SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“To the faithless question “Why should the Son of God have become flesh for the salvation of mankind and have sacrificed Himself?” we can answer that love always expresses itself in sacrifices. When I love someone, I give him gifts, thus sacrificing a part of my property; or provide him with some comfort, possibly denying myself, consequently sacrificing my own comfort; or help him in need or in sickness, consequently sacrifice my work or my leisure; or else I may defend him

“The fear of God brings peace and tranquility to the heart. Fear as a phobia is demonic fear. Who is the most neurotic? The devil. And the fear instilled by him gives rise to precisely this state in the heart…I compare and contrast repentant lamentation over sins and neurotic self‑criticism. Repentant lamentation over sins gives rise to peace, tranquility, and joy in the heart. But neurotic self‑criticism is like grinding water in a mortar, like running in circles, sorrow for

“…salvation is not merely an escape from sin and death. It is that, to be sure. But it is also so much more than that — which is why some of the Holy Fathers teach that Christ would still have become incarnate even if the Fall of Man had never occurred. It is one thing (and an indisputably needful thing!) to put our passions to death…even some of the pagan philosophers put us Christians to shame by their virtue and asceticism — yet these things by no means acquired for them t

“…humility substitutes for everything. And even if we do not have any other virtues, but humbly realize that we have nothing, then we will be ready to receive the Holy Spirit. Let us try not to forget about this…And let us live in such a way as to be worthy successors of the apostles and worthy bearers of the grace of the Holy Spirit. This is what we are all called to do—to try and humble ourselves before God and our neighbors, to fulfill God’s commandments; and then the Lord

“We want to see the evidence in the world of another’s caring or love. And because we live in such a material culture, we have sadly come to believe the evidence of love is what we can hold in our hands, accumulate, and quantify. That is so far from the truth. And it has caused great hardship and emotional anxiety, even depression. It has caused false relationships, marriages, even divorce. “While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:

“To continue growing requires watchfulness, or inner attentiveness (nepsis), which is necessary for replacing the vices with virtues. We must know what is happening inside ourselves. Most of us are in a state of inner sleep (hypnos). We think of ourselves as conscious, but the Fathers call it sleep—an unawareness characterized by self-centeredness. What we need is a detached awareness of what’s happening inside in order to be more aware of the promptings of the conscience.” (

“The world insists: “There is only one life—take all you can from it!” Orthodoxy answers: “Insomuch as there is only one life, you should never take all you can from it!” Since there will be no second chance, the price of each choice skyrockets, and responsibility for it becomes critical and soteriological by nature. To waste this unique gift recklessly in pursuit of illusory happiness does not mean to “take everything”, but to lose everything: to lose “the one thing needful”

“We increasingly live in a world where it appears as though everyone is courageous, especially behind the screens of social media. Technology gives a false sense of personal power. But in reality, in real-life situations, very few seem to have the courage to speak truth to power. Especially in situations where they personally have something to lose or risk. How many of us “stay silent” at a meeting, be it the workplace or otherwise, not because we have nothing to offer or hav

“ On the day of Christ’s birth, the regular events of human history began to be penetrated by eternal events: the Incarnation, the redemption on the Cross, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the sitting at the Father’s right hand…the Nativity was not properly the beginning of the Life of Christ, but rather a bodily extension of His eternal spiritual presence. His Incarnation was only the means for His entry into the world in order to carry out the strategy designed by God f

“If you even wonder why you don’t see God, look at your own heart and what’s in it…But God is merciful. The flow of a life between...