SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…our concept of human rights would not—and could not—have come into existence without Christianity’s revolution of the concept of the human being….It’s difficult to measure the exact cultural effect of something of this magnitude. But one thing that’s very noticeable is the correlation of the new concept of human dignity with the sudden increase in technological development. Parallel to the weakening and transformation of slavery, Western culture developed an interest in tec

“To continue growing requires watchfulness, or inner attentiveness (nepsis), which is necessary for replacing the vices with virtues. We must know what is happening inside ourselves. Most of us are in a state of inner sleep (hypnos). We think of ourselves as conscious, but the Fathers call it sleep—an unawareness characterized by self-centeredness. What we need is a detached awareness of what’s happening inside in order to be more aware of the promptings of the conscience.” (

“All Christians are to be disciples/students of the One Teacher, Jesus Christ our Lord. We never lose that relationship to Christ no matter how long we have been Christian, no matter how much we have studied or taught Christianity, no matter what role we have in the Body of Christ, no matter what gifts of the Spirit have been given to us.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “…three things that we need to follow Christ: Deny yourself: We must root out the bad habits that keep us from God and br

“…humans weren’t created as perfect beings but rather had the potential to choose perfection or move away from it. So too Paradise was not a perfect world but had the potential to become that if the humans made appropriate choices and decisions. The world from the beginning had great potential as did the first humans. Perfection was something that was to be realized by the humans who were capable of choosing the good and moving towards perfection or choosing the evil and movi

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Mt. 13:16). This is the blessedness of being able to receive revelation spiritually. Not everyone who listens hears, and not everyone who looks sees. The Lord calls the disciples “blessed” for becoming worthy to know the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom. To know in the Biblical context means not only to perceive some theoretical information, but also to experience and partake of what is Known, graciously

“There is a theme of hiddenness in the teaching of Christ, indeed, across the whole of Scripture. We can see it in the sayings regarding the Kingdom of God in which it is compared to a lost coin or a buried treasure or a pearl of great price. It is something that requires searching out, digging up, or even selling everything in order to have it. The Kingdom of God is something that you don’t know but is worth everything in order to know. To know it, however, we must ask, seek

“…when we speak of God as light, for He is not that created light we take as a given in our everyday lives. The light we know casts a certain illumination – but God is the One who creates all lights. Every created light comes into existence out of nothing, for “God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’” (Gn 1:3). The light of God, however, is uncreated. This light is not made of photons visible to our physical eyes. God is separate from and entirely other than His c

“The world insists: “There is only one life—take all you can from it!” Orthodoxy answers: “Insomuch as there is only one life, you should never take all you can from it!” Since there will be no second chance, the price of each choice skyrockets, and responsibility for it becomes critical and soteriological by nature. To waste this unique gift recklessly in pursuit of illusory happiness does not mean to “take everything”, but to lose everything: to lose “the one thing needful”

“As our preeminent judge, Jesus never condemns. If goats are separated from sheep, if the unrighteous are cast into outer darkness, and if those who are angry at their brothers are ‘liable to judgment‘ (Matt 5:22), in each case that judgment is self-inflicted. We bring judgment upon ourselves. The ‘wrath of God‘ St Paul warns us about (Rom 2-3) does not at all describe God’s attitude or emotional state, as though God were vindictive. He does not punish us with His righteous j

“This serpent has many tongues and teeth, often very subtle and inconspicuous. Every kind of care for the flesh, self-gratification—these are the tongues of this poisonous snake. But the most important of them is self-love, when a man thinks and cares too much about himself, about his own comfort.” (St. Seraphim Zvezdinsky) “Thinking of ourselves first leads us to believe the lies Satan whispers. He tells us that happiness comes from things, property, and sensual activities a