SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“What Is purity of heart? What is it? A pure heart is, first of all, one and whole. It overcomes all the contradictions between the soul, the spirit and the body, between the mind, the will and the emotions. Full agreement between the will of God and the will of man reigns in it. All its thoughts, desires and feelings are harmoniously directed towards a single goal—the fulfillment of Christ’s commandments. In such a heart there is no place for hostility, hypocrisy, double-min

“In the Gospels, there are seven instances of someone calling on Jesus for mercy (Mt 9:27; 15:22; 17:15; 20:30, 31; Mk 10:47, 48; Lk 17:13; 18:38, 39). In every case, they receive it.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 3 Maccabees 5:50-51) “…we are struck by the ceaseless care that the Lord Jesus offers to wounded humanity. This essential truth – the truth of God’s mercy – can be easily overlooked amidst the many details of the Gospel. Mercy is priceless! We are to hold it close to our

“Our life consists of decisions and their implementation. Man is a decision-making being, and he acts or does not act in accordance with his decisions. Indecision is also a decision, just as inaction is also an action. There are no fruitless decisions and actions. After all, everything has its own result: a barren fig tree has one, and a ripe vine has another. All decisions and actions—both active and passive, whether we want it or not—have a direct effect on the course of ou

“Trials should be distinguished from temptations. Trials come directly from the God of Providence, while temptations come directly from the evil spirits, although they are allowed by God. Trials are neither saving nor leading to spiritual death in themselves; they are only reasons for the manifestation of human will in relation to what the Lord gives us. The purpose of temptations is spiritual death, although they disguise themselves as something harmless and even good. Tempt

“In eternity, we will find what we sent there.” (Monk Pimen Vlad) “Thy will, not mine, be done” (Luke 22:42 ). This prayer releases us...

“One who determines to serve the Lord will be tested and face temptation (see 1Co 10:13). Thus, we prepare our soul for this challenge to...

“There is a natural pattern of the telos in our genetic reality. DNA is an example of a natural telos, a patterning within us that moves...

“So, attention is the central point of spiritual warfare, the focus of Christian life, the criterion and measure of salvation of the...

“God is consuming fire. When an object touches fire, it is changed: either it is burned up, or it is tempered. So too, a man, in touching...

“It would seem that we are back to the very beginning with the serpent in Eden—the first Gnostic?—whispering that God is not a good God...