SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“God is not just Father of the divine Word, but stepfather to all who are baptized. God is not just a friend in Christ, but the stepbrother of all who are baptized. Through the Spirit and in Christ, persons, children and adults alike, increase in God’s own image, an image that illumines the full meaning and purpose of the offices of child and parent.” (Vigen Guroian) “God is there for us like the parent of an anxious child. Many parents can relate to having to send their kids

“…imagine the serenity and peace of contentment. Contentment is a form of faith. It trusts that the Providence of God will not fail us. From the moments of our conception and birth to our passing from this life to the next, the source of everything we have is God. And if we do not let our desires surpass our needs, we will have enough. We will possess all that is sufficient for the fulfillment of God’s good will for us. Such faith is fundamental to the Gospel of Christ. He pr

“Especially with the media and technology available to us today, it is hard not to become distracted by pointless worry about matters that will never help us become more beautiful icons of Christ. The problems and divisions of the world can easily become obsessions which tempt us to view ourselves as creatures defined merely by our place in it. People who believe that there is no hope, truth, or meaning beyond our present life will understandably obsess about such matters, fo

“Beware of the spirit of despondency, for it gives birth to every evil. A thousand temptations come from it: agitation, rage, blame, complaint against one's fate, profligate thoughts, constant change of place. The soul then avoids people, believing them to be the cause of its trouble, and does not understand that the cause of the illness is within itself.” (St. Seraphim of Sarov) “St. Paul’s last letter was written to the Philippians from prison. He is hopeful that he will be

“In the heart that knows nothing but love, there is no distinction between the love of God and the love of neighbor. The Apostle writes in 1 John that we cannot love God without loving our neighbor (4:20). “Love towards one’s brother cultivates love toward God…The two loves are bound together so tightly that the Apostle teaches that in each of them, love is “perfected,” that is, made complete (1 John 4:12 and 4:16)…” (St. Porphyrios, Fr. Basil) “So, what can we do? Perhaps in

“It is a form of an affliction where we permit ourselves to indulge in thoughts of unfairness, until we become thoroughly miserable and obsessed by it. It is a pattern that destroys the good fruit of the Spirit, especially the fruits of inner joy and peace…we all worry about ourselves too much and that only he who leaves everything to the will of God can feel truly joyous, light, and peaceful…He who lives according to God's will has no worries. When he needs something, he sim

“People who have the sort of mind that sees only one side to every question tend towards vigorous action. They succeed in everything they do because they do not stop to split hairs and have abounding confidence in their own abilities …On the other hand, those with subtle and cultivated minds tend to get lost in a maze of fine distinctions. They always see how complicated things really are, so that their powers of persuasion are nil. That is why the world is led by those who a