SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“…let’s take a look into the mysterious depths of human existence. The whole tragedy of our fallen world is rooted in one source—our “I,” in which we have since childhood habitually locked up everything, turning our soul into an impenetrable fortress. But authentic Christianity begins at the place where a person makes a great existential breakthrough; where he overcomes the pull of his egocentrism and turns to meet God. At this crosspoint of the vertical of the soul reaching

“….The physician Luke wrote it in order that the reader might find health for his soul. Note also that he says, “all that Jesus began to do and teach,” first “do” and then “teach,” because Jesus, establishing the pattern of a good teacher, taught nothing except those things which He did.” (St. Bede) “Teachers in the Church, whether pastors, Sunday school teachers or youth leaders, must teach by example, not simply by rote or by command. Teachers in the Church themselves must

“When we come to realize the numerous mistakes that we have made and our shortcomings, we should start reforming the way we untangle tangled threads, for instance. It is useless to fiddle about with a bundle of tangled threads—nothing will come of it. We should take one thread, find the tip, start pulling it out, and so the whole ball will gradually unravel. That is why prudence, graduality, and patience are required in spiritual life.” (Priest Anthony Borisov) “Maturation in

“Why does adherence to traditions—even the most ancient and beautiful ones—not automatically make a person a believer? And where is the very line that marks the point at which a ritual ceases to be a bridge to God and turns into a façade concealing emptiness, or, even worse, a complete mismatch between life and the ideals that are professed? To begin with, any religion—and Christianity is no exception—has two components: form and content. The form consists precisely of tradit

“The enemy of mankind tries in every way to trouble our consciousness and our lives, ultimately to suffocate our souls with pride and malice. We, as Christians, must understand this and wage spiritual warfare, armed with sobriety, prayer, fasting, humility, meekness, and love for Christ.” (Priest Tarasiy Borozenets) “We have to learn, figuratively speaking, to rise above the clouds. When a plane rises above the clouds, it enters a field of sunlight, where everything is so bea

“…salvation is not merely an escape from sin and death. It is that, to be sure. But it is also so much more than that — which is why some of the Holy Fathers teach that Christ would still have become incarnate even if the Fall of Man had never occurred. It is one thing (and an indisputably needful thing!) to put our passions to death…even some of the pagan philosophers put us Christians to shame by their virtue and asceticism — yet these things by no means acquired for them t

“Time is both the most familiar and the most mysterious gift that we receive at birth. We cannot see it, hold it in our hands, stop it, or turn it back. Yet it is time that measures our lives: through childhood and old age, waiting and meeting, work and rest, prayer and distraction, hope and memory. Every one of us has money, health, energy, knowledge, and… time. Yet this strange resource is the only one that cannot be stored up for later, saved for a rainy day, borrowed from

“One of the clear differences between St. John Chrysostom (and the Eastern Christian tradition) and St. Augustine (and the Western Christian tradition) is that Chrysostom does not see death as a punishment for evil as Augustine did. St. John notes death is part of nature – animals and plants die and they haven’t sinned. So death was in nature before humans sinned. Death is spread throughout the human population, not just because Adam sinned (the idea of original sin is an Aug

“How can I learn God’s will? That is, how can I penetrate into the mind of God, into what God is thinking? This is horrible! It is impermissible to even phrase the question like this! The question should be: How can I fulfill God’s will? How can I keep from being an opponent of God’s will in my life or in one or another move?...you should act according to that mind, but sincerely; and according to that conscience, but sincerely. Act sincerely—this will be your fulfillment of

“QUESTION: What is the most important thing in one’s spiritual life? ANSWER: To guard the peace in our hearts. Do not let this peace be disturbed at any cost. Peace should reign in our hearts—peace and silence.” (Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica) “Worldly wisdom says to “follow your heart”, while biblical wisdom says to “guard your heart.” Be very aware of what images, thoughts, or emotions you allow to enter into your heart. Govern the heart because it is swayed by emotions, thou