SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The Lord allows a man's vices to humble his soul. Perhaps he will turn from them. But courage is one of the general virtues begotten by Wisdom. Courageous people enrich others in virtue.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Proverbs 10:4) “When you think of what it takes to be a Christian, does the word “courage” ever come to mind? The first words that tend to come mind when describing what it takes to be a Christian are usually the obvious ones like faith and trust. Certainly those are

“Personally, I believe that one should begin theology not from the mystery of the Holy Trinity, but from the mystery of the incarnation of God, which is directly “imaged” in the reality of the Church and in the “new being” of the Christian. We only know of the mystery of the Trinity because one of the Holy Trinity became man. Otherwise, we fall into metaphysics and never reach theology at all.” (Hieromonk Nicholas Sakharov) “Theology only begins where the cross is. What is th

“It is hard not to admire someone with self-control. It’s a virtue that emboldens the brave to face any foe and often prevail…self-control can be frustratingly elusive…For the impulsive, the self in self-control is the problem. It is a foundation made of sand that will inevitably lead to the collapse of all we call home. There is, however, another solution and that is to put God in control, seeking strength from Him. Saint Paul refers to self-control in his epistle to the Gal

“But we hear the word limit in much the same way we hear the word quiet: as a form of subtraction, a curtailment of what could or ought to be ours. We despise it as old-fashioned, a diminishment of personal freedom,…But what is freedom to begin with? Something boundless we’re born with, innate to human existence? Are we truly free, mired as we are in nurture and inheritance, the strictures of our time, the limits of science? Or is freedom a gift, something we do not own and c

“Life is a gift from God, given to us so that we might learn to love God and neighbor…life is a gift given by God and not a right that can be demanded by the recipient. It is a gift and will always be a gift until the day it returns to the Giver. It follows that all the features of one’s life, including physical and mental health, are also gifts. These are not rights to be expected by any man, even were he to receive them all in full measure; and, were he to be deprived of an

“God is not an idea, something that we think about, that we discuss or read about, but a Person with Whom we come into living and personal communion. It is something we live, and somebody from Whom we receive experience. Then we see what a great, unspeakable and inexpressible joy it is to have Christ within us.” (Archimandrite George) “Christ did not come to bring us a philosophy from God. He did not provide us with mere proverbs or good advice. He came to reveal God the Fath

“…in Christ all of life becomes both a doxology and a theophany. We see God enthroned everywhere, in every creature, leaf and blade of grass, and yet understand that somehow in his humility He also asks for our kind welcome and care. And so we praise God by conveying the mercy we receive from him to all of the creation around us. Creation remains creation, but it now functions as an icon of Christ in his twofold anointing as both resurrected king and sacrificial victim. The w

“Our culture is deeply transactional…We buy and sell and give rewards to the deserving. We proudly declare, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” For many, there is a deep-seated satisfaction with what they “earn.”…when the “undeserving” are rewarded, segments of the culture fall into deep dudgeon. Perhaps this is a proper way to structure an economy (perhaps not). It is clearly not a blueprint of the Kingdom of God nor the path towards likeness to God. The words of Christ

“Saint Maximos [the Confessor], as we just said, uses the term logos, with a small “l,” for each thing’s specific and particular share of the self-offering of the Logos. By this, the saint indicates that the identity of each thing that exists is a dimension or facet of the “big L” Logos, Christ Himself. Let us repeat, these logoi are not “things” themselves but the particular love with which Christ condescends to each created thing, so that each bit of creation will see in Ch

“When we are preoccupied, we cannot see things clearly. We misjudge people and situations. We miss out on opportunities to grow closer or to guide people closer to God. Preoccupation means that our heart is not open and our intellect is full of ‘wise’ rubbish.” (Bishop Emilianos) “God’s mercies are “new to us every morning” (OSB Lamentations 3:24). So is His call to discipleship. The Lord said, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (OSB Matthew 6:34). As we should not w