SACRAMENTAL LIVING

Quotes of the Day for July 23, 2021 – Thoughts on challenging our understanding of true morality “The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which He rules. At the same time His holiness encompasses His moral authority, which derives from His royal position. As King He has the right to d

“Most woundedness goes back to a lack of love in one way or another, and what is most needed is to fill the person with an experience of God’s love… “Jesus treated sinners with compassion, especially those who sinned out of weakness, and with more respect than He did the pious, self-righteous, hard-hearted Pharisees. He knew that sinners are often seeking something good in their sin, even if they are seeking happiness in the wrong way. The alcoholic may be trying to deaden th

“If you do good, you must do it only for God. For this reason you must pay no attention to the ingratitude of people. Expect a reward not here, but from the Lord in heaven. If you expect it here—it will be in vain and you will endure deprivation.” (St. Ambrose of Optina) “We most often experience cause and effect as a sense of control. Our failures haunt us while we obsess about what might have been. Some seek to partner with God, looking for ways of praying and living that r

“Just as God has made the material universe, He also created humanity, and the whole gamut of human actions for his greater glory and our blessing. God therefore delights in all human pursuits that are undertaken to praise Him, not simply in our intellectual and “spiritual” practices…The connection between the human artist and the Creator God, the ultimate Artist, can be found only in beauty. True art and music are a reflection of the soul that is journeying into the heart of

“The world is a production of God's free will, goodness, wisdom, love and omnipotence. God did not create the world in order to satisfy some need of His. Rather He created it without compulsion and without force in order that it might enjoy His blessings and share in His goodness. God then brought all things into being out of nothing, creating both the visible and the invisible.” (Greek Orthodox Archdiocese) “Things hoped for and not seen, a vision of the future, have encoura

“In the Christian life, discouragement comes in many forms. There is discouragement when it seems our prayers are not answered; when we work with honesty and integrity, but see others, who cut corners, prosper and advance; when we endure personal separation and loss, and when we need compassion and affirmation, and they are not to be found.” (Rev. Andrew J. Demotses) “Despair makes us feel isolated and distant from God, but this is precisely when we need God most. Despair ove