SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Reading the Scriptures, studying the church fathers, attending worship, praying, and meditating are all good and godly things. But they are not ends in themselves. When we engage in these holy activities, our sincere and fervent goal should be to encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. We may be the most informed and even enthusiastic students of the Word. We may be devoted to the teachings of the church. We may excel in Christianity as Paul excelled in Judaism. But everything that

“In the Trisagion Prayers, we invoke the Spirit of God who is “present everywhere and fills all things.” Thus, we believe that the Spirit works in all and through all. And so we affirm what Paul declared in Philippians: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). But where and when are we to will and do what God desires? Surely the Spirit is present in times and places other than worship. Surely the Spirit is active in and thro

“Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason? The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest. That is, they select the most reasonable choices among alternatives. Our reading of Proverb 15:7-19 rejects this presupposition. The wise sage of Proverbs writes, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fatted calf with hatred” (vs. 17). This saying suggests that the theory that people make reas

“We are God’s vineyard, charged with bearing fruit and offering “the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Heb 13:15). We are to abide in Him or risk being “cast out as a branch and . . . withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned” (Jn 15:6). Let us give God His due in the time allotted to us. Sin is around us and within us. Its allure deceives us so that we often fail to consider the cons

“Just as Saint Paul calls us to live in purity, he also calls us to be watchful, for those “who are of the day” should live soberly (1 Thessalonians 5:8). In modern times, any talk of sobriety raises the specter of substance abuse, for this widespread health issue affects marriages, destroys productivity and health, and corrupts every aspect of one’s physical, social, and spiritual life. No doubt addiction and drunkenness were as prevalent in first-century Greco-Roman society

“Christianity is based on the willingness of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to live with us and die for us. This is unique to the Christian faith—no other faith teaches that God would do this amazing thing for His creatures, out of completely self-emptying love for them…The exaltation of Jesus as a man depended entirely on His self-emptying humility. True greatness, divine greatness, is the ability to be the least and to the least with the absolute certitude that it is externa

“Just as man's failure to worship God led to his downfall (Romans 1:20–25), so now true worship is the first expression of mankind's renewal.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Romans 12:1) “Our relationship with God is renewed as we respond to His grace through prayer and worship. Our knowledge of the truth of life and our experience of His power, holiness, and love lead us to offer Him praise and thanksgiving. This is a continuous response that originates in our hearts, that is guided

“Critical for every servant of God, given our unavoidable struggle against the passions, is prayerful watchfulness…God endows each person with many gifts. However, instead of being grateful to God for these gifts, he is often not watchful. He claims them as his own, inwardly boasting. Then the cunning devil, the thief that he is, goes and steals the gifts—infects them with his poison, rendering them useless” (Dynamis 10/4/2019, St. Paisios the Athonite) “Without watchfulness

“There are very few people who come to their senses, very few who understand life. We pray with our lips only, and we hurry through our prayers to “get it over with” as soon as possible, and then we lose peace. Fasting and prayer are a means of embellishing our soul and bringing it back to its original state.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “...God’s answers [to prayers] come from God’s perspective. They are not always in harmony with our expectations, for only he knows the wh

“We pray the Lord of Heaven and Earth that He may infuse His Spirit in our world, that we may be sanctified by it.” (Patriarch Ignatius) “The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us; embrace our life with power and love; infuse in us the gift of action; render us strong combatants in the spiritual warfare; and purify our hearts, transforming us continuously into a temple of the living God.” (Rev. Alkiviadis Calivas) “…we are all in need of repentance in order to infuse our hearts wi