SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Sonic seeds of teeming individualism…now chokes new growth on both side of Christian divide…The path of “each man for himself” or “by myself” is the road to destruction. It is much easier the roaring lion, who walks about seeking whom he may devour, to destroy us one by one than to confront a united flock. Only by bearing one another’s burdens can we become like Christ, who bore the burdens of the whole world—and thereby enter into that joy which God has prepared for those w

“…the goal of the Christian life is the acquisition of love for God and others. The Lord Himself speaks of only two commandments, upon which hang all the Law and the Prophets. These are: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind and Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself (Matt. 22:37, 39). Christ didn’t say these are just two of ten or twenty other commandments, but rather: On these two commandments hang all the Law and

“Imagine a typical Sunday morning in a religious family. A ray of sunlight timidly peeks through the window, the kitchen smells of fresh rolls, and a tension familiar to many hangs in the air. The parent’s call: “Let’s go to church!” is met with a muffled groan from under the blanket: “I don’t want to...” And now gentle persuasion gives way to irritation, and a sense of duty starts struggling with sincere bewilderment: “But why?! We want the best!” If you’re familiar with thi

“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 the Christian context, we do not mean by a "mystery" merely that which is baffling and mysterious, an enigma or insoluble problem. On the contrary, a mystery is revealed for our understanding but we never understand it exhaustively because it leads into God's depth or darkness. The eyes are closed—but they are also opened.” (Metropolitan Kallistos Ware) “The Greek word, mystery, originally meant "initiation," "secret," or "revelation of a secret." Christianity inherited t

“So there is always the law of God or the law of destruction in our human mind and heart. That would be a teaching of St. Paul in the letter to the Romans, very clearly, the seventh and eighth chapters. There’s always another law working in a human being. We’re never simply autonomous. So when people ask, “Was it me or was it the devil in me?” or “Was it me or was it the Holy Spirit in me, or Christ in me?” Sometimes people ask that. St. Paul says, “When I do good, I can do a

“Let us talk about life. Do you have anyone interesting to talk to about this? If not, then don’t worry as I have very few myself. If you...

“Since man is “called to be a god” (i.e. was created to become a god), as long as he does not find himself on the path of Theosis he...

“The comprehension of the Gospel depends neither on mental abilities, nor on philosophical sophistication, nor on any other science, but...

“…by entering into His created order by means of the Incarnation, God intimately unites Himself to our nature, thereby infusing it with...