SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“… “this world” is not evil in essence, for it is God’s creation. But what is going on in this current time is evil. The forces of wickedness in this world are causing pain, sorrow, and misfortune...The trials of life remind us not to get too comfortable with the affairs of this world…“Seek not honors, seek not glory, seek not authority, nor revenge but bear all things…The aspirations of this life distract us from our hope. They are like the trivial things in a backpack that

“As Christians, we live in the tension of the already and the not yet. Already Christ is risen, and death is conquered; not yet do we live in the fullness of time when Christ becomes all in all.” (Rev. Christopher H. Martin) “We must not fool ourselves with an illusory, superficial spirituality that distracts us from experiencing the true state of our souls before God. Instead, we must know from our hearts how we have refused to embrace our Lord’s gracious healing, how we hav

“If we are driven by what people think about us, then we will forget our responsibility to please the Lord and will be tossed around by the waves of trying to be popular….If we always are doing things so that people will like us, we may forsake doing the hard things that God requires of us. The goal is not to be liked by everyone, but to do the good, beautiful and holy thing so that God’s light shines through us.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “…we may become the light of the world as we

“Christ promises to be present and make Himself known to us. When we spend time with each other, developing our relationship, we no longer ask if the other exists. Rather, we understand that because we know someone, the question of existence is surpassed. This is the kind of knowing and being that we have in relationship with each other, and this is equally true of our relationships with God. So a student may ask, “How do we know God exists?” but this, for me, is the wrong qu

“One test of spiritual attainment is peace. Those who are truly advanced in the Spirit have peace of mind and share the peace of God… “Wherever God is — there is peace. And the opposite is self-evident: where there is envy, enmity, impatience, self-love — there is the devil. Wherever the devil is — there, everything is ruinous, proud and hostile.” (Fr. Basil, St. Anatoly of Optina) “How do we attain peace? We put aside all…pride and hostility and destructiveness. And we acqui

“Christians are told by the authors of the New Testament to rejoice and be people of hope. However, living in the same world as nonbelievers, Christians still experience, like everyone else, moments of doubt, despair, despondency….The opposite of hope is despondency and despair. According to the spiritual tradition of the Church, the state of despondency and despair is the most grievous and horrible condition that a person can be in. It is the worst and most harmful of the si

“…our own sometimes shaky self-esteem, neediness, and failure to believe that we are really unique in the eyes of God often prevent us from loving and nurturing the presence of God in ourselves. This, in turn, makes it difficult to reach out to others.” (Robert J. Wicks) “Knowledge of Christ, constantly supported and nurtured by the grace of God, grows quietly but steadily and becomes a unique and precious characteristic of an authentic Christian. As he/she grows and matures,

“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

“...unredeemed humanity craves to do what is forbidden…Sometimes temptation surprises us with a sudden and unexpected assault. At other times, temptation comes upon us so gradually that we hardly notice it at first. In the beginning, the enticement to sin carries us along gently as a hint of desire. But then that passion propels us along more swiftly until we find ourselves in the raging currents of craving.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 7:7-12, Fr. Basil) “…all too few arri

“Questions about the problem of evil and God's commands are really asking about character of God. The real question is, "Can God be trusted?” (John Njoroge) “I am struck by the preponderance of unbelief in our day and time. Frequently, the “problem of evil” is cited as an overwhelming obstacle to belief. I think of this in particular when I consider that antiquity was dominated by far more suffering on a daily basis than our present age. Our lives would seem magical in their