SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The word of the day is “freedom.” What do people have in mind when they seek freedom? They seek release from whatever controls or threatens to restrain them. And yet, in the name of freedom, many let themselves be dominated by all sorts of indulgences: the pursuit of fame, wealth, adventure, comfort, lust, and power…St. Philaret of Moscow spoke about the person who thinks freedom means the ability to do whatever he wants. He writes, “But such a man uses external freedom only

“Conquest is an evil productive of almost every other evil both to those who commit and to those who suffer it.” (C.S. Lewis) “The Lord and the apostle [James] teach that peace starts with the human heart. This is true even for our rulers. In the Liturgy of St. Basil we pray “Remember…all civil authorities, grant them a secure and lasting peace; speak good things in their hearts concerning Thy Church and all Thy people, that we, in their tranquility may lead a calm and peacef

“The word “contentment” combines two Greek words that together mean “self-sufficiency”... It refers to a state where nothing else is needed. Paul teaches this attitude when he says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work” (2 Cor. 9:8).”…One of the ironies of our age is that gratitude is “in” right now, yet contentment seems to be in short supply. The self-help sections of

“For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? (1 Thessalonians 2:19). In the above quote, St Paul points us in an interesting direction as the source of our hope and joy. He points us not to Christ who is coming again to the world at the end of time. Rather, He is looking at his fellow Christians in the Thessalonian parish: YOU are our hope and joy and crown of our rejoicing. We may readily bel

“…even if we have spent time pursuing our deepest desires through the means that were not set up by God, even if we have become addicted by them, we can also repent and turn to Him in faithfulness. It is not wrong to do the things necessary for survival and even flourishing here on earth, but if we put our trust in those things to satiate the hunger for eternity that God has planted deep within us, then we will find ourselves in slavery to those pursuits. There is never enoug

“We put a lot of time and effort into achieving balance in our lives. What do we mean by balance? Is our notion of what balance is for our lives the same as someone else’s notion of what balance is for theirs? What does a life lived in balance look like for a Christian, or perhaps better phrased, what should it look like? Our quest for balance can actually become an obstacle to our faith if we consider God, prayer, and worship one of many things to balance on a given day. If

“In theory, our modern culture believes that relationships with other people are merely psychological phenomena – they are all in our head. There is occasional research to try and establish some notion of extra-psychological relationship (such as ESP), but even that is largely an extension of psychology. But there is an entire realm of human experience that such a belief ignores. And it is an experience that lies at the very heart of classical Christianity. This experience is

“Redemption has a technical meaning relative to the freeing of slaves. Here, the bondage is to sins; the act of releasing is forgiveness; the price of redemption is blood—the human life of Christ given over to death for the sake of new life. This beginning of life in Christ is not merely legal, nor instantaneous, but living and dynamic.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Ephesians 1:7-8) “Forgiveness of sins follows redemption, for there would be no forgiveness of sin for anyone before

“ ‘Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division. For from now on five in one house will be divided: three against two, and two against three. Father will be divided against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’ (Luke 12:51-53). “There are two kinds of peace. False peace…is a shallow harmony that r

“Christ accepts death on the Cross neither to receive the Father's punishment on our behalf, nor to satisfy the Father's need for blood-justice (as if God would demand such things), but so that by entering death as the divine Son of God, He can destroy this last enemy, which is death itself." (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 27:50) “Christ, crucified and risen, is our Paschal lamb, our Passover. United to Him in baptism, our life becomes an unending deliverance from evil…Evil i