Light of the East

Last Sunday marked the 22nd anniversary of our first Liturgy in our new church of Annunciation in our new location. So. we will do a little boasting, but as St. Paul says, "in the Lord.

Two often asked questions today are: Can the Pope mandate things for the Eastern Catholic Liturgies? And How are Eastern Catholic Churches dealing with the pandemic?"

We revisit a fundamental question that is often asked and often not well understood. What exactly is meant by the different Rites of the Catholic Church? How and why are they different?

Both inside and outside of the Church, hope, self-sacrifice and courage, much needed in our world, seem to be so scarce. Our two guests Rinju Chenet and Kameron Traxler serve as signs of hope for the Church and the world.

There is no need to lose our heads about the way the world is. On second thought there is someone who did, and it is helped us keep our heads and Faith.

Warnings and predictions of the worldwide pandemic, vaccination policies and lockdowns are swirling again. The spirituality of the Eastern Churches indeed have something to offer during this time of great anxiety.

The Feast of the Assumption of the Mother of God into Heaven offers an insightful example of the two lungs of the Church, east and west approach things differently but arrive at the same point.

We revisit a fundamental question that is often asked and often not well understood. What exactly is meant by the different Rites of the Catholic Church? How and why are they different?

The beginning of another month in the Byzantine Liturgical calendar starts off with rich events, a potential period and a way to overcome the demons of lust and pornography.

From Critical Race Theory to the Equity Act, to Pandemic policies, we live in confusing times for which the history and spirituality of the Eastern Churches can offer sources of stability.

We can have full confidence that a Church whose dogma's came about from Councils and not from a mere person is indeed the fullness of the Body of Christ on Earth.

Wow! It's sure is hot during these dog days of summer. Want a really unique vacation? Plan the rest of your summer according to the Liturgical life of the Church.

Holy Communion and Ex-Communion. There is a lot of Communication and MIS-communication about it all these days. Allow the Liturgy itself to communicate clarity and truth on the source and summit of our existence.

The world needs to rediscover the virtue of real humility which has gone missing in modern society. Yet, as always, the Liturgical life of the Church offers a way back for us to this priceless virtue.

Words like Perichorresis, Kenosis, Theoria Theologica sound unfamiliar but together with the liturgical monastic tradition they make up the potpourri of Eastern spirituality.

The raging of the sea, the raging of nations, fire in the sky, just some of the warnings of the end times. Are the end times really near? The answer is both yes and we don't know.

In the Byzantine Calendar, we're in the season of the Sundays after Pentecost, In the Latin Rite, this is known as ordinary time, which is actually extraordinary and vice versa.

This weekend, in both civil life and in the life of the Church, we honor those who gave their lives that we might have a blessed life on earth and in eternity.

In the Liturgy of the Church, we are mystically transported from earth to Heaven. The Feast of our Lord's Ascension is not only His Ascension but ours as well.

We will soon enter into the miracle of the Descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday. The Church therefore reminds us of what it is that we actually believe about our Faith.

The magnificence of the Ascension of our Lord can be understood by looking first at his condescension in Bethlehem which allowed our human nature to then Ascend with Christ into Heaven

Jesus Christ encounters a Samaritan woman at an ancient well. What transpires between them will provide insights on how to handle questions like how to save the world and "did you get vaccinated yet?"

Vaccines, masks, lockdowns, third wave, different strains, more opinions, more confusion, more anxiety. There is, however a place to go for the healing of body AND soul which is simple and effective.

Almighty God is the great set up artist. He takes what was lost to regain that which was lost. We see the set up artist at work in the persons of the Myrrh-bearing women at the empty tomb.

On the Sunday after Pascha, both lungs of the Church converge at the theme of God's Mercy. For the Latin Rite it is Divine Mercy Sunday. For Many Eastern Churches it is the Sunday of Doubting Thomas.