SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Children and Parents

“This is a strong reason why Christian theology resists and rejects conceptions of childhood that conceive of it as either an ephemeral stage of human existence or that deny its universal status. When we become adults and parents, we do not simply leave behind the office of child like the crab that sheds its first shell for a second and a third. Through the whole of our lives, we naturally continue to relate to our parents as their children. We also find it needful to “rememb

Fasting

“The Church’s tradition of fasting exists to restore balance between body and soul, between penitence and rejoicing, between us and the world around us…When the body is humbled, our thoughts become more peaceful, too. This is the purpose of fasting.” (Archimandrite Vassilios Papavassiliou, Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “Withdrawing from earthly things whets our spiritual appetite for Christ’s heavenly gifts…fasting never devalues earthly things, but in a spirit of gratitude re

Love (Tangible)

“When Saint John introduces the reality of love (1 John 3) – God’s love for all men, our love for God, our love for others, our love for our brethren in Christ – he also presents us with a challenge. We must make sure that our love is objective, measurable, and tangibly present in every aspect of our life…How do we make certain that God’s love extends to us, operates in us, and gives us eternal life? Our treatment of others become the test of this assertion: “But whoever has

Peace

“The peace of God is a beautiful thing; it is there for each of us if we desire it. Assuredly, just as we miss the sound of a gentle wind blowing through the trees during a busy day, so we miss and take for granted the peace of God that is all around us. It is as close to us as a breeze brushing across our face. It is as close to us as the present moment, yet we often look for it in the past and future.” (Fr. Joshua Makoul) “Foremost among these fruits is the restorative peac

Desire

“Desire is transformed into lust when we exclude God from the picture. Without God, the natural powers of our soul become corrupt…the problem with desire is not something inherent in the order of creation. Rather, the difficulty arises from our enslavement to the things of this world and to our physical being (1 Jn 2:15-16). God made the world, forming our very flesh and our eyes, yet sin turns even our natural desires into lust.” (Dynamis 2/26/2021) “…the word for “passion”

Obedience

“Often in the Scriptures the word know means not just being aware of something but having personal experience of it. Jesus did not know sin, not because He was unaware of what it is but because He never committed it himself. For although He is like us in every other way, He never sinned. Given this meaning of the word know, it is clear that anyone who says that He knows God must also keep his commandments, for the two things go together.” (Didymus the Blind) “We can be said t

Faith as Relationship

“In theory, our modern culture believes that relationships with other people are merely psychological phenomena – they are all in our head. There is occasional research to try and establish some notion of extra-psychological relationship (such as ESP), but even that is largely an extension of psychology. But there is an entire realm of human experience that such a belief ignores. And it is an experience that lies at the very heart of classical Christianity. This experience is

Paradox

“…A paradox, you probably already know, is a statement which is seemingly self-contradictory; a statement which appears to be false, but which, upon careful examination, in certain instances proves to be true… Spirituality is a paradox…let me pass on what I consider the four paradoxes… we surrender to win…we give away to keep…we suffer to get well…we die to live.” (Fr. Bogdan Djurdjulov) “…Christian life is filled with paradoxes, what the Holy Fathers referred to as antinomie

Fear

“…fear can lead to aggression: “Fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.” (Robert J. Wicks) “The temptation to dispense a rough “justice” against some individual or group flares up whenever we lose our focus on our common humanity and succumb to fear…Fear of men, with their finite power and unproven opinions, always rises from the wellspring of atheism. Those who fear men do not see the hand o

Troubles and Trials

“… when we deal with suffering it can be difficult to understand and convey why things are happening. St. Paul writes of suffering (and remember, he suffered a lot), “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18). This can be difficult to remember or to find consolation from when we are in the midst of trials.” (Melissa Tsongranis) “It is, of course, one thing to say that our

Goodness

“…even good deeds, if they are done apart from Christ, are futile. “God’s all-saving will, consists in doing good solely to acquire the Holy Spirit, an eternal, inexhaustible treasure which cannot be rightly valued . . . Every soul is quickened by the Holy Spirit . . . and mystically illumined by the Triune Unity.” (St. Seraphim of Sarov) “The Kingdoms of this world” [Matthew 4:8] is not a temptation to fantastic wealth...I believe it is similar to the idylls we whisper to ou

Self-Centeredness

“James [James 3:13-18] is also leery about us counseling others, for what is offered as wisdom can be based on pride and other sinful passions. Self-centered faith will manifest itself in self-centered works, in this case “helping” others.” (Orthodox Study Bible, James 3:13-18) “The mind is the great defense system we need to process all the information we receive. However, in so doing, the mind is self-centered, judgmental, and fearful of attack. It expects and assumes the w

Belief

“We hear it frequently remarked that it matters not what one believes if he does right. But if one does not believe right, he does not do the right thing—that is, if his belief is sincere and carried out in practice. If one believes that which is wrong, and still acts otherwise from force of circumstance, he is wrong in heart.” (St. Sebastian Dabovich) “We learn from this passage [Philippians 1:8-14] that our witness to our faith in Christ should be as open as Paul’s testimon

Humility and Pain and Suffering

“The measure of a man’s spiritual growth is his humility. The more advanced he is spiritually, the more humble he is. And vice versa: the more humble, the higher spiritually. Neither prayer rules, nor prostrations, nor fasts, nor reading God’s Word— only humility brings a man closer to God. Without humility, even the greatest spiritual feats are not only useless but can altogether destroy a person.” (Abbot Nikon Vorobiev) “…we must guard against thinking that a humble heart i

Disciple/Follower

“Let us carefully how Levi’s [Matthew’s] life changes when he follows our Lord. First, Levi “left all” (vs. 28). We should not assume, from this statement, that he suddenly abandons everything…Levi did not leave at once but began withdrawing, bit by bit, from his former life. First he left his occupation, then his home, and finally even his native land…We too have answered the call of Christ, the Wisdom of God. We began dropping our former values to follow Wisdom more fully.

Inner and Outer Self

“If our automobile begins to make noises, has a check engine light on, or is just not driving right, we take it into the auto shop for servicing so the problem can be resolved. If we have a tooth ache, we head to the dentist. For many, when it comes to our emotional life, we struggle to apply these same concepts. The benefits of the ability to investigate and trouble-shoot ourselves should not be underestimated. Many of us have no problem lifting up the hood of our car to tak

Poor (Poverty)

“ ‘Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them’ (Matthew 11:2-6)…Belief in God and Church attendance are highest among the poor and lowest among the wealthy. Apparently, Jesus is still preaching to the poor.” (Father Stephen Freeman) “In taking upon Himself our shared human nature, Christ con

Balance

“The Incarnation is the touchstone against which we can test the rightness of our efforts. That is because we must remember to keep the divine and human perspectives in a healthy balance. Emphasize the human over the divine and you fall into the progressive error; stress the divine over the human and you commit the traditionalist sin.” (Gregory Wolfe) “ In the tension between transcendence and finiteness, freedom and limitations, possibilities and actualities, human beings t

Stewardship and Serving

“The steward of God actively practices virtue and lives quietly and devoutly as God instructs him through holy tradition. By following these basic guidelines, the “friend of God” becomes a servant who controls the passions of anger and self-indulgence. Such a person draws strength from God, especially from the sacrament of holy communion, and has a genuine desire to make God-pleasing decisions at work, at home, and with everyone he meets. “Your will be done on earth as it is

Power

“Paul calls the Gospel, “the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes (1 Thessalonians 1:16). So, when Paul says the Gospel “came in power,” he is saying that as the Word of God it was mighty in performing its mission. It was successful in producing its effects. It created the conviction of faith that results in the salvation of its hearers. But why would the Gospel, or any Word spoken by God, have this effect? Surely, the power is not in the words themselves. Th

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