SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Today we hear that the kingdom of heaven is like a King who wished to settle accounts with His servants and those to whom He lent money [Matthew 18:23-35]. We are reminded by this that everyone and everything within the world is called to be a servant to the Lord and that each of us has actually been given many gifts and treasures but they are given with an expectation. What have we been given from God our King? First, we have been given life. Life is a gift that only God ca

“Sometimes the only and best way to enter into the cell of your soul is to disconnect from the outside world and simply immerse yourself in silence. It’s precisely in silence that we’re able to hear the voice of God. It may seem scary at first; the silence may frighten and irritate us, since we’re so accustomed to noise, music, conversations. But it’s only in silence that you can sense God and the peace of Christ. But the inner silence that we acquire through prayers and sobr

“Some who are opposed to the established Church use this verse to claim that “all you need is Jesus—not the Church, her clergy, and her sacraments.” But the Son became the one Mediator by becoming Man through the Holy Spirit and a virgin—that is, through God and men. He “built” His humanity not from Himself alone but from another, the Virgin Mary. Likewise, as the Mediator He says, “I will build My church” (Mt 16:18); He establishes her leaders and her worship. As Mary gives

“Why are we so afraid? Why are we so afraid to show our real selves to the world? Afraid to take a stand? Afraid to defend others? Fear. Fear. Fear. The answer is fairly simple. Because of the risk involved. Whenever we draw a line in the sand, we risk losing those who are uncomfortable with the line. We risk being judged…criticized. Misunderstood…most importantly, we risk not being accepted. It is an ancient and primal need of humankind to be accepted.” (Jackie Morfesis) “Am

“And in order for the soul to develop, repentance is vital. Because a person remains in a state of spiritual death and separation from God, and the Savior comes to him to save him. Repentance is the action of someone who understands his existence as needing salvation. That is, when a person laments and weeps, he testifies that he needs a Savior, salvation, help and protection; he needs a Redeemer—Someone Who will forgive and heal him. Repentance brings a person to such a stat

“The overwhelming grace of God shines through this memorable story. There is no record of Zacchaeus asking explicitly for the forgiveness and mercy of the Lord. All that he did was to climb a tree out of curiosity, but that was enough to begin to open himself to the healing divine energies of Christ…Zacchaeus passionately desired to see Christ. Such a longing on the part of a publican testifies that although according to God’s law his life is unworthy—unworthy of him as a hum

“…God Himself takes on human form to reveal man’s vocation and meaning as divine. From this moment onward man is free. Nothing stands over him, for the very world is his as a gift from God to fulfill his divine destiny….Tragically, too many people do not hear this voice of Jesus as the voice of Love Incarnate calling us to repent, to sacrifice, to have sacrificial love in order to have the greatest joy, to have our deepest desires fulfilled, to find our true selves, to fulfil

“Mankind is carried away by other aspirations and goals, created for its own detriment and ruin. There are people who don’t pray at all, who don’t feel the need for it, who don’t understand the point of praying and don’t believe in the possibility of being heard by God; and many people do pray, but rarely and always reluctantly, with compulsion and difficulty. Thus, there are very few people who live by fervent, strong, sincere, noetic, and unceasing prayer, according to the

“God is an obvious reality, but man is a paradoxical being—God’s beloved creation, fallen away from real life and caught in some fiction,...

“I believe that the question of innocent suffering and the existence of God may be the most significant and essential question of our...