SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The Christians who worshipped in that original roofless shrine could look up into the sky, in their imaginations following Christ as He ascended from earth to heaven. There is always something inspiring and uplifting about looking up. The sky is one of the many miracles surrounding us, whether we see it filled with clouds or with stars. Sorrow makes our heads hang down and look towards the earth, while joy lifts up our heads.” (Fr. Lawrence Farley) “Christian hope is the con

“Our culture is deeply transactional…We buy and sell and give rewards to the deserving. We proudly declare, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” For many, there is a deep-seated satisfaction with what they “earn.”…when the “undeserving” are rewarded, segments of the culture fall into deep dudgeon. Perhaps this is a proper way to structure an economy (perhaps not). It is clearly not a blueprint of the Kingdom of God nor the path towards likeness to God. The words of Christ

“Why was the entire dispensation of history and work of Christ necessary? Could not God simply have saved humankind by fiat?...The solution God has provided is to heal our nature from the inside out. By joining His divine, eternal life to human flesh, Jesus Christ has overcome the power of death; hence mortality will be abandoned in the grave when the universal resurrection dawns. If this explanation is not sufficient for the inquirer, ‘Say something like this to reasonable p

“Christ then appears through shut doors in the midst of them and tells them one thing: ‘Peace be with you.’ For these to be the first...

“…Chrysostom understands original sin not in terms of inherited or personal guilt but in terms of an inherited mortality that causes...

“The rejection of egotism, that is, the ability to sacrifice your own interests for the sake of another, is an important and highly...

“I once confessed to an experienced priest that sinful thoughts were torturing me, and this is what he advised me: “Think of the thoughts...

“One of the most encouraging lines of the Divine Liturgy comes shortly before Holy Communion, when the priest says “The Holy Gifts for...

“Ultimately, none of us are defined by our past, but rather we are defined by what we become in Christ. This is why we can declare...

“Isn’t it amazing that everyone is taught grammar so no one writes in his own way, but according to the rules? They try to teach everyone...