SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“As they say, it’s easy to love all of mankind, but it’s very difficult to love a particular man with all his flaws and weaknesses. When the Lord was asked: Which is the great commandment in the Law? He responded: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Mt. 22:37–39).” (Archpriest Pavel Gumerov) “In our eve

“Do we refuse to forgive? God, too, will refuse to forgive us. As we treat our neighbors, so also does God treat us. The forgiveness or unforgiveness of your sins, then, and hence also your salvation or destruction, depend on you yourself. For without forgiveness of sins there is no salvation. You can see for yourself how serious it is…Our Lord Jesus gives us the teaching regarding forgiveness. He tells us that forgiveness is an integral part of the kingdom of heaven, and the

“If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple (Lk 14.26). This is the extreme and terrifying warning against all passionate attachments stronger and more powerful than one’s passionate attachment to Christ alone. And the greatest passion of all which keeps one from the love of God and the love of one’s neighbor is the sinful passion for oneself. Sinful sel

“…love for a person does not at all mean blindness and thoughtlessness; it does not at all mean some sort of self-deception. The loving person sees the inadequacies, vices, and weaknesses of another, but above all this observation stands another, higher knowledge—namely: that a human being is something immeasurably greater than the sum total of his vices, sins, and inadequacies. Every human being is a child of God, who unconditionally deserves love. And all the darkness that

“For in a very real sense no general ‘man’ – be he American or any other – no ‘society’, no ‘culture’ has at any time truly accepted...

“If a man were to see himself in a mirror in a fit of anger, of rage, he’d be horrified and wouldn’t recognize himself with such a...

“There is no doubt that people will act in their own self-interest. It is inherent in sin…Sooner or later, every disciple of the Lord...

“Once, a very spiritual professor…was asked: “Who was the greatest teacher in your life?” He replied: “My mistakes.” His mistakes were...

“Grace is a gift that is given to a person. And gratitude is his answer to a gift. The Lord gave man the whole world—in fact, the world...

“There is a movement to our grief—a progression that leads to a conclusion. That conclusion is a place of acceptance and peace—acceptance...