SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“Creation has a sacramental purpose: it reveals God….the…rejection of sacramentalism is the beginning of naturalism, or it at least opens the door to its possibility. It is also the beginning of a certain evacuation of the sacred as a presence in the world.” (Father Stephen Freeman, James K.A. Smith) “In the modern world, we have largely lost this sacramental way of looking at things. One of the reasons so many people become victims of disordered pleasures, such as drugs, imm

“Creation has a sacramental purpose: it reveals God….the…rejection of sacramentalism is the beginning of naturalism, or it at least opens the door to its possibility. It is also the beginning of a certain evacuation of the sacred as a presence in the world.” (Father Stephen Freeman, James K.A. Smith) “In the modern world, we have largely lost this sacramental way of looking at things. One of the reasons so many people become victims of disordered pleasures, such as drugs, imm

“The genealogy [Luke 3:23-38] follows Joseph's ancestry, even though Jesus was only supposed to be the son of Joseph but was in fact humanly descended from Mary only. This is explained in two complementary ways: (1) Joseph was a righteous man and would have married within his tribe—thus Mary and Joseph would have largely shared a common lineage; (2) Jesus was born to bring all mankind into adoption by the Father, and thus He affirms that a lineage of adoption is as binding an

“The ethic of Limitless Love demands that we should be able to recognize the presence of God in the very sin that the sinner commits…You must not think I mean that God approves of the sin or encourages the sinner. I simply mean that even in an act of sin God is, to a certain extent, present…Everything that happens—the bad act as well as the good—has its roots in the being of God. Only because God gives us our being (or rather lends it to us) are we in existence at the very mo

“Throughout the Holy Scriptures, beginning in the Old Testament, the God who created the universe and everything in it, who created we human beings to dwell therein and with whom to share His Life, expresses and reveals to us His character.” (Father Stephen De Young) “Boundaries (and, thus, love) requires that we endure healthy shame – for this is the emotional experience that comes with boundaries. The virtue of enduring such healthy shame is known as humility. Love is impos

“Having come to his own country, [Jesus] is not so intent upon miracles. He does not want to inflame them into further envy or to condemn them more grievously by the aggravation of their unbelief. Yet he presents his teaching, which possesses no less wonder than his miracles.” (St. John Chrysostom) “There is such power in the body and blood of Christ communicated to us in the eating and drinking of His gifts (Jn 6:54–56) that to do so in willful disregard of the Lord could re

Quotes of the Day for July 23, 2021 – Thoughts on challenging our understanding of true morality “The basic sense of the word “holy” is “set apart from that which is commonplace, special, unique.” The Lord’s holiness is first and foremost his transcendent sovereignty as the ruler of the world. He is “set apart” from the world over which He rules. At the same time His holiness encompasses His moral authority, which derives from His royal position. As King He has the right to d

“Christians fail in evangelism when they first proclaim all kinds of moral laws and regulations which they want to impose on others to change their behavior. Rather, the biblical way is to experience salvation first and only then to begin answering the questions about what the resurrection means for our daily lives.” (Fr. Ted Bobosh) “If the everyday witness of the laity is hesitant, it will not attract anyone to faith in Christ. If we restrain ourselves from speaking about t

“Indeed, Peter and John place no faith in their own abilities [Acts 3:1-8]. They trust wholly in Christ’s authority. They give what they know: the compassion of Jesus. They trust in Him that everyone should be healed and brought to the knowledge of the living God. They expect Christ, their Risen Lord, to act. Full of faith, they take the lame man by the hand and lift him up (Acts 3:7). To all who come attentively to the Church, the Lord extends His hand for our healing.” (Dyn

“This unified witness of the apostles, in the original Greek, is called homothymodon: “with one accord,” “constantly together,” “with one heart” (Acts 1:14) according to the translation. This word, whose Greek root means “soul,” implies shared experience. This very “soul” is retained by the Church today as “apostolic,” a continuation of the apostles’ witness.” (Dynamis 5/3/2021) “So then what unites the individuals who make up the whole church? In verse 27 [Philippians 1:27],