SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“In Mark 8:34-38, Saint Mark sets forth the Lord Jesus’ requirement for union with Him: take up your cross and follow Him. Today’s passage reveals two key aspects of taking up the cross – self-denial and service to others.” (Dynamis 1/13/2023) “Our calling is not merely to celebrate the memory of how our Lord called His disciples and apostles, but actually to follow their blessed example of fulfilling their vocations to serve Christ and His Church sacrificially. We must not t

“The crowd (pick a crowd, any crowd) is a terrible substitute for God. We desire God (and the desire for God is innate because we are created in His image). We discover the false god of the crowd, however, as we seek to protect ourselves from the ravages of shame. Who wants to be lonely, isolated, despised, and ridiculed? The crowd, like the demons, only seeks to devour us. Look at our heroes. Today’s hero makes a wrong move and is tomorrow’s pariah… “I want to be like you,”

“Every person goes on a unique journey related to his or her faith and spirituality, and every story matters.” (David Kinnaman) “If there is one resilient and God given aspect of us that has remained intact throughout history and time, it is our innate desire to love and be loved. At our core we want to belong. We want to be loved and needed. Safety has also always been important for us. We like to feel safe. No matter how ugly or disturbing the world becomes, no matter who w

“All of life’s choices have consequences, consequences for ourselves and consequences for the world around us. And when we fall into the extreme passions of sins, these consequences can be very painful and destructive, both to ourselves and to others.” (Fr. Michael Gillis) “Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason? The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest. That is, they select the most re

“The Church is not merely a refuge from the troubles and sorrow of the world, though it can be that. Its real purpose is to equip us to go out of the church and into the world to be witnesses to the Gospel (Luke 24:48), to be a light to the world (Matthew 5:14), and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). We don’t go to church to escape the world or to withdraw from it. When Jesus prayed for us to His Father, he petitioned: I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but

“Teaching “about” the Faith is not the same as “discipling,” a distinction the Lord Himself makes in His Great Commission: “Going, therefore, disciple all the nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [then] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19,20). Teaching has a place, but discipling is essential. One is “begotten...through the Gospel” (1 Cor 4:15). Teaching must occur, followed by discipling

“In our information age, many resources are readily available for us to seek the Lord—too many. A story from the desert fathers gives good advice…wandering from book to book, spiritual advisor to spiritual advisor, or church father to church father is a form of groping for the truth. A tree cannot grow and bear fruit if one keeps digging it up and planting it somewhere else.” (Fr. Basil) “Embracing God and His Kingdom requires more than processing information—even information

“When Saint John introduces the reality of love (1 John 3) – God’s love for all men, our love for God, our love for others, our love for our brethren in Christ – he also presents us with a challenge. We must make sure that our love is objective, measurable, and tangibly present in every aspect of our life…How do we make certain that God’s love extends to us, operates in us, and gives us eternal life? Our treatment of others become the test of this assertion: “But whoever has

“We must avoid at all costs competitive comparisons of each other's deeds…To be judgmental is to point out something that is wrong in someone else’s life, making the person feel put down, excluded, and marginalized...Being judgmental is fueled by self-righteousness, the misguided inner motivation to make our own life look better by comparing it to the lives of others.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Galatians 5:13-15, David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons) “Pride gets no pleasure out of having

“When our Lord Jesus Christ, during His teaching ministry, taught us the true Wisdom of God, he turned much of the wisdom of the world upon its head…The Apostle Paul distinguish between two kinds of wisdom: “the wisdom of this world” and “the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:20-21). He declares Christ to be the Wisdom of God (1 Cor 1:24), for those who are united to Him receive true wisdom, while those who resist Him are self-condemned (Jn 3:18).” (Father Stephen De Young, Dynamis 7/8