SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Understanding Christianity as a Way of Life

Thoughts and Feelings

“This thinking mind that “whirls about” is constantly concerned with thoughts, concepts, and images, and we obviously need this dimension of mind to meet the demands of the day, to think, to reflect on and enjoy life. But the thinking mind has a professional hazard. If it is not engaged in its primary task of reason, given half a chance it fizzes and boils with obsessive thoughts and feelings…Our normal response to an afflictive thought-feeling is to pounce on it with a comme

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

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

Fire (Divine and Spiritual Fire)

“God is fire. God is love. God is a self-propagating emotional power, a fire that shares itself. Centuries after Moses beheld the flames of the burning bush, this same fire merged with the tongues of flame at Pentecost, and with the fire that burned within the hearts of the disciples at Emmaus. In saying that God is a fire of love we are certainly stating a truth that plays havoc with many of our ideas, in fact almost all our ideas. (Fr. Lev Gillet) “There is no accident in G

Works (Good Works)

“…faith is intimately united to good works, which are genuine expressions of true faith. Faith and works cannot be separated.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 12:9-16) “...the difference between “works” and “good works” depends on the origin of the deed and what it exhibits. Consider your gift to a charity. What is the source of your act? Is it the desire to win the admiration of others? Is it to need to ease your conscience about the plight of the poor? Is it because your fr

Wrath

“ ‘So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God’ [James 1:19-20]. The wrath of man is unjust, ungracious, and severe. It proceeds from uncontrolled anger, not from God's judgment….Because a diseased mind has no control over its own judgment, it thinks that whatever anger suggests must be right….For us to discern the righteousness of God requires patience, graciousness

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

Unwittingly

“ From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matthew 16:21

Friendship

“Christ has come according to the power given Him from the Almighty Father, and has summoned people to friendship, blessing, repentance, and dwelling together…we should regard our fellow Christians—as friends, since each of us has become a friend of Christ. It is perhaps significant that the same Saint John who reported that Christ called the disciples His friends in John 15:15 also used the term to describe Christians [3 John 14]—it is because Christ has made us His friends

Perception

“As Aaron Beck once said, “all emotion is preceded by perception”. This is quote is quite consistent with the ascetical teachings of the church. We would do well to study that simple quote and begin to apply it to our lives. How exactly have we been perceiving all of these events, what meanings have we been assigning to them? What have we felt as a result of these meanings assigned or perceptions?” (Fr. Joshua Makoul) “Early in my career as a high school guidance counselor,

Righteousness

“No one can save us except the One Who created us. The Lord could have chosen to save us in a different manner, for He is Almighty and All-powerful. Instead, He took upon Himself our human nature and showed us by His own example the way of righteousness. Had He chosen to save us in any other way, we could say to Him, “You are the Almighty God. You were never a man as I am; You were never hungry or thirsty, sad or sorrowful.” This is why God took upon Himself all of human natu

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

Teaching

“The idea that one might teach anyone about the Lord seems absurd if we look at the task soberly. However, the teaching of the faith remains an essential ministry within the Church (Eph 4:11), even if the endeavor borders on the preposterous. We must keep in mind that the Christian teacher is not asked to conduct an academic course about Christ in the abstract. Understanding the limitations of the human mind – his own as well as that of others – the true teacher of the faith

Emptiness

“The poor are more likely to repent and renounce this world for the sake of the kingdom, for they more easily see the emptiness of earthly things. The rich (James 2:6), on the other hand, tend to prize earthly things, desire material things, and even hurt others to gain them (see Lk 6:21–25; 1Co 1:26–28).” (Orthodox Study Bible, James 2:5-7) “To be poor in spirit is to recognize clearly that one has nothing which he has not received from God, that one is nothing except by the

Hope

“Let us not be surprised, however, if hope is not what the world feels when it looks back upon the year 2020 and into the New Year of 2021. By many people, the year 2020 will be remembered as one of calamity: the year of the covid-19 pandemic; of violence perpetrated upon the weak by the strong; of civil unrest and rioting; of political polarization and turmoil; of fires, storms, and floods….many of us grappled with personal tragedy throughout the year, with the loss of loved

Faith (Rightly Oriented and Unyielding)

“To have faith in Christ is not merely to have warm feelings or nice thoughts about Him, but truly to seek first His Kingdom with every ounce of our being as we take up our crosses and follow Him.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters) “…the source of faith is Christ. It is the faith of Christ—His beliefs, His trust, His obedience—that justifies us, not our faith as such…True righteousness is the knowledge of Christ Jesus...A faith that obeys Christ is the very content and meaning of life..

Spiritual Blindness and Deafness

“[Spiritual] Blindness narrows our options. Which of us can say that he sees clearly all that is coming toward him in life? We do the best we can to discern what may happen, surviving where we are, using what we have, making do with what we hear….there is a dimension of life we miss by living outside our hearts. This dimension contains the things of the Spirit, and most of us remain blind in that all-important realm.” (Dynamis 12/28/2020) “Before He restored the man’s sight [

Heart (Hardened and Rebellious)

“…we must beware of the hardening of our hearts (Hebrews 3:15). In Greek, the word “harden” refers to “making stubborn” or “unbending...A hardened heart refuses to respond to the Spirit and closes itself off to the truth. It shields itself against the Gospel, lest the mercy and goodness of God penetrate the soul. The source of the hardness of heart can be extreme adversity such as the hunger and thirst of the Children of Israel in the desert. It can come from the disappoin

Anger

“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

Elevate

“Misunderstandings occur frequently in John's Gospel (see 2:19–21; 4:10–14, 30–34; 6:27; 7:37–39; 11:11–15). Christ uses these opportunities to elevate an idea from a superficial or earthly meaning to a heavenly and eternal meaning.” (Orthodox Study Bible, John 3:4) “As is typical in these dialogues recorded in Saint John’s Gospel, a particular word or phrase will carry a double meaning—earthly and spiritual, we could say. Jesus informs the [Samaritan women at the well in Jo

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