SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Our modern self-understanding sees people primarily as individual centers of choice and decision. A person is seen as the product of their choices and decisions – our lives are self-authenticated. As such, we are managers. Of course there are many problems with this world-view from the perspective of Classical Christianity. Though we are free to make choices and decisions, our freedom is not unlimited. The largest part of our lives is not self-determined. Much of the rhetori

“Our society values self-reliance. We teach that maturity means that we no longer depend on others for direction or support. When we are fully grown, we should take our own path in life. However, our reading of Proverbs 3:1-18 teaches us the opposite. The wise teacher of Proverbs says, “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight” (OAB vs. 5)….Most English versions of Proverbs use the word “trust” to translate the idea of taking refuge in God…The H

“A relationship with Jesus Christ-this is prayer. When people think about what is required to receive Holy Communion, they almost immediately think of fasting. There are so many things “higher on the list,” including prayer-what good is fasting without prayer? That’s just dieting.” (Fr. Stavros N. Akrotirianakis) “Take fasting. Some people are extremists in this while many others, perhaps most, are not at all so. Saint Isidoros Pilousiotis says that we should be ‘experienced

“There is a teaching on the energies that is far more prosaic even practical to be found in the early fathers . That teaching can be understood by simply looking at the meaning of the word, “energy” or “energeia.” In Greek “energeia” simply means “doings” or “actions.” The Divine Energies thus means the divine actions, everything that God does. What does God do? He creates; He sustains; He holds all things in his goodness; He moves all things and draws all things towards unio

“Perhaps the Incarnation of the God-Man occurred in such difficult circumstances in order to make clear that His salvation is not an escape from the grave problems posed by even the harshest realities of life. Instead of looking for distractions from our difficulties, let us entrust ourselves to Him as we cooperate with His gracious purposes for the healing of our souls and for the salvation of the world. Jesus Christ became a human person so that we might become nothing less

“The question posed by the Pharisees and Herodians appears to concern Caesar and taxation, but its purpose is to force the Lord Jesus to choose between loyalty to God and obedience to worldly government. Christ, in turn, exposes the deep error involved in making God an alternative to Caesar. Such gross oversimplification distorts theology into manageable human concepts – an impossible task….The Pharisees and Herodians engage in reductionism, which attempts to minimize a compl

“Perhaps the most salient aspect of the sacramental life is something that has almost been forgotten within contemporary Christianity: noetic experience. The fact that I will now be required to explain the very meaning of noetic experience for my readers makes my point. In the writings of the Church fathers, it is assumed that this is the true character of the saving knowledge of God. “Noetic” refers to that knowledge that is acquired by the “nous,” an aspect of the soul that

“Faith is critical if we are not to remain earthbound. Divine matters cannot be comprehended with the mind, but we are conditioned in our Western society to believe that the highest level of comprehension is intellectual…the highest level of understanding is not intellectual but spiritual, and spiritual realities are beyond reason, since God’s ways are beyond human comprehension…Intellectual answers are limited and partial at best. It is truly tragic if we willingly remain at

“Weakness” and “foolishness” are things that we do not normally associate with God, but are specifically identified with Him in the New Testament. Throughout the testimony of Scripture, there is a consistent preference on the part of God for the weak, the despised, the second-born, the foolish, the least-likely. St. Paul reflects on this: “For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has ch

“Our first encounter with Him is through faith. Faith opens the door of the soul, so that Christ can enter. Faith receives Him, subjects our hearts to Him and engenders within us a fervent interest and powerful desire to approach Him. This is the initial requirement for Christ to dwell in our hearts, as Saint Paul says (Eph. 3, 17). But it takes love in order for the Lord to stay with us and make us His temple and altar. Jesus declares “Whoever loves me will keep my word and