SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Following Christ is not without risk and when we imagine that life in this world can be Paradise, we are deceiving ourselves or even falling into a delusion which has inspired many ideologues and demagogues to wrongfully believe they can create a paradise on earth. We are better prepared for life when we realize this world is still the way of the cross and not yet the Kingdom.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “We must also remain on guard against the various forms of idolatry that tempt us

“We go to Church to set our hearts on fire with love for God and the world. We go to Church because there are so many things to care about and for which we offer prayer to the merciful God. We are to awake from our slumber so we can follow the Lord with diligence and vigilance.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “Although some early Christians failed the test of faith, the names of steadfast disciples such as Timothy, Luke, Mark, Priscilla, Aquila, and Onesiphorus, are well known to readers o

“These benefits of prayer led the Fathers to teach monologia, or “singleness of thought.” The Jesus Prayer [Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on a sinner] is the best-known form of monologia. Regular use of the simple Jesus prayer reveals our scattered spiritual condition. But if we persist in the struggle to pray, we discover that “what is obtained by frequent and prolonged prayer is lasting”…What do we obtain from constant prayer? First of all, it leads to singlenes

“What lies hidden in the designs of God I confess I do not know—I am only a man—but this I know with full certainty, that, whatever it is, it is more just, more wise, and more solidly based on incomparable perfection than all the judgments of people….God’s will is determined by His wisdom which always perceives, and His goodness which always embraces, the intrinsically good.” (St. Augustine, C.S. Lewis) “The story of Isaac blessing his son Jacob illustrates the intense meanin

“…the Church is justified as being greater than the Law, for the Law does not know the forgiveness of sins, nor the mystery in which secret sins are cleansed; therefore, what is lacking in the Law is perfected in the Gospel…Who could declare things that were above the Law, except the One who ordained the Law?” (St. Ambrose of Milan, St. Cyril of Alexandria) “Blame cannot be placed with God for our failure to understand. Even in our legal tradition, the principle of ignorantia

“[The] exodus of Jesus into the wilderness following His baptism has a dual symbolism: (1) it fulfills the OT type, in which Israel journeyed in the wilderness for forty years after its “baptism” in the Red Sea; and (2) it prefigures our own journey through the fallen world after baptism as we struggle towards the Kingdom.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Luke 4:1) “For Christians, pursuing Christ’s Kingdom within – the struggle for purity – must cover every aspect of our life…” (OCPM

“[The] Church has a symbolic understanding of the world where everything is seen as a symbol of the action of God in the world and where the very existence of the universe is wholly dependent on, indeed is a function of, its relationship to God.” (Archpriest Lawrence Cross) “The whole spiritual world seems mystically imprinted on the whole sensible world in symbolic forms, for those who are capable of seeing this.” (St. Maximus the Confessor) “The strange, the extraordinary,