SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The human person, created in the image of God and called to progress toward the divine likeness, is unique and of infinite value.” (Fr. John Breck) “The Holy Spirit of God comes personally to men from the Father through Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God. He comes to those who believe in Christ and belong to Him through faith and repentance and baptism in His Church. He is the Spirit Who descended upon the disciples on Pentecost, who also is the One by whose power the w

“The gospel is the report of the victory of God achieved by Jesus Christ over the hostile spiritual powers arrayed against humanity…The true gospel, the story of Christ’s victory, begins with Yahweh, God the Son, descending from the glory He shared with the Father eternally (John 17:5) to be made man. The incarnate Son of God then waged war against the hostile spiritual powers oppressing humanity, against the power of sin, and against death itself. Arising victorious, He asce

“We should strive to make ourselves aware of God’s presence at every moment of our lives. Whether we are in church or at home, whether we are playing, vacationing, working, exercising, resting, shopping, surfing the internet, or in any other activity, we need to cultivate in our hearts and minds awareness that we are always in God’s presence.  Creating that awareness of God’s presence helps keep God close to our hearts rather than thinking of God as some distant or remote dei

“There is a saying, “The more we try to control what we cannot control, the more out of control we feel. It is only when we let go of our need for control that we truly gain it.” The reality is that we cannot control all the factors in our life. We have limited control over our health, other people’s behaviors, other people’s emotions, and events in general. Trying to go through life controlling these factors is not only unhealthy but impossible. It is only a matter of time b

“…most of our sins are not sins of violence, but sins of affection gone wrong. After all, who is it that we sin against the most? Our families and our friends, the ones we are the closest to. While we may never take up a weapon to hurt someone in a physical way, we all use our mouths and our minds as weapons to inflict emotional harm on others. In some way, we all betray friends, confidences, and courtesies and in so doing, we all betray Christ.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianaki

“…Christ is our ultimate example of self-sacrifice and unconditional love through His crucifixion and resurrection. The fact of life is that nothing comes easily. Society is always trying to find the quickest, easiest way to make money, get a beautiful body, and cater to our own personal needs. Our culture teaches us that it's best to focus on what we want rather than do for others. But people quickly realize that all blessings come through sacrifice and hard work. The path t

“For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6) Just as aside – I find this verse so intriguing because Paul has God commanding light to shine out of darkness, rather than into it. God needs nothing to create His universe and is even able to shine light from out of the darkness. Of course, this is not meant to be just a literal t

“… “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

“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