SACRAMENTAL LIVING

“God is not an idea, something that we think about, that we discuss or read about, but a Person with Whom we come into living and personal communion. It is something we live, and somebody from Whom we receive experience. Then we see what a great, unspeakable and inexpressible joy it is to have Christ within us.” (Archimandrite George) “Christ did not come to bring us a philosophy from God. He did not provide us with mere proverbs or good advice. He came to reveal God the Fath

“God is not an idea, something that we think about, that we discuss or read about, but a Person with Whom we come into living and personal communion. It is something we live, and somebody from Whom we receive experience. Then we see what a great, unspeakable and inexpressible joy it is to have Christ within us.” (Archimandrite George) “Christ did not come to bring us a philosophy from God. He did not provide us with mere proverbs or good advice. He came to reveal God the Fath

“…in Christ all of life becomes both a doxology and a theophany. We see God enthroned everywhere, in every creature, leaf and blade of grass, and yet understand that somehow in his humility He also asks for our kind welcome and care. And so we praise God by conveying the mercy we receive from him to all of the creation around us. Creation remains creation, but it now functions as an icon of Christ in his twofold anointing as both resurrected king and sacrificial victim. The w

“Our culture is deeply transactional…We buy and sell and give rewards to the deserving. We proudly declare, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch.” For many, there is a deep-seated satisfaction with what they “earn.”…when the “undeserving” are rewarded, segments of the culture fall into deep dudgeon. Perhaps this is a proper way to structure an economy (perhaps not). It is clearly not a blueprint of the Kingdom of God nor the path towards likeness to God. The words of Christ

“Saint Maximos [the Confessor], as we just said, uses the term logos, with a small “l,” for each thing’s specific and particular share of the self-offering of the Logos. By this, the saint indicates that the identity of each thing that exists is a dimension or facet of the “big L” Logos, Christ Himself. Let us repeat, these logoi are not “things” themselves but the particular love with which Christ condescends to each created thing, so that each bit of creation will see in Ch

“When we are preoccupied, we cannot see things clearly. We misjudge people and situations. We miss out on opportunities to grow closer or to guide people closer to God. Preoccupation means that our heart is not open and our intellect is full of ‘wise’ rubbish.” (Bishop Emilianos) “God’s mercies are “new to us every morning” (OSB Lamentations 3:24). So is His call to discipleship. The Lord said, “Sufficient for the day is its own trouble” (OSB Matthew 6:34). As we should not w

“…when you have new experiences, you never know what good will come out of them. You never know what you might be able to learn, how you might be able to grow. And, most importantly, you never know how your experiences will enable you to help others later on.” (Robin Phillips) “You never know where life will take you…When a day starts you never know how it’s going to end. That’s why I love that morning prayer, “Teach me to treat all that comes to me throughout the day with pe

“Why is hospitality incumbent on every Christian? Hospitality flows to us from our provident Creator, who daily sustains us all. These gifts are to be shared with others, as He so richly shares with us.” (Dynamis 10/16/2020) “Because of his hospitality and piety, Lot was saved from Sodom (Genesis 19) when all the country round was judged with fire and brimstone, when the master made it clear that he does not abandon those who set their hope on him but delivers to punishment a

“Gratitude is strongest in times of want and weakest at times of abundance. This is one of life's greatest ironies…by sharing the little we have with guests, we find that God blesses us with the paradox of abundance amidst poverty…Listen to the stories of people who went through hard times, such as those who lived through the Great Depression or the years of World War II. Certainly there were horrible and frightful moments of terror that elicit pain. But enduring through thos

“…when you have fear and uncertainty and you want to calculate, define, and control everything, then you’re not living in reality. You become a neurotic and cowardly person. Remember the Parable of the Talents. The man who hid his talent, who hid his charisma, hid from life—he was afraid to live. What do we do? We fear living. We’re afraid to be. We’re afraid of everything. And so, we don’t live, we don’t exist. This fear of not losing anything will not give you a peaceful li