SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The “Good” is a term that ultimately applies to God. God is good and the source of all goodness. Indeed, goodness has a place in the “philosophical trinity.” That trinity is truth, goodness, and beauty. These are the three properties of being. God alone has true being. Everything that exists does so because God gives it being. Creation thus has relative being. The purpose (telos) of all created things is to move from relative being towards greater likeness and union with God

“How can we gain that same confidence in the certainty of all that Christ is, does, and teaches? Conviction comes from experience. To obtain it, we must get to know Christ deeply and fully. We must hear His Word, obey His commandments, receive His Body and Blood, pray constantly and fervently to Him, take part in the fellowship of believers, and practice His presence in every moment of our lives. Then from all these encounters with Christ, we will grow in unwavering and resol

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6) Just as aside – I find this verse so intriguing because Paul has God commanding light to shine out of darkness, rather than into it. God needs nothing to create His universe and is even able to shine light from out of the darkness. Of course, this is not meant to be just a literal t

“…repentance does not fundamentally mean to feel guilty about our past sins, nor even merely to cease from sinning in the future. Probably we know that the English word “repentance” is a (quite dubious) translation of the Greek word μετάνοια, “metanoia,” meaning literally to change one’s nous — that is, to change our fundamental way of understanding reality…there is a common religious framework that our culture has instilled into our subconscious — and so when we hear Christ

“Watch over the conduct of your soul and body, so that you develop a disposition receptive to divine thoughts. Then you will be able with full consciousness to understand all the mysteries and miracles hidden within the Holy Scriptures.” (St. Peter of Damascus) “The Bible is a product of synergy, divine-human cooperation. In order to understand it, we also are expected to contribute our human efforts, which should not be limited to learning facts, reading books, or acquiring

“People think about how to live a good life in many different ways. Some want rules to follow, regardless of how obedience to them impacts their neighbors. Others focus on achieving the results that they think are best, even though we often cannot predict the consequences of our actions. It is also possible to construe the good life in terms of virtues that become characteristic of people who consistently put them into practice. Someone needs to have good moral character in o

“Especially in times of trial, we might think that God’s Word is uncertain, and His good will for us is in doubt. But then we should realize that our uncertainty is not the fault of the Almighty. Instead, it is that we have mixed thoughts and feelings. Along with the voice of Christ, we are listening to other influences. Their messages swirl around in our minds, and the siren songs of the world confuse the call of Christ. In these times of hesitation, we should return to the

“Christianity is less complicated than many make it out to be The words of the Lord, the words of the gospel message, are very direct and understandable: “Follow Me” (Matt. 4:19); “Come and see” (John 1:46); “Take, eat” (Matt. 26:26); “Seek first the kingdom of God” (Matt. 6:33). Taking action regarding these words is the hard part. Christ offered His message to everyday people. The disciples of Jesus were working people—fishermen, tax collectors, and so on. Yet the Church de

“So it is with everything that the Lord asks us to do in His Name. Wherever there is the call to serve, there will also be challenges to overcome. When anyone goes about serving the Lord, the devil sets about making that work difficult. And the more vital the service, the more demons he sends to undermine it…How then should we respond to these countervailing forces? If we concentrate solely on the possibilities before us, we will fail to recognize and deal with the obstructio

“There is a difference between happiness and joy. “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven,” says Jesus in Matthew 5:12. Material things may be desirable, even honorable, but they cannot replace the joy of the Spirit of God dwelling in my heart. Things that make me happy will fade away, but joy in my heart is irreplaceable—and eternal. Let me seek joy…I came to see that the good life is about finding a type of joy that comes only when we give up th