SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The Scriptures are not a manual on how to live a moral life or how to organize the Church as an institution. The Scriptures are the means by which we come to know the Risen Christ, always through the working of the Holy Spirit…A Christian does not come to read the Scriptures alone and isolated, left to his or her own devices to try to come to the right conclusions that will allow him or her to do what is needed to find salvation. A Christian comes to the Scriptures with the

“Perhaps the most salient aspect of the sacramental life is something that has almost been forgotten within contemporary Christianity: noetic experience. The fact that I will now be required to explain the very meaning of noetic experience for my readers makes my point. In the writings of the Church fathers, it is assumed that this is the true character of the saving knowledge of God. “Noetic” refers to that knowledge that is acquired by the “nous,” an aspect of the soul that

“Another reason for the dullness of mind is the over-familiarity that breeds complacency. It is possible to go from one Christmas to the next without growing in our understanding of the incarnation of the Son of God. In that case, our mind is like a knife that keeps cutting the same thing until it loses its edge. The remedy for this loss of sharpness is not a novelty. Rather, we should pay more attention to what is sung, prayed, and proclaimed and probe more deeply into its m

“For the glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God. For if the manifestation of God which is made by means of the creation, affords life to all living in the earth, much more does that revelation of the Father which comes through the Word, give life to those who see God.” (St. Irenaeus) “Giving glory to God is an interesting concept for it implies that we humans have glory to give to God! St. Irenaeus said, “The glory of God is man fully aliv

“The sacrificial system of the Old Testament is not the slaughter of innocent creatures in order to appease the wrath of an angry god with their blood. It is the means of the purification of sin, which allows human persons to draw close to God once again and share a sacred meal of communion…the death of Christ is not the ultimate example of God avenging His justice through punishing His Son. Rather, it is the Son offering Himself up to be eaten as food by the faithful to puri

“The work of God is the fashioning of the human being…this work is announced in Genesis, completed on the Cross, and continued in ourselves as we take up the Cross.” (Fr. John Behr) “When Christ said “It is finished” (Jn 19.30), He is not simply declaring that His earthly life has come to an end, but that rather the work of God is now “fulfilled” or “completed.” The divine economy, that is, the whole plan of creation and salvation, told from this perspective, culminates at th

“Obedience is the mark of a relationship with Christ that truly knows Him. We can say we love him, but love is unseen. The evidence of our love is our obedience. Thus, the Lord said, “If you love me keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We do not know Christ because we obey His commands. Our motivation for following Christ’s instructions is our love for Him. But the apostle reassures us that our observance of the Lord’s teachings confirms that we “know Christ.” We discover in t

“While the rich man was probably being sincere when he insisted I have wholeheartedly obeyed all these laws [Mark 10:20], he had confined his righteousness to external obedience. The rich man’s response to Jesus’ command to give away all he had revealed that internally he loved money more than God.” (NET Bible, Mark 10:20) “Obedience is good but true obedience to God is evidenced by how we are obedient. It is easy to be unconsciously legalistic and think we are being obedient

“If in the things of this life no one can gain a great profit if he should conduct them in and indifferent and chance way, much more will this be the case in spiritual things, since they require greater attention. Therefore, Christ, when He referred the Jews to the Scriptures [John 5:39], sent them not to a mere reading, but careful and observant search, for He said not; “Keep on reading the Scriptures, but keep on searching.” (St. John Chrysostom) “The term "religion" has b

“Acts 17:28 reads “for in Him we live and move and have our being.” Romans 11:36 reads, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.” Christ reminded the Pharisees in Matthew 12:6 that He is greater than the temple. The first martyr Stephen (Acts 6-8) died because he dared to challenge the religious leaders on this point that God is not contained solely in the temple. God cannot be contained anywhere. God can only be expressed and experienc