SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Our fragmentation and disintegration into our private worlds is a contradiction of God’s intention for human well-being. Just as the Trinity is One God in Three Persons, so we are One humanity in a multiplicity of persons. The fullness of our existence is never found within ourselves, but within the mutual indwelling of each in all and all in each.that spiritual things can be understood only by spiritual people, not by the “natural” man, the unspiritual person. Spiritual thi

“The whole of the Law and the Prophets can be summarized in the commandment to love God and neighbor (Mt. 22:40). God descends from Heaven and identifies Himself with our neighbor. He calls Himself “prisoner,” “sick,” “stranger,” “hungry,” and “naked,” and says that whenever we visit a prisoner, a sick person, a beggar, we visit Him (Mt. 25:35–40). In our neighbor, we find either salvation or perdition. That’s why encountering our neighbor—that is, the challenges that come fr

“…this is how the path of religious life begins. As the holy fathers write, the soul passes through three stages: slave, hireling, and son. The stage of the slave—a person does not yet love God, but fears hell. He keeps the commandments because he has been horrified by the description of fiery gehenna. This is faith expressing the religious instinct of self-preservation. The stage of the hireling—a person already hopes for reward. He fasts in order to receive the Kingdom of H

“…we are content to say that God has no place in our lives. We think we want to be left alone to figure it out for ourselves. We have all seen how well this is working out!...Devotion to God’s will is the peaceful and restful haven in all temptations and sorrows, while reliance on one’s own powers is destructive.” (Reverend Christopher T. Metropulos, D. Min, St. Ignatius Brianchaninov) “The spiritual disease of the last times is the weakening of our will and determination. It

“Two gifts that God has given to man for the good of himself and others and which he should multiply are conscience and faith. The...

“The worst conclusion to draw is the notion of a “sin nature” (a horrible theological error). A “nature” (by definition) is “what a thing...

“When we assume…that our well-being depends on ourselves or our circumstances rather than on God, then we become constantly vigilant to...

“…the spirit of Christianity is a spirit of perfection. "Be ye perfect, as your Father in Heaven is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) This does...

“…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...

“Enlightenment from God in itself is beyond all words, and even beyond evaluation by other men (1 Cor 2:15). Nevertheless, the Holy...