SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“None of us can entirely separate ourselves from who we are. Our culture, education, family, nation, and religious background affect the way we view the world. We all accept as true many common presumptions of our era and culture. They are so deeply ingrained that we do not recognize them as cultural presumptions that may in fact not be true.” (Dr. Eugenia Scarvelis Constantinou) “There is a model of what it means to be human that is simply wrong, regardless of its elements o

“…secularity is the negation, the evacuation from life, of the experience of the world as sacred reality, as “participant” in divine reality and “participated in” by the divine.” (Vigen Guroian) “Though the secular world denies all invisible spiritual forces, the Scriptures testify to their existence, pervasiveness, and impact on the world.” (Fr. Basil) “It is very simplistic to say that emergencies make people pay more attention to God and reawaken religious feelings. We mig

“Our spiritual struggle is not only a choice between good and evil, but between God and self (or self-centeredness). The choice is between godly love and self-love…self-love is the ruination of marriage and family.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh, Vigen Guroian) “A double-minded man is one whose devotion to God is less than total. His attention is divided between God and other things, and as a consequence he is unstable and therefore unable to receive from God…Double-mindedness (James 1:8)

“In child development, there is something called Object Permanency. It is the child’s ability to grasp that even though they cannot see an object (such as a parent), they still exist. Until this ability is mastered, if the child cannot see their parent, then they don’t exist and the child goes into distress. However, this milestone is achieved as they grow and they become secure in the fact that even though they cannot see a parent, they still exist and are there for them. In

“Faith is not a matter of “belief,” an act of intellectual willing. Faith is a perception of things that do not necessarily appear obvious. In the language of Scripture – “faith is the evidence of things not seen.” But the perception of faith is similar to the perception of objects beneath the surface of a lake. If the surface is disturbed, the objects disappear. The objects do not go away – but we can no longer perceive them. In a world of manifold complication – the surface

“Following Christ is not without risk and when we imagine that life in this world can be Paradise, we are deceiving ourselves or even falling into a delusion which has inspired many ideologues and demagogues to wrongfully believe they can create a paradise on earth. We are better prepared for life when we realize this world is still the way of the cross and not yet the Kingdom.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “We must also remain on guard against the various forms of idolatry that tempt us

“For this is the way God loved the world: He have His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Although this word is often translated “only begotten,” such a translation is misleading, since in English it appears to express a metaphysical relationship. The word in Greek was used …of something unique (only one of its kind) such as the mythological Phoenix (1 Clement 25:2). From here it passes easily to a descrip

“Effective witness requires that we first learn to rely on the Spirit to help us….You can’t witness effectively by relying on your own strength, because fear will keep you from speaking out for God. Only by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit can you live and witness for Him.” (Foundation Study Bible, Acts 1:8, Life Application Study Bible, Micah 3:8) “Let us take heed about this: what we are called to is not simply preaching in the sense of communicating some information

“Conquest is an evil productive of almost every other evil both to those who commit and to those who suffer it.” (C.S. Lewis) “The Lord and the apostle [James] teach that peace starts with the human heart. This is true even for our rulers. In the Liturgy of St. Basil we pray “Remember…all civil authorities, grant them a secure and lasting peace; speak good things in their hearts concerning Thy Church and all Thy people, that we, in their tranquility may lead a calm and peacef

“All of life’s choices have consequences, consequences for ourselves and consequences for the world around us. And when we fall into the extreme passions of sins, these consequences can be very painful and destructive, both to ourselves and to others.” (Fr. Michael Gillis) “Are the choices that people make in their lives based on reason? The “Rational Choice Theory” claims that people choose the options they believe are in their best interest. That is, they select the most re