SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Peter is so overcome with fear that neither Christ's prediction (Luke 22:34) nor the crowing of the rooster calls him to repentance, but only the Lord's gaze causes him to weep bitterly …When Peter went out and wept bitterly it shows he really did not want to fail here and was deeply grieved that he had…Nevertheless, “through tears, what cannot be defended can be purged, for tears wash away the offense which is shameful to confess out loud.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Luke 22:6-

“Righteous anger is a natural human emotion experienced in the face of sin. While there is anger that is certainly sinful (Mt 5:22), there is also anger that is God-given and proper to humanity (Ps 4:4). Christ's anger here [Mark 3:1-6] is in response to people professing God, yet having such hardness in their hearts that they could not rejoice in the healing of one of their brothers.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Mark 3:5) “The Fathers teach that anger in and of itself is not a si

“James 5:16 draws the contrast to such Spiritless worship and prayer: “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” Thus, fruitful prayer is not a matter of volume or display of religiosity.” We don’t have to shout or put on a show of piety to get God’s attention. The whisper of our hearts reaches the ears of God in an instant.” (Fr. Basil) “Prayer is often a window through which we see within. We strive to pray silently so that we can hear God’s whispers in

“These benefits of prayer led the Fathers to teach monologia, or “singleness of thought.” The Jesus Prayer [Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on a sinner] is the best-known form of monologia. Regular use of the simple Jesus prayer reveals our scattered spiritual condition. But if we persist in the struggle to pray, we discover that “what is obtained by frequent and prolonged prayer is lasting”…What do we obtain from constant prayer? First of all, it leads to singlenes

“During this season of mask-wearing, we have become weary of a “faceless” existence. I can think of nothing that is more de-personalizing that the hiding of our face. I respect the science (and certainly would not want a surgeon operating on me without a mask). But I lament our common experience even as I pray for this time to pass. I also think, however, of how many masks we have all worn in our lives. We find many ways to hide our face – our true face.” (Father Stephen Free

“Most of us do not think we are in a constant battle. Most of us, rightly so, recognize the ugliness of evil when we see it on full display, for example, in the horrible events of the news. However, most of us miss the daily evil of the enemy because we think certain things are benign and miss the malevolence behind them. The thoughts we are pummeled with on a daily basis that cause so much distraction from what is truly important are of the enemy. That is why Christ, St. Pau

“Regarding the matter of how much to pray, Fr. Thomas Hopko had a wise saying. He said to pray as much as you can, not as much as you should. That is, we will always feel that we “should” pray or read or attend services more. Don’t focus on an ideal that you should do, rather focus on what you can do, with a little effort, but not too much effort. Keep in mind that it is much, much better to have an easy rule that you can keep just about every day and that you sometimes add t

“The Lord Jesus directs us to continuous prayer because He knows that quick, easy results, obtained conveniently and effortlessly, only tempt us. We of course prefer to ask once and receive immediately, at our convenience. Our self-indulgence prefers methods that involve no struggle. If we receive easily, however, we are likely to remain flabby in our relationship with God. There are other darker, evasive desires that keep us from remaining constant in prayer. We like to keep

“The world’s present mood is not conducive to prayer and meditation. Mechanism and speed dominate all departments of our present day civilization. We race through life and we hardly have time to read the signposts and to learn whether or not we are on the right road of life. No wonder that so many lives end in ruin and misery. Even in our leisure we are dominated by action and controlled by schedule and thus can hardly experience total relaxation of body and complete serenity

“In all four Gospels we find the Lord Jesus often leaving behind the crowds that follow Him in order to spend time by Himself. He seeks solitude to be with His Father. If the Lord, who is both man and God, needs to withdraw from the world to find intimacy with the Father, how much more do we, as fallen human beings, need to follow His example!” (Dynamis 7/21/2020) “Christ taught by example, spending whole long nights in the desert praying. He did this to teach and admonish us