SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…love for a person does not at all mean blindness and thoughtlessness; it does not at all mean some sort of self-deception. The loving person sees the inadequacies, vices, and weaknesses of another, but above all this observation stands another, higher knowledge—namely: that a human being is something immeasurably greater than the sum total of his vices, sins, and inadequacies. Every human being is a child of God, who unconditionally deserves love. And all the darkness that

“God created this entire visible world so that, through man, He might become all in all. This is the human person’s specific mission: to be the link between God and the world, a link between all things, by uniting his spirit with God.” (Fr. Dumitru Staniloe) “It is the meaning of human existence that must be dealt with and not the regulation of human behavior and the legalistic prohibition of human actions, especially when these are dogmatized as ‘the norm.’…The creation of m

“…humility is the acceptance of healthy shame in a manner that allows us to see the truth of ourselves as well as the truth of God…Humility is not a virtue in which we think less of ourselves, as in self-denigration. Rather, humility is a strength of the self, an ability to bear our own healthy shame. It allows us to see the excellence and strength of others and not be threatened or shamed. Our well-being does not require the misfortune of others.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “G

“It is of note to me that there is a great darkness associated with God in some presentations of the Christian faith, enough to drive...

“It is God’s desire that every single human be saved. God planted His truth like seeds throughout creation and in each human. Every human...

“In eternity, we will find what we sent there.” (Monk Pimen Vlad) “Thy will, not mine, be done” (Luke 22:42 ). This prayer releases us...

“Bad art doesn’t die thoroughly enough; that’s why it never lives completely, and why bad art is almost always eventually discarded by...

“People always seem to be thinking too literally, and Jesus is always moving them from the literal to the spiritual level—to seeing...

“So we see dramatized in Genesis the bitter “fruit” of an approach to the interpretation of spiritual realities that attempts to be...

“When a person first comes into being, his or her soul “has committed no sin” and therefore is only culpable for later transgressions....