SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Mt. 13:16). This is the blessedness of being able to receive revelation spiritually. Not everyone who listens hears, and not everyone who looks sees. The Lord calls the disciples “blessed” for becoming worthy to know the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom. To know in the Biblical context means not only to perceive some theoretical information, but also to experience and partake of what is Known, graciously

“There is a theme of hiddenness in the teaching of Christ, indeed, across the whole of Scripture. We can see it in the sayings regarding the Kingdom of God in which it is compared to a lost coin or a buried treasure or a pearl of great price. It is something that requires searching out, digging up, or even selling everything in order to have it. The Kingdom of God is something that you don’t know but is worth everything in order to know. To know it, however, we must ask, seek

“…when we speak of God as light, for He is not that created light we take as a given in our everyday lives. The light we know casts a certain illumination – but God is the One who creates all lights. Every created light comes into existence out of nothing, for “God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light’” (Gn 1:3). The light of God, however, is uncreated. This light is not made of photons visible to our physical eyes. God is separate from and entirely other than His c

“The world insists: “There is only one life—take all you can from it!” Orthodoxy answers: “Insomuch as there is only one life, you should never take all you can from it!” Since there will be no second chance, the price of each choice skyrockets, and responsibility for it becomes critical and soteriological by nature. To waste this unique gift recklessly in pursuit of illusory happiness does not mean to “take everything”, but to lose everything: to lose “the one thing needful”

“This serpent has many tongues and teeth, often very subtle and inconspicuous. Every kind of care for the flesh, self-gratification—these are the tongues of this poisonous snake. But the most important of them is self-love, when a man thinks and cares too much about himself, about his own comfort.” (St. Seraphim Zvezdinsky) “Thinking of ourselves first leads us to believe the lies Satan whispers. He tells us that happiness comes from things, property, and sensual activities a

“…the first man to enter Paradise was the repentant thief (cf. Luke 23:42–43).” (Rev. Dr. Oliver Subotic) “I wanted to share this story told by St. Paisius, to show how even scandalous sin does not cost someone salvation, if they are repentant and longing to be free from sin, and longing to be near God. Gosh I wish I could find the original for this story, but this is how I remember it going. He said that there was a monk at his monastery who got drunk every day. He drank vod

“…the Lord Jesus Christ warns us quite clearly that mercy will be the fundamental criterion when we are judged at the Last Judgment, when it will be asked whether we fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, and visited the sick and the imprisoned (cf. Matt. 25:31–46)…This is not a sprint. It is a long race. A long run. And the race does not end until we meet the Lord on the Final Judgment. It is then that we will be held accountable for everything we have said, thought, don

“Before speaking of the sinfulness of consumerism, it is important to understand: consumption in itself is not evil. Consumption is a natural element of our human life. Man is a dependent and needy being; therefore it is natural for him to take and consume, especially in childhood. But as he matures, man increasingly begins to give to others—to create, to help, to care. A mature person is a responsible, creative personality who loves God and his neighbor and is guided by the

“If the thought of condemning another arises within you, immediately think: “Why should I look at someone else when I myself am a sinner? And how can I judge another when I myself will be judged? He sins one way and I another—also bad, or even worse. Perhaps he sins out of ignorance, but my sins aren’t out of ignorance. Perhaps he has such a personality, upbringing, nature, but I have a different nature, yet I do such things…” This is how we have to constantly humble ourselve

“The heart is a biblical word little understood these days, yet it has a truly profound dimension. The heart is where union with God may be consummated; as such it has a spiritual dimension. More than an emotional center or a physical organ, the heart is a receptacle for all good and evil. The heart is our psychosomatic Centre, the deepest and most profound part of our being; it is our “inner man;” out of which the energies of the psyche issue forth. There is a close connecti