SACRAMENTAL LIVING

"Paradox and mystery are everywhere…and are part of the very essence of Christianity itself. Jesus Christ died to defeat death. Through death He gave us life. He who humbles himself will be exalted. If one tries to save his life, he will lose it. The Christian faith is built on paradoxes such as these.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “The Book of Revelation takes its name from the first verse, identifying the text as “the Revelation (Apokalypsis) of Jesus Christ” This i

“…Christ is our ultimate example of self-sacrifice and unconditional love through His crucifixion and resurrection. The fact of life is that nothing comes easily. Society is always trying to find the quickest, easiest way to make money, get a beautiful body, and cater to our own personal needs. Our culture teaches us that it's best to focus on what we want rather than do for others. But people quickly realize that all blessings come through sacrifice and hard work. The path t

“God’s goodness is greater than our goodness. His wisdom is wiser than our wisdom. His knowledge of what we need for sustaining our body and healing our soul is more discerning than ours. Therefore, in the spirit of the petition of the Lord’s prayer, “Thy will be done,” we leave the concerns and desires of our prayers to the mercy of God. Our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8). Accordingly, it is a great comfort to cast our burdens on the Lord and

“Self-importance, according to St. Basil, is a spiritual disease that “matures,” that gets stronger over time. It is a disease that becomes “rooted by habit in the mind” for those who suffer from it. It begins, in my experience, after life thrusts us into a position of authority or importance. At first, we are timid and uncertain, we know our weaknesses, we know we can only try to do our best. However, almost right away, others begin treating us differently. Others seek our a

“When the disciples first heard Christ say “Follow Me,” they were doing their daily work as fishermen. Let us not think that His calling is esoteric or removed from the mundane realities of life. We have no lack of opportunities to answer His call in our families, workplaces, friendships, and neighborhoods, as well as in this small parish. No one else is married to your spouse, is the father or mother of your children, or is the particular friend, worker, or parishioner that

“Our egos, which I am distinguishing from the true self, often have difficulties with boundaries. The ego is a narrative of our lives that is our own creation. It is the story we tell ourselves about ourselves. It is often how we make sense of things and sort things out. This is a process that is under constant revision. It pushes us to criticize and judge, to weigh and compare. The ego is me watching me. Strangely, this process creates false boundaries – borders that mark th

“The…Divine Liturgy…includes the following phrase which is a stumbling block for common sense: “remembering then this saving commandment, the Cross, the tomb, the Resurrection on the third day, the Ascension into heaven, the sitting at the right hand and the second and glorious coming again, offering to Thee Thine own of Thine own, we hymn Thee,” etc. To remember past events (the Cross, the Resurrection etc.) is “natural.” But to “remember” something that has not yet happened

“Christ does not simply die on our behalf, or instead of us, He becomes sin in order to destroy sin (2 Cor. 5:22). Christ is without sin, and yet He becomes sin. There is nothing “noble” in such an action; nobility would be a deeply unjust accusation. It is self-emptying love…This act of self-emptying is known as kenosis. It is the ultimate act of love, the ultimate act of self-giving, self-forgetting…We are Baptized into the self-emptying love of Christ, for this is the only

“Just as God sent Jesus back into the world with his wounds, so we are sent into each day with our wounds…Jesus His followers with their wounds to use their wounds to heal, just as He used his wounds to heal. Using our wound is a way to grow in love. This is because the wound abides in us whether life is difficult and sad or centered and joyful, and so we are ready to love others in whatever state they happen to be…As the coming one, Jesus always appears with his wounds. The

“In our culture, love has often been reduced – even abused in its over-definition. Almost totally lacking, however, is a practice of honor. I recall a retired colonel (WWII) in my first Anglican parish. He had a deep sense of honor and held matters of the Church in a regard that seemed rare. I enjoyed being with him. I trusted him. On reflection, I can see that he learned honor in the same manner as the Centurion whose servant Jesus healed. The military of his day carried a d