SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Untended emotional wounds affect us spiritually in many ways. They affect how we behave in relationships—our ability to trust and give up control, to forgive ourselves and others, to love and be loved, to allow ourselves to be vulnerable—and our ability to be in the present moment, both with ourselves and with those around us.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul) “Some people speak of faith as if entrusting our lives to God were as effortless and relaxing as soaking in a warm bath. If we ha

“What lies hidden in the designs of God I confess I do not know—I am only a man—but this I know with full certainty, that, whatever it is, it is more just, more wise, and more solidly based on incomparable perfection than all the judgments of people….God’s will is determined by His wisdom which always perceives, and His goodness which always embraces, the intrinsically good.” (St. Augustine, C.S. Lewis) “The story of Isaac blessing his son Jacob illustrates the intense meanin

“…fear can lead to aggression: “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” (Robert J. Wicks) “The temptation to dispense a rough “justice” against some individual or group flares up whenever we lose our focus on our common humanity and succumb to fear…Fear of men, with their finite power and unproven opinions, always rises from the wellspring of atheism. Those who fear men do not see the hand o

“The modern world is a difficult place in which to find the self, if, for no other reason, than its own fascination with what it describes as the self. The creation of an identity is among the many modern projects – it has become an object of our consumption. We not only “pick” an identity, we tend to “accessorize” as well.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “We recognize that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14)—completely unique and incomparable to any other human be

“If in the things of this life no one can gain a great profit if he should conduct them in and indifferent and chance way, much more will this be the case in spiritual things, since they require greater attention. Therefore, Christ, when He referred the Jews to the Scriptures [John 5:39], sent them not to a mere reading, but careful and observant search, for He said not; “Keep on reading the Scriptures, but keep on searching.” (St. John Chrysostom) “The term "religion" has b

“Christ's empathy with sinners rests on His being tempted in every way we are…In the case of men it is impossible that one should know the ill-treatment of the ill-treated who has not had experience, and gone through the actual sensations. Our High Priest endured all things. Therefore He endured first and then ascended, that He might be able to sympathize with us.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Hebrews 4:15, St. John Chrysostom) “Compassion differs from empathy. The critical element

“It is a surrendering of our fleshly will (our gnomic will) to the will of God, which involves our spiritual will (our noetic will). This comes through kenosis, emptying ourselves of our theories, our carnal thoughts, our opinions, and our sins before God. When we do this, the Holy Spirit shows us who we really are: one made in His image, our true-self, a child of God in all splendor and glory.” (Father David L. Fontes, PsyD) “The Spirit wants to lead you. "For all who are le

“Christ tells us that He is gentle and to be like Him to find a deep sense of peace (Matthew 11:29). But do we understand what it really means to be gentle or do we see it through the lens of the world which seems to equate gentleness with weakness and anger and outward shows of toughness with strength…Being gentle does not exclude being firm. Jesus was firm...The scriptures reveal…that Christ most often took a gentle approach toward His hearers. His words were intoned with l