SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“The character of Christ, who is the Image according to which we are created, is such that human beings are more fully revealed to be what they are as they draw near to Him (or as He himself draws near to us)… The true self, in addition to being the gift of God—His image within us—is also a dynamic movement toward God, whose fulfillment and beauty are “being revealed.” We can describe this process as eschatological. Who I am has not yet been revealed (1 John 3: 2), but is “hi

“When we are emotionally, physically, and spiritually attacked and exhausted, we are distracted from doing God’s work and our energy is literally being sapped away like a tree that has been “attacked and continually sends nourishment to its wounded parts. Rest assured; we all have places that have been wounded. A memory. An experience. A grief that we are still carrying for a loved one. A dream unpursued and a prayer that we believe to be unanswered. And these weaknesses, the

“…I can tell you that being loved by God, and loving Him in return, is the greatest joy given to creatures, and that without it there is no real and lasting happiness for humanity…Because we are commanded to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and are also commanded to love our neighbor, our fellow human beings, as ourselves, it is proper that we should therefore place a special focus on that one unique person who is both our God and our neighbor: I mean, o

“Every day of your life is a battle and the field of battle is the human heart and mind. This is where the battle takes place on a daily basis. Whether you pay attention or ignore it, whether you apply yourself or you are negligent, you are already at war.” (Fr. James Guirguis) “Choosing a side means not only standing with the army to which you pledge your allegiance but also actively participating in that side’s combat. Civilians in human war may try to stay out of harm’s wa

“The sacred space of God’s presence, once restricted to the Holy of Holies by a thick veil in the temple, can now become a reality for the entire world. At Pentecost, the Shekinah glory previously limited to the sacred space of the temple, and enjoyed by only one nation, descended on the disciples, empowering them to take God’s presence to all peoples. Pentecost is the promise that the entire world will come to have the Edenic quality of the temple.” (Robin Phillips) “The val

“All of life is a search for God and an encounter with Him: in prayer, in repentance, in love, in others.” (Br. Andrei) “Almost everyone has doubts about the faith at one time or another. It’s possible to dispel them, however, with opposing arguments which confirm the truth of the divine revelation regarding the world and humankind: the order and harmony of the universe; the miracle of life; all the other supernatural and magnificent wonders of God and His saints; and, above

“…our concept of human rights would not—and could not—have come into existence without Christianity’s revolution of the concept of the human being….It’s difficult to measure the exact cultural effect of something of this magnitude. But one thing that’s very noticeable is the correlation of the new concept of human dignity with the sudden increase in technological development. Parallel to the weakening and transformation of slavery, Western culture developed an interest in tec

“To continue growing requires watchfulness, or inner attentiveness (nepsis), which is necessary for replacing the vices with virtues. We must know what is happening inside ourselves. Most of us are in a state of inner sleep (hypnos). We think of ourselves as conscious, but the Fathers call it sleep—an unawareness characterized by self-centeredness. What we need is a detached awareness of what’s happening inside in order to be more aware of the promptings of the conscience.” (

“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (Mt. 13:16). This is the blessedness of being able to receive revelation spiritually. Not everyone who listens hears, and not everyone who looks sees. The Lord calls the disciples “blessed” for becoming worthy to know the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom. To know in the Biblical context means not only to perceive some theoretical information, but also to experience and partake of what is Known, graciously

“There is a theme of hiddenness in the teaching of Christ, indeed, across the whole of Scripture. We can see it in the sayings regarding the Kingdom of God in which it is compared to a lost coin or a buried treasure or a pearl of great price. It is something that requires searching out, digging up, or even selling everything in order to have it. The Kingdom of God is something that you don’t know but is worth everything in order to know. To know it, however, we must ask, seek