SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Why is it that in moments when sorrow seems unbearable to us, and we are balancing on the verge of despair, that we can’t feel that strengthening Right Hand of the Lord, which as we’ve heard many times preserves everything in His power. Maybe because we ourselves in these hard moments find ourselves doing something not exactly right? Maybe we ourselves don’t go to where this support is being obtained? We do not want to raise even a small spiritual labor, expecting that such

“Righteousness here does not mean sinlessness; rather, it means wholeness—when a person’s heart is united with God, the true Source. The word of the righteous is not always elegant. It may be simple, even severe. Yet it always possesses a certain vertical quality—it lifts us above the noise and vanity of life. The fruit of such speech is peace. After speaking with such a person, you do not feel “overloaded” with information; you feel revived. Anxiety leaves your soul, and the

“Freedom is a paradox. It is an utterly inherent part of our existence – a critical part of our salvation – and yet threatening in its power. Freedom of the self can seem a threat to every kind of order (religious, political, social, etc.). Nevertheless, we are told in Scripture that “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (freedom)” (2 Corinthians 3:17). St. Paul will also warn in his letter to the Galatians (5:13) that our liberty should not be used as an excuse

“While there is a general connection between sin and suffering (Rom 6:23), this connection is not always one-to-one, for the innocent often suffer, and the guilty are often spared earthly sufferings...” (Orthodox Study Bible, Acts 5:14) “I believe that the question of innocent suffering and the existence of God may be the most significant and essential question of our time. The explosion of knowledge in our world has made an awareness of innocent suffering more apparent than

“Unfortunately, the spirit of moralism which we mentioned earlier, i.e., basing the Christian life on moral improvement, has adversely influenced the piety and spirituality of Christians to a significant degree even here in our land…Guidance that only aims for moral improvement is anthropocentric - it is centered on man, and in it, human effort dominates, and not the Grace of God. It then seems as if it is our own morality that saves us, and not the Grace of God. Life under t

Quotes of the Day for March 11, 2026 – Thoughts on lives transformed “Perhaps there is nothing so powerful as a testimony of a life transformed. I don’t believe it’s necessary to suffer so deeply that one’s life is crushed seemingly beyond repair, broken into a hundred pieces, before we fall to our knees and hear God’s longing for our soul. But this we do know; it certainly is an explosive doorway and being witness to God’s mercy. Pain transformed is holy space.” (Jackie Morf

“There are two kinds of fear: one initial, and the other perfect… For example, he who fulfills the will of God out of fear of punishment is still a beginner, for he does not yet do good for the sake of goodness itself, but out of fear of punishment. But he who fulfills the will of God out of love for Him, loving Him simply in order to please Him—this one knows what true good is; he has understood what it means to be with God. Such a person fears God and fulfills His will no l

“While very detailed instructions are given for other elements of sacrificial rituals, none are given for the means of killing the animals involved. To sacrifice something is not to kill it, but to eat it as a sacred meal. This required its death, whether the sacrifice was of animals or plants (such as first fruits from the harvest and grain offerings).” (Fr. Stephen De Young) “…the empty formalism of ritual sacrifices will not make up for sin. Perfunctory religious practices

“Christ points later in St. John’s Gospel as He gives up His life on the Cross, saying, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek verb here used by St. John is the same verb used in Genesis 2:1 at the completion of the work of Creation, leading to God’s rest. Christ, therefore, rests in the Tomb on the seventh day of the week, fulfilling the Sabbath. In three days He completes the work of Creation, rising again on the first day of the week. The Sabbath was, thereby, fulfilled.

“Fasting needn’t be limited to abstinence from food alone, because true fasting is departure from evil deeds. Forgive your neighbor any insult, abstain from causing your neighbor offence, abstain from irritation, from senseless sorrows, from fear, wrath, and so on. ‘True fasting is alienation from evil, temperance of the tongue, setting aside of wrath, casting out of lust, idle talk, lies, and oath-breaking’…This is a true and pleasing fast for the Lord. Departing from these