Light of the East

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! As we mystically suffered, and went to the Cross with Our Lord, so too must Our Lord's Resurrection now be our own Resurrection, our own victory over sin and death

In many Eastern Churches this week is called the Week of the Bridegroom. Through the deep liturgical services we walk with the Bridegroom Christ to his mystical marriage on the Cross.

St. John Paul II said that monasticism is the reference point for all of the baptized. Lent is our monastic experience and the examples of two desert monastics are put before our eyes as our guides.

Three great ascetics are put before our eyes as our guides at this point of Lent. As Pope Saint John Paul II said, "Monasticism is the reference point for all of the baptized."

The Bright Sadness of Lent becomes palpable as this Sunday of the Great Fast brings us to the convergence of the Veneration of the Cross and the Annunciation of the Mother of God.

The Lenten rigors of fasting and penance have as their goal the renewal of the true vision of things. The Eastern Spiritual Masters had a word and a prayer for this.

Images matter. They matter so much that historically images were the thing that opponents of the Church went after and images matter on the First Day of Lent

Wow! What a Week! Are you ready to enter into the most transformative and challenging season of the Church's year? Here it is! The Bright Sadness of repentance, and none too soon.

In the Eastern Catholic Churches, Lent is called the Bright Sadness. How relevant is this term today?! Amidst the darkness of repentance we can, and must, become a people of brightness.

The Season of our Lord's condescension now gives rise to our ascension through the season of repentance. The Scripture, A Feast Day and the prayer for the deceased converge in a week of transition.

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.

Having been immersed in the mystery of our Lord's coming in the flesh, we look toward the season of repentance with the help of those who were the great masters at it

From the birth of Christ through to his presentation in the Temple and to his baptism, this time of Epiphany of manifestation is ingeniously expressed through the prayer of the Church.

It may be Providential as America awaits the revelation of who will actually be its President, the Church East and West celebrates a Great Feat of revelation, illumination and sanctification

All families have their story from sinners to saints. So it is with the family of Jesus Christ. But God still works out His divine plan which is the miracle of this season.

Every Eastern Christian church has its own ancient and indigenous chant which is sung by the faithful during liturgical services. This gives cantors a special place in Eastern Christian Liturgy

Water is marvelous and mysterious. It give life and takes life. It is central to civilization and to the life of the Church. Strange how for some suffering Christians the mystery of water remains scarce

As we draw near to the Nativity of Our Lord, we look back on the ancestry of Christ and the many foretellings and prefigurements of Christ in the Old Testament.

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception or is it the Feast of the Conception of the Mother of God in the womb of St Ann?

It is not time for celebration, food and gifts yet. We still should be fasting and praying in anticipation of the invisible God becoming visible through his very own creation.

Do you want to remain hopeful and negotiate through the strife, division and confusion of our times? Look into the timeless wisdom of the Church's liturgy and saints.

In the tradition of the Church our prayer is amplified by lining our petitions with angels and saints in heaven. The Byzantine liturgical calendar this week features a powerhouse of prayer intercessors to which we can appeal on behalf of our nation.

It is All Saints Day in the Western lung of the Church. The East observes this on a different day. Whether from the east or the west, a saint is a saint.

It is time to cast our votes in one of the most crucial elections in world history. So we are offering an Eastern Catholic Voter's guide to help form our conscience.

Whether e-learning, classroom learning or not learning at all, school is back in session. Before learning new things we will review old things through commonly asked questions.