SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The standard of judgment is uncalculated mercy toward others. The works produced by faith are emphasized, for saving faith always produces righteous works. What we do reflects our true inner state…To see Christ in everyone is the fulfillment of the great commandment to love your neighbor as yourself.” (Orthodox Study Bible, Matthew 25:31-46, Matthew 25:40) “True participation lies at the heart of all worship and much else in our lives. A marriage, at its best, is a participa

“In the original Greek, the word for “conscience” has the root of self-knowledge…The conscience is the witness that compares one’s conduct with the sense of right and wrong. Paul instructs that church leaders have a “good conscience” that does not harbor feelings of guilt or offense against God. A “good conscience” comes from living “honorably”…For example, in 1 Peter, the Apostle teaches that all believers must be ready to witness to their hope. But to give their testimony t

“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 spirit of Christianity is a spirit of perfection. "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) This does not mean that a Christian considers himself to be perfect or at least "close to perfection" in essence—contrary to all sobriety and humility. No, rather this means that a Christian has before his spiritual gaze the perfection of the divine, and he measures all earthly actions and circumstances by that standard…every perfection begins with the

“…most of the thoughts which torment us from the inside are not ours at all, but come from the demons, that every one of us has the God-given power and freedom to refuse such thoughts, and that our lives depend on the quality of the thoughts we nurture in our minds and hearts…A person who is entrapped in the vicious cycle of chaotic thoughts, in the atmosphere of hades, or has only so much as touched it, feels the torments of hell. For example, we read the newspapers or take

“Enlightenment from God in itself is beyond all words, and even beyond evaluation by other men (1 Cor 2:15). Nevertheless, the Holy Spirit speaks through spiritual people words that truly reflect the unspeakable knowledge of faith…In the measure that we pay attention and take care to carry out what we hear, God will always enlighten and make us understand His will.” (Orthodox Study Bible, 1 Corinthians 2:12-15, St. Dorotheos of Gaza) “The term postmodern culture is used in ma

“One must force himself to prayer when he has not spiritual prayer; and thus God, beholding him thus striving and compelling himself by force, in spite of an unwilling heart, gives him the true prayer of the Spirit.” (St. Macarius the Great) “When we continually force ourselves to bless and pray for others, …we will find that our Lord Jesus Christ will change, renew, and refresh our hearts. It may take some time and persistence, but gradually, almost imperceptibly, we will be

““Sin works in the soul and heart, but most terribly in the mind (Romans 1:28) or nous, which is the center or eye of the heart according to the Church Fathers. Sin corrupts and distorts the governing of our being at the very core so that our inward faculties become deranged. If we allow sin to rage freely, we risk become fully debased. As this inward struggle unfolds, it leads us to physical acts of the flesh. Sin always begins inside us, within our interior life; only secon

“Do not say, ‘This happened by chance, while this came to be of itself.' In all that exists there is nothing disorderly, nothing indefinite, nothing without purpose, nothing by chance." (St. Basil the Great) "There are no random encounters: either God sends us the person we need, or we are being sent to someone by God unbeknownst, to us." (Father Alexander Elchaninov) "If anyone truly desires to do the will of God with all their heart, God will never abandon them but will con