SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Acquisition and its strategies obviously have a role in life. It is important to pursue and acquire good nutrition, reasonable health, a just society, basic self-respect, the material means by which to live, and a host of other things. However, they don’t have a real role in the deeper dynamics of life. For example, they play no role in helping us to die or to become aware of God. Dying is all about letting go and letting be, as is the awareness of God…Receiving and letting

“Freedom is an essential characteristic of the Christian life Christ promised that the truth would set us free…The experience of freedom comes to us when we recognize the connection between the material and spiritual worlds. They are not divorced from one another…Anxiety and obsessiveness are qualities of the world, but our relationship with Christ results in freedom and inner peace…Whoever wants to create Christian culture must try to cultivate in his own heart a child of th

“…the command to “judge not” does not mean that Christians are not to make judgments about whether a behavior is right or wrong. We must distinguish between right and wrong. How can we be expected to do the right thing if we are not allowed to distinguish between right and wrong? “Judge not” means that we are not to condemn another person, since God alone is judge.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “We should not judge others. If we see ourselves as we are, we will find i

“...unredeemed humanity craves to do what is forbidden…Sometimes temptation surprises us with a sudden and unexpected assault. At other times, temptation comes upon us so gradually that we hardly notice it at first. In the beginning, the enticement to sin carries us along gently as a hint of desire. But then that passion propels us along more swiftly until we find ourselves in the raging currents of craving.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 7:7-12, Fr. Basil) “…all too few arri

“Questions about the problem of evil and God's commands are really asking about character of God. The real question is, "Can God be trusted?” (John Njoroge) “I am struck by the preponderance of unbelief in our day and time. Frequently, the “problem of evil” is cited as an overwhelming obstacle to belief. I think of this in particular when I consider that antiquity was dominated by far more suffering on a daily basis than our present age. Our lives would seem magical in their

“An oft-neglected emphasis in the New Testament author’s explanation of Christ’s resurrection is justification in the sense of vindication (Rom 4:25). There is good evidence, however, that this was a major theme in apostolic preaching (e.g. Acts 2:36; 5:30-31). Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, Israel’s God identifies with the powerless and the poor. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, He promises them not only healing and restoration but also justice. He promises that the day

“We also heard today from Saint Paul these words: “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14). The Apostle Paul has spoken of this elsewhere, in the case of Christian Baptism: “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27). What does it mean, to “put on Christ”? It means that just as our clothes are fitted perfectly to our body, so it is with our baptism, where we are united an

“Divine foreknowledge [of God]…takes away neither…moral freedom nor…accountability. For God, all things are a present reality; He foresees all human actions, but does not cause them…Our God is a peaceful and gentle God. We can lose this awareness if we blame God for the consequences of the free will and decisions of others, such as negative events in our own lives.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Mark 14:21, Fr. Joshua Makoul) “…just as mankind has continued to hide from the face of

“The treasure in one’s heart is the intention of the thought, from which the searcher of hearts judges the outcome. Hence it quite frequently occurs that some persons perform good deeds of lesser importance with a greater reward of heavenly grace. This is because of the intention in their hearts to accomplish greater good if they could. Others, though they display greater works of virtue, are allotted smaller rewards by the Lord on account of the indifference in their lukewar

“To spend time with someone who has learned well the battle of the heart is to sit at the gate of paradise. On some few occasions I have had opportunity to meet such warriors. The peace that is theirs, the complete lack of self-consciousness are signals that you have come to a new country. Such living witnesses are the loudest proclamation of the gospel known on earth. For in their heart, God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. These are the dwelling places of the New