SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The Scriptures are not a manual on how to live a moral life or how to organize the Church as an institution. The Scriptures are the means by which we come to know the Risen Christ, always through the working of the Holy Spirit…A Christian does not come to read the Scriptures alone and isolated, left to his or her own devices to try to come to the right conclusions that will allow him or her to do what is needed to find salvation. A Christian comes to the Scriptures with the

“Those who stop short of love, hindered by legalism, miss the message of the cross…Legalism does not understand the nature of divine commands, refuses to face the complexity of many ethical dilemmas, and waives any primary obligation for showing compassion…legalism can make you insensitive to God’s mercy.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Galatians 5:6-12, Rubel Shelly) “…our insensitivity, our indifference, and the negative memories we create in others can play a role in someone not r

“It is not that talking is evil or that it necessarily cheapens the truth. After all, if God himself communicates and does so in human terms, in the life and speech of Jesus, in the witness of Scripture, there must be talking that is wonderful, revelatory, transfiguring, that takes us into the heart of things. When we have found the word or phrase that anchors us in prayer, the mantra that stills and focuses us, we are discovering something of the grace and power of real lang

“Perhaps the most salient aspect of the sacramental life is something that has almost been forgotten within contemporary Christianity: noetic experience. The fact that I will now be required to explain the very meaning of noetic experience for my readers makes my point. In the writings of the Church fathers, it is assumed that this is the true character of the saving knowledge of God. “Noetic” refers to that knowledge that is acquired by the “nous,” an aspect of the soul that

“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

“Faith is critical if we are not to remain earthbound. Divine matters cannot be comprehended with the mind, but we are conditioned in our Western society to believe that the highest level of comprehension is intellectual…the highest level of understanding is not intellectual but spiritual, and spiritual realities are beyond reason, since God’s ways are beyond human comprehension…Intellectual answers are limited and partial at best. It is truly tragic if we willingly remain at

“Weakness” and “foolishness” are things that we do not normally associate with God, but are specifically identified with Him in the New Testament. Throughout the testimony of Scripture, there is a consistent preference on the part of God for the weak, the despised, the second-born, the foolish, the least-likely. St. Paul reflects on this: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has ch

“…sin indicates spiritual illness…God never departs from us. It is we who depart from Him. It is we who become spiritually ill through sin. It is we who need to be cured and restored.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “And so it was with Adam: ‘I’m over here, hiding, because I was afraid to see you, because I’ve sinned. I’m afraid that you wouldn’t accept my excuses; that you’d say it was all my fault. I was afraid that you would no longer acknowledge me as your child.’ T

“Christians must simultaneously engage the world around them (an invasion) and be aloof from it (a retreat). A believer plants one foot in Paradise and the other in the here-and-now. This is an attitude that is realistic yet not grounded in fear and a desire for self-preservation. It is a worldview rooted in the teaching of Christ and his apostles, and affirmed by centuries of failed attempts to do otherwise. On one hand, it is important to insulate ourselves and our children

“The purpose of reading the Scriptures is to acquire the grace of the Holy Spirit, to grow in our relationship to God, to commune with God, to open ourselves to the presence of God, to improve our moral behavior, and to imitate Christ and the saints…“The disciple is not above his teacher” [Luke 6:40]. Even if some make such progress, as to attain to a virtue that rivals that of their teachers, they will range themselves no higher than their level and be their imitators. Paul