SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Sometimes the only and best way to enter into the cell of your soul is to disconnect from the outside world and simply immerse yourself in silence. It’s precisely in silence that we’re able to hear the voice of God. It may seem scary at first; the silence may frighten and irritate us, since we’re so accustomed to noise, music, conversations. But it’s only in silence that you can sense God and the peace of Christ. But the inner silence that we acquire through prayers and sobr

“…the Lord calls people to Himself in many different ways. Even a path of protest, mistakes, and wandering, if it is sincere, can lead to Christ…the Church does not reject anyone who sincerely seeks salvation. There is no sin or spiritual blindness that the Lord cannot lead a person out of, if they truly want to come to Him. But it is also a warning: a “comfortable God” is not God, “freedom without obedience” is not freedom, and “love without the cross” is not love. Only thos

“Today the words of the Apostle of love, John the Theologian, knock at our hearts—words that sound like a sword cutting in two all the complexity of our being: He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. (3 John 1:11). In these simple words lies the entire optics of the Christian life. We often confuse goodness with natural gentleness, good manners, or merely a fleeting emotional impulse. But the Apostle speaks of something else. Goodness is not a chara

“Many people mistakenly believe that faith is the absence of doubt. In reality, faith is the ability to move forward despite doubts. The Apostle Thomas did not reject faith; he just required personal confirmation to strengthen it—he needed a personal meeting with Christ. His doubts did not make him weak; on the contrary, they helped him come to a deeper understanding. And Christ did not condemn St. Thomas for this—He gave him what he needed. Similarly, everybody should experi

“Christians must embody the struggle for holiness in every dimension of their lives and support one another as they pursue the difficult journey to the life of the Kingdom….each of our lives should be seen as a quest or a pilgrimage, which can only be understood in terms of a narrative. Our life-journey is a life-story.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters, Joseph Pearce) “Life in Christ is thus not a journey that happens with angels and demons on the periphery. Rather, it means that He re

“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

Quotes of the Day for November 14, 2025 – Thoughts on unity and division “Without unity, there can be no diversity (for on what common basis could we then establish difference itself?) while without diversity, there can be no unity (for what would then be left to be unified?)…Unity is good because the Church is One (as is affirmed in the Creed). But it is not good because it is “useful.” Indeed, I suspect that God has allowed our disunity for His own purposes – including savi

“He [Gadarene Demoniac – Luke 16:19-31] is an icon of our brokenness and represents us all in many ways. He did not ask Christ to deliver...

“It is of note to me that there is a great darkness associated with God in some presentations of the Christian faith, enough to drive...

“…in the sacraments, we are not asking God to make something to be other than it is but to reveal it to be what it truly is…A problem...