SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Remember, if we are going to have the one thing needful to offer contemporary America, it must be the witness of lives being changed, healed and sanctified by Jesus Christ. This requires continual and deep repentance. The very first words that were ever preached by our Lord were “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Matthew 4:17). The goal of the Christian life is the acquisition of the Holy Spirit.” (Rev. Fr. Theodore Dorrance) “As Christians, we believe we will

“Freedom is an essential characteristic of the Christian life Christ promised that the truth would set us free…The experience of freedom comes to us when we recognize the connection between the material and spiritual worlds. They are not divorced from one another…Anxiety and obsessiveness are qualities of the world, but our relationship with Christ results in freedom and inner peace…Whoever wants to create Christian culture must try to cultivate in his own heart a child of th

“…the command to “judge not” does not mean that Christians are not to make judgments about whether a behavior is right or wrong. We must distinguish between right and wrong. How can we be expected to do the right thing if we are not allowed to distinguish between right and wrong? “Judge not” means that we are not to condemn another person, since God alone is judge.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “We should not judge others. If we see ourselves as we are, we will find i

“Faith is not a matter of “belief,” an act of intellectual willing. Faith is a perception of things that do not necessarily appear obvious. In the language of Scripture – “faith is the evidence of things not seen.” But the perception of faith is similar to the perception of objects beneath the surface of a lake. If the surface is disturbed, the objects disappear. The objects do not go away – but we can no longer perceive them. In a world of manifold complication – the surface

“Prove yourself a god to the unfortunate by imitating the mercy of God. There is nothing so godly in human beings as to do good works…When you have done something good, remember [Christ’s] words, “without me you can do nothing” [John 15:5].” (St. Gregory the Theologian, St. Mark the Hermit) “The branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it remains connected to the vine [John 15:4] , from which its life and sustenance flows. As far as the disciples were concerned, they would p

“Most believers go through times of spiritual emptiness. They feel that they are in a spiritual “black hole.” Their heart feels hollow. They keep going, but they are running on an empty tank…When we lose our purpose and meaning, we ask ourselves, what is the use? We no longer hope that anything good will come from our efforts. Therefore, above all, Paul prays that hearts of the Holy Spirit would “overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 15:13). We earnestly d

“The father of the young man in our gospel lesson had surely rejected simplistic views of faith long ago…But instead of falling into complete despair and cynicism, the father had at least enough faith to say to Christ, “’but if You can do anything, have pity on us and help us.”‘ In response to the Savior’s words, “’If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes,’ the man cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”‘ With an integrity fu

“ ‘…Christ died for the ungodly’ (Romans 5:6). The ungodly are all of us. Because of sin, everyone stands in alienation from God, and we do not have the capacity to become righteous on our own. Because of God's love, Christ died for our sins to bring us the gift of righteousness…Christ is the offering for all sin—voluntary and involuntary—which demonstrates God's incomparable grace toward us.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 5:6, Hebrews 10:26-27) “There is no one who will save

“In the Trisagion Prayers, we invoke the Spirit of God who is “present everywhere and fills all things.” Thus, we believe that the Spirit works in all and through all. And so we affirm what Paul declared in Philippians: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). But where and when are we to will and do what God desires? Surely the Spirit is present in times and places other than worship. Surely the Spirit is active in and thro

“Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more.” [John 5:14] Experience proves that sins and passions destroy the health of the soul and the body, whilst victory over the passions affords heavenly tranquility and health both to the soul and the body. Conquer the many-headed hydra of sin - and you will be made whole. Preserve tranquility of spirit; do not be disturbed, do not be irritated by any opposition, offences, negligences, injustices - and then you will always enjoy spiritua