SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Today we continue to celebrate the most fundamental and joyful proclamation of our faith: Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing life! He is our Pascha, our Passover, from death to life, for Hades and the grave could not contain the God-Man Who shares with us His victory over corruption and decay in all their forms. In a world enslaved to the fear of the grave, He has illumined even the dark night of the tomb with

“Know thyself” is one of the greatest Greek maxims. But today, almost no thought or effort is applied to genuine, deep self-knowledge. Rather, we are self-absorbed and often seek affirmation from the world to feed our pride. The emphasis in our culture is on feeling important or presenting an appealing image of oneself…Christian enlightenment…consists in sincere faith in Christ, in self-knowledge, in sincere repentance and separation from evil, and in the constant pursuit of

“There are two kinds of fear: one initial, and the other perfect… For example, he who fulfills the will of God out of fear of punishment is still a beginner, for he does not yet do good for the sake of goodness itself, but out of fear of punishment. But he who fulfills the will of God out of love for Him, loving Him simply in order to please Him—this one knows what true good is; he has understood what it means to be with God. Such a person fears God and fulfills His will no l

“Christ is the New Adam. He comes to repair the damage inflicted on life by Adam, to restore man to true life, and thus he also begins with fasting. ‘When he had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he became hungry’ (Matthew 4:2). Hunger is that state in which we realize our dependence on something else – when we urgently and essentially need food – showing thus that we have no life in ourselves.” (Fr. Alexander Schmemann) “To understand fasting as simply abstaining from meat and d

“….a child at play is a child engaging in ritual activities. Rituals have rules, meaning, purpose, even repetition. It is not childish – it is merely human…Those who utter phrases such as “empty ritual” (something I’ve heard all my life) forget that it is God who first gave ritual to the people of Israel. This primary story about the faith runs counter to modern intuitions. For we presume that real things and true things are in the mind. It is thought and sentiment that we co

“Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one (Col. 4:6), teaches the Apostle Paul. Speech is our main means of communication, and it is precisely speech that can build up or destroy, bring light or utter darkness. The Apostle Paul is speaking about everyday speech—the words we use in all of life’s ordinary situations. Even the simplest words we say on the phone, in a shop, or type in comments should be filled wi

“… ‘The night is far spent, the day is at hand’ (Rom 13:12). Night is the time of darkness, when most crimes are committed. Night is also the sinful state of the soul that does not want to know God and does not strive for salvation. Predators hunt at night, and the enemy of mankind works in darkness, “like a lion roaring after its prey, seeking whom he might destroy.” I am the light of the world, says the Lord. He chases away the darkness of night, and grants people the Light

“The Christians who worshipped in that original roofless shrine could look up into the sky, in their imaginations following Christ as He ascended from earth to heaven. There is always something inspiring and uplifting about looking up. The sky is one of the many miracles surrounding us, whether we see it filled with clouds or with stars. Sorrow makes our heads hang down and look towards the earth, while joy lifts up our heads.” (Fr. Lawrence Farley) “Christian hope is the con

“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

“You can know life only through life itself. In other words, the practical application of the Scriptures builds up our relationship with God. We learn from the Bible about Christian life and find the basis for deep faith, because, So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God (Rom. 10:17).” (Priest Anthony Rusakevich) “St. John of Damascus’s remark: Let us draw from the fountain of this garden [the Scriptures] perennial and purest waters springing into life