Quotes from Anthony M. Coniaris

Father Matta El-Maskeen, a Coptic Orthodox priest, has written, So we receive the power of the resurrection in baptism when we undergo burial in the water, but it remains an invisible and unsubstantiated resurrection power until it is put into effect in earnest spiritual living. It is like the case of a child who is born with the natural ability to stand on his feet and walk, but remains unable to do either before he develops and grows strong.

As surely as God sent us to earth, He has given us a return ticket.

Blessed are those who have eaten from the bread of love which is Jesus. This is the wine that gladdens human hearts. This is the wine which the lustful have drunk and they have become chaste, the sinners and they forgot the ways of unrighteousness, the drunkards and they became fasters, the rich and they became desirous of poverty, the poor and they became rich in hope, the sick and they became courageous, the fools and they became wise. Mystical Treatises, St. Isaac the Syrian, 7th Century

Through the prayers of our holy Fathers, Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon us and save us.

The Orthodox Church, as did the early Christians, does not separate the personal from the communal. We do not confuse "personal" with "individual." Our personal relationship with Jesus is anchored on our communal relationship to the Church as the nurturing and soul-sustaining Body of Christ.

We can consider our church attendance a failure if we do not experience this emotion.

You cannot wait to be in the mood of prayer; you have to use the spur of your Prayer Rule to force yourself to pray," as Sergei Fudel writes in his excellent book Light in the Darkness.[xliii

Someone said once, "If you want to fill a dozen milk bottles, you must not stand back and spray them with a hose. You can get them wet, but you won't fill them. You must take them one by one.

How often people come to us, children to parents, wives to husbands, friends to friends, trying to unload their burdens, and as we sit there listening, our minds and hearts are thousands of miles away. If we were completely present to each other, we would rightfully expect miracles to happen. To be completely present to others is to help them experience the personal love of God.

For too many of us religion has come by inheritance. We have never said to God as Job did, "I had heard of You, Lord, by the hearing of the ear, but now I have seen You." In other words, "Now I have seen You with my own eyes. Now I know you personally." Most of us have become disciples of the disciples of the disciples of someone in the past who had personally experienced God. But it is impossible to transmit real love or commitment this way.

All sin is against love. Our relationship to God is like the intimate relationship of husband and wife. As such, sin is infidelity to love. When we sin, we break not just a commandment; we break God's heart, as the heart of one partner in marriage is broken when the other is unfaithful. Sin is personal unfaithfulness to Christ our Bridgegroom.

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair, "said G.K. Chesterton.

Again, as wine when drunk helps to put an end to our sorrow and brings gladness to the heart, so also the spiritual wine brings joy to the soul. - St. John Chrysostom

The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It's really very simple," she said. "I loved those boys.