SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Weakness” and “foolishness” are things that we do not normally associate with God, but are specifically identified with Him in the New Testament. Throughout the testimony of Scripture, there is a consistent preference on the part of God for the weak, the despised, the second-born, the foolish, the least-likely. St. Paul reflects on this: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has ch

“In modern Christian discourse, the phrases “the Word of God” and “the Word of the Lord” are commonly used to refer to the Scriptures. However, in the Scriptures themselves, these phrases are never straightforwardly used this way. Other than a handful of debatable instances, the hundreds of times these terms appear in Scripture unambiguously refer to something, or rather, someone, else. The Scriptures, in contrast, are referred to as “that which is written,” from which the wo

“Our first encounter with Him is through faith. Faith opens the door of the soul, so that Christ can enter. Faith receives Him, subjects our hearts to Him and engenders within us a fervent interest and powerful desire to approach Him. This is the initial requirement for Christ to dwell in our hearts, as Saint Paul says (Eph. 3, 17). But it takes love in order for the Lord to stay with us and make us His temple and altar. Jesus declares “Whoever loves me will keep my word and

“The Greek word for “mystery” is derived from the sense of stopping the mouth or being silenced. The term implies that a mystery is a secret that is being kept until the proper time. Even then, it can only be disclosed by revelation and known by those whom the Spirit enlightens…The mind of the Almighty is inscrutable. His judgments and “ways are past finding out” (Romans 11:33). But in Christ and by the Holy Spirit, God has divulged the secrets of His heart. He has revealed,

“The God of love and peace became incarnate in history and, like a glowing landmark, made a clear distinction between pre-Christian darkness and Christian light, between pre-Christian hatred and Christian love, between the pre-Christian miasma of the ‘stench of death’ and the Christian hope of the resurrection. If life today is characterized by the pre-Christian features just mentioned, the fault for that lies within ourselves. The Birth of Christ doesn’t mean the enforced do

“The love of beauty and our desire for it are the most fundamental parts of our being. This is particularly true if we use the word “beauty” in the fullest sense of its meaning. Beauty encompasses being and truth as well. It is God’s word for His creation (usually translated as “good,” the word in Scriptures also means “beautiful”). That which is beautiful and good is reflective (iconic) of the God who created it. All of creation longs for union with this Beauty and groans fo

“Another reason for the dullness of mind is the over-familiarity that breeds complacency. It is possible to go from one Christmas to the next without growing in our understanding of the incarnation of the Son of God. In that case, our mind is like a knife that keeps cutting the same thing until it loses its edge. The remedy for this loss of sharpness is not a novelty. Rather, we should pay more attention to what is sung, prayed, and proclaimed and probe more deeply into its m

“The culture of our own time continues this separation from Christianity, but not only from Christianity. Contemporary culture is losing its religious spirit, its meaning, and its beauty…The standard of permanent Christianity must be kept clear in our minds and it is against that standard that we must test all contemporary thought. In fact, we must at all costs not move with the times. We serve One who said ‘Heaven and Earth shall move with the times, but my words shall not m

“ ‘Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ’What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.’ (Mat

“…humanity was created immortal and incorruptible, though not inherently immortal and self-sustaining (only God is so). Humanity is sustained by grace. So if God had left humans as they had been created after they sinned, then their disobedience would have fixed them in permanent rebellion, just as it had fixed the rebellious angels. God cut humans off from the Tree of Life, exiling them from Eden, so that they would not be confirmed and crystallized in rebellion the way the