SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…secularity is the negation, the evacuation from life, of the experience of the world as sacred reality, as “participant” in divine reality and “participated in” by the divine.” (Vigen Guroian) “Though the secular world denies all invisible spiritual forces, the Scriptures testify to their existence, pervasiveness, and impact on the world.” (Fr. Basil) “It is very simplistic to say that emergencies make people pay more attention to God and reawaken religious feelings. We mig

“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

“When we separate faith from everything else, we make it into belief. It becomes the assent to the truth of something that cannot be proven by empirical evidence. The Book of James addresses this mistaken thought directly when it says, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only” (OSB James 2:24)… Paul speaks of “faith active” in love. This poignant phrase indicates that Paul would agree with James, who wrote against the idea of “faith alone.” He ins

“…the concept of godly sorrow (2 Cor 7:10) is not well understood. How easy it is to settle into spiritual languor, remaining content with externals, satisfied with routine righteous acts and a limited idea of God. We either join our secular neighbors in thoughtless avoidance, or else we assume a false righteousness that does not respond to the call of Christ.” (Dynamis 7/1/2014) “There are two kinds of regret for the wrong we have done. In…2 Corinthians 7:1-10, Paul teaches

“All the power possessed by the Lord is bestowed upon the apostles! [Matthew 10:5-8]. Those who were prefigured in the image and likeness of God in Adam have now received the perfect image and likeness of Christ. They have been given powers in no way different from those of the Lord. Those once earthbound now become heaven-centered.” (St. Hilary of Poitiers) “…the degenerative power of pride, or egocentrism, blinds us to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the cosmos of which

“Start each day anew with a deep sense of wonder and awe…When awe and wonder depart from our awareness, depression sets in, and after its blanket has lain smotheringly upon us for a while, despair may ensue, or the quest for kicks begin. The loss of wonder, of awe, of the sense of the sublime, is a condition leading to the death of the soul. There is no more withering state than that which takes all for granted, whether with respect to human beings or the rest of the natural

“Among human beings, love appears to spring from feelings and emotions. Thus some mistakenly characterize love as irrational. But love transcends feeling and reason. Love is not rationally justified nor is it just a “natural” affection. At its source, love is a divine reality. Love, as I have stated, is rooted in freedom, in the absolute freedom of God and, next, in the relative freedom of the creature.” (Vigen Guroian) “Love, in the Christian understanding of the word (which

“Just as God has made the material universe, He also created humanity, and the whole gamut of human actions for his greater glory and our blessing. God therefore delights in all human pursuits that are undertaken to praise Him, not simply in our intellectual and “spiritual” practices…The connection between the human artist and the Creator God, the ultimate Artist, can be found only in beauty. True art and music are a reflection of the soul that is journeying into the heart of

“The Apostle Paul also urgently advises us to resist submitting mindlessly to “the affairs of this life” (2 Timothy 2:4). Fruitful effort in Christ depends on forcing the demands of this life to be subservient to our greater work in Christ. Avoid anything that disturbs union with the Lord.” (Dynamis 7/27/2018) “Although it is quite bewildering and counterintuitive, as we are submissive to God and His ways amid our weaknesses (including our death to self), we are growing spiri

“The Apostle Paul declares, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (vs. 16). This process of renewal continues unabated inside us, because we are united to Christ. Even in our worn and sinful hearts can undergo wonderful, renewing change. However, we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit. We must stop looking “at the things which are seen, but [rather look steadily] at the things which are not s