Light of the East

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.

From pandemics to politics, the stressors of our times can be tough on marriage on family. A renewed look at the Byzantine marriage ceremony can actually help couples find their home base once again.

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?

Civilization will go by the way of the family and these institutions are being attacked like never before. It is the Liturgy of the Church and the Domestic Church that will help marriage and family remain bright.

In these days of anxiety and so much darkness, the Church again comes to our rescue through two glorious feast days of our Lord and the most Holy Blessed Mother.

This week at Annunciation Byzantine Catholic parish in Homer Glen, IL under the the Light of Tabor and through the dynamism of the Liturgy we will be transfiguring from glory to glory amidst two great feasts.

We are reminded that we have no lasting home here on earth as Haiga Sophia, the mother Church of Christianity was once again claimed as a mosque

It ought to be clear to any believing person that demons are running wild in our world today. Eastern Christian Spirituality and warrior saints like the Prophet Elijah can offer calm and confidence amidst the chaos.

There is saint spelled with a small s and saint spelled with a capital S. The life of a baptized Christian is a journey toward turning the small S into a capital S

The famous song, "Old Man River," expresses a contrast between the calm integrity of nature and human chaos. The ancient traditions of the Eastern Churches are today's "Old Man River.

Ss. Peter and Paul are depicted in their icon standing together holding up a model of the Church. They were the two pillars of the early Church and many saints followed after them."

The 24th Annual Orientale Lumen Conference has been unleashed on social media. Our special guest will clue us into the exciting topics and speakers on the subject of Liturgy and icons.

Liturgy is often referred to as "smells and bells." In fact, smells, bells, sights, tastes and touches are not only essential to Liturgy but may even be good for our health

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.

As they did in the upper room 2,000 years ago, Christians gather again to be filled with the Holy Spirit on this Feast of Pentecost, the completion of God's plan of salvation

Between the double brightness of the Resurrection of Our Lord and the event of Pentecost is the Ascension of our Lord and the illumination of the Council Fathers of Nicea--- sources of hope and light.

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.

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.

It may be hard to proclaim the Resurrection of Christ during this pandemic. A reach into the gifts of Eastern Christian spirituality can actually help move us beyond fear, anxiety and despondency.

How can we experience the Joy of the Resurrection when we are immersed in so much sadness? The women and men who came to care for Jesus's body will provide some answers.

The Liturgy of the Church immerses us into the events of Christ's life on earth. These events become our events and are heightened in their reality by the world wide pandemic.

Christ is Risen! Indeed He is Risen! Together with you and Luke the Regular Guy we will share and proclaim the joy of this Day of Days, the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ from the Dead.

In Eastern Churches it is the Week of the Bridegroom begins this Sunday and includes the story of the wise Virgins who were ready for the coming of the Bridegroom, a relevant theme for a time of pandemic.

Empty shelves at the grocery stores, social distancing, bars and restaurants and all places of communal gathering closed, sporting events cancelled. The Corona Pandemic has essentially turned us into good monastics.

The great spiritual master who lived on Mt. Sinai, St John Climacus, will take us higher and higher on his Ladder of Divine Ascent. The first two rungs of the ladder will be renunciation and obedience.

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

The Season of Lent, the Great Fast, is a return to our living experience of the Scriptures and to our real selves

Silence, God's Uncreated Energies, the Divine Light and coming to know God by Unknowing were taught by a 14th century saint and which are relevant for our own time, especially during Lent

The Sunday evening before Ash Wednesday begins the Lenten Season for many Eastern Catholic Churches. Worshipers take on the posture of Adam exiled from Paradise and also share in a gesture of mutual forgiveness.

There is a lot of discussion today in the Latin Rite about priestly celibacy. A monk from an Eastern Catholic monastery will share a perspective on this that the discussion to baptism and the episcopacy.

The Scripture parable of the Prodigal Son is our story - a choice for the delusion of ideology or a choice for reality, right reason and our ultimate glorious destiny.

On this glorious Feast day, as the Christ child and the Elder Simeon encounter each other through the Temple and the Law we will encounter Christ in our suffering, persecuted Christians of the Middle East

For young people seeking spirituality and the mystical, or guest Anthony Dragani, A Byzantine Deacon and Professors of religious studies will tell young people they need not look outside the Church.