SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…the person who “lives in the Eucharist and through the Eucharist,” to recall Fr. Florovsky’s words, (when, of course, that Eucharist is properly celebrated) becomes accustomed to looking not only “upwards” but also “forwards.” In other words, he gets into the habit of placing himself, his works and history itself under the light and the judgment of the Kingdom, always and in everything seeking its ultimate meaning (“ Seek ye first the Kingdom of heaven and its righteousness

“The gift of speech is the greatest gift and corresponds to man’s need for expressing feelings, for exchanging thoughts, impressions, and conversations. But nothing can do more harm to one’s neighbor and nothing can so easily destroy as verbosity, which the enemy uses cunningly and especially successfully to catch people in his nets.” (St. Seraphim Chichagov) “We live in a remarkable and frightening time—the age of an information flood. Every day, through the screens of our s

“In thinking about darkness and light – and their role in our apprehension of the truth – I cannot but think about Beauty, which is a primary place in which the light of God is made manifest among us (if rightly perceived). The heart that is full of darkness cannot truly perceive beauty: the heart which is full of light, cannot help but perceive it. Perhaps a measure of our heart can be found in how we perceive the world around us: is it primarily a place of beauty or darknes

“I have no desire to wake up every day and look at the world and see only hopelessness. God did not create us to be hopeless. He created us, knowing us even before we were born, because of His infinite love and mercy. We too, are called to have love and mercy for each other.” (Jackie Morfesis) “Christ’s resurrection forced His disciples into a true paradigm shift: the finality of death was gone forever. Yet, life with all its trials and problems was still ongoing and the disc

“Christianity is not a religion of external demands and taboos; it is the worship of God “in spirit and truth” (Jn. 4.23). Our faith must first of all renew the inner person. Then, the inner peace that results from this correction and purification will inevitably manifest itself externally, healing and shaping the outer world aright. Strictly speaking, the external world can only undergo changes for the good, when acting in it are people who have themselves been renewed inter

“We must never forget that Christ was Himself the Word of God, in the sense that He was expressive wisdom itself, whose expressions carried the force of actions. His utterances were at one and the same time word and action. The activity of His body was the direct consequence of the activity of His mind.” (Matthew the Poor) “A true and faithful practice of the Christian faith should be grounded in the body and in the givenness of life. Biology is not our enemy nor is it someth

“Many people mistakenly believe that faith is the absence of doubt. In reality, faith is the ability to move forward despite doubts. The Apostle Thomas did not reject faith; he just required personal confirmation to strengthen it—he needed a personal meeting with Christ. His doubts did not make him weak; on the contrary, they helped him come to a deeper understanding. And Christ did not condemn St. Thomas for this—He gave him what he needed. Similarly, everybody should experi

“The question of whether atheism or godly devotion lodges in our soul is answered when we acknowledge the image of God in everyone we meet. We are to seek Christ in everyone, from the holiest of saints down to the most depraved souls…A person of peace is one devoted to God, committed to doing good. Unlike them, “The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death” (Psalm 37:32). This means if we are constantly watching others to find fault with them, we are doi

“Whatever circumstances I am in, I can serve God. We may think that serving God means successfully accomplishing great and miraculous things. But St Paul saw himself serving God even when he languished in a prison cell. Even through the many disasters he endured (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), he believed he was there to do God’s will. The spiritual life is not always about success as the world measures it. Sometimes it is about remaining faithful no matter what.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh)

“The Greek word koinonia means “community” in its deepest and most mysterious sense. God Himself, existing in the Trinity, is koinonia in His very nature. We can only truly understand ourselves when we lay claim to the image of God. We must recognize that, like God, the truth of who we are centers in our community. Our very nature demands that we fully embrace our relationships with others…Why were we created? God created humans for loving relationships. If God is love, then