Light of the East

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.

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.

The Fundamental beliefs of the Catholic Church are not the brainchild of any one particular human person. They are the work of the 7 Ecumenical Councils. One in particular gets special attention.

Among the many gifts of both lungs of the Church, East and West, we here at Light of the East have our ten favorite gifts that the Eastern Churches offer to the whole Church and the world.

"Sheltering at Home" and "Shut Downs" for many married couples has become more like "Fighting at Home" and "Shut Downs" in communication. We look again into the riches of Eastern Christian Spirituality.

Our Lord said, Let the children come unto me for such is the Kingdom of God." With the help of our guest, Stephanie Potts, we will see how the children come to Christ in an Eastern Catholic parish.

Of all of the virtues that belonged to the desert spiritual masters of the Christian East, one virtue in particular is the most characteristic and far too scarce in our modern age - humility

Everyone knows about Michaelangelo's frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. There is a Byzantine answer to the Sistine Chapel in an ancient church that has recently been turned into a mosque.