SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Gratitude is strongest in times of want and weakest at times of abundance. This is one of life's greatest ironies…by sharing the little we have with guests, we find that God blesses us with the paradox of abundance amidst poverty…Listen to the stories of people who went through hard times, such as those who lived through the Great Depression or the years of World War II. Certainly there were horrible and frightful moments of terror that elicit pain. But enduring through thos

“Love flares up from understanding that the Lord doesn’t turn away from the impurity and sinfulness of man, doesn’t withdraw from our guilt, criminality, and ungodliness: He never pushes anyone away, but on the contrary, always allows approach, draws near, listens, even caresses, shows mercy, and finally, forgives everyone!” (St. Seraphim Chichagov) “Love is service. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself gave us a great example of this when He washed the feet of the Apostles at the M

“…God Himself takes on human form to reveal man’s vocation and meaning as divine. From this moment onward man is free. Nothing stands over him, for the very world is his as a gift from God to fulfill his divine destiny….Tragically, too many people do not hear this voice of Jesus as the voice of Love Incarnate calling us to repent, to sacrifice, to have sacrificial love in order to have the greatest joy, to have our deepest desires fulfilled, to find our true selves, to fulfil

“For in a very real sense no general ‘man’ – be he American or any other – no ‘society’, no ‘culture’ has at any time truly accepted...

“…sin lies in the direction of the will…A person sins when he looks upon his life as if it belonged only to him…It is necessary for...

“In the light of Christ, this world, this life are lost and are beyond mere ‘help,’ not because there is fear of death in them, but...

“In Genesis 1: 3 we read: “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” God was not only making a visible creation but more...

“We live in a culture of statistics – and they hide a lot. They obscure us in the reduction of our lives to generalities. None of us is a...

“There is a kind of moral person with a passion for cleanliness, who runs to confession because for him any little spot is unbearable,...

“The reason the Church puts restrictions on pleasures…is not that she is against them, but she wants you to be able to distinguish...