulty we persist in giving thanks, then Hades trembles and the dead are raised. This is our personal kenosis, our self-emptying in the presence of the good God. “Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be do

Pure Heart

“Christ reveals that our efforts to do good depend upon our submitting to Him from the heart. He alone can give us the power to do what is just and pleasing to God… The impure heart craves the good things of this life and becomes attached to material comfort, disregarding the condition of the soul…The impure heart is the greatest barrier between ourselves and God, for it separates us from Him who alone is able to restore in us the power to do good…our words and deeds – what c

Logic

“The crisis in contemporary civilization stems from the conflict between man's rational and non-rational activities and self-transcendence will be the only way to overcome the conflict.” (Andrew J. Sopko, Ph.D) “People gradually transferred the purpose and meaning of their lives from the internal world to the external—matter became most important, and spirituality stopped being valued. Everything was reduced to the earthly—the heavenly realm stopped attracting eyes and hearts

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