Light of the East

So now they are saying that masculinity is toxic. Actually it is toxic to claim such things. All we need to do is look into Eastern Christian spirituality to see God's intention for masculinity.

Unity in the torn Body of Christ ought to be a primary concern for all. Our special guest will demonstrate how liturgy can be an appropriate vehicle between the two lungs of the church, East and West.

Fasting and Penance is the way to prepare for any great Feast day. This includes Confession which is similar yet different to the form practiced in the Latin Rite.

January 1st and New Year's Resolutions. January 1st and the Feast of the Circumcision, one a holiday and the other a Holy Day. Circumcision of Providence?

The great act of love and humiliation that our Lord took on by being born in a cave in Bethlehem will continue with submission to circumcision on the eighth day.

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.

As plans are being made for family get-togethers, the Byzantine Liturgical calendar calls together the spiritual family and the ancestors of Jesus Christ during the two Sundays before the Birth of Christ.

The complexity and richness of the Eastern Christian Churches is part of their charism and genius. At the same time things can get confusing and divisive in these Churches which can even have geo-political implications.

Enroute to our Lord's Nativity we pass by the Feast of St. Nicholas and the Feast of the Conception of the Mother Of God in the womb of St. Anne, also known as the Immaculate Conception.

LIGHTEAST 739 We Remember Fr. Robert Taft and St. Josephat

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.

Like little families, many of the Churches of the East each have their own Father or Patriarch together with his spiritual children. The problem is in trying to keep all of the families together, talking with each other.

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.

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.

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.

Times of crises in the Church are a call to the Church to rediscover, in new ways, its original mission and charism. The spirituality of the Eastern Churches does have certain gifts to offer a Church in Crisis.

At the very heart of the genius of the Church and of our Faith is the Incarnational reality where invisible realities are made visible through architecture, art, liturgy and even the medium of film.

The intimate union of religion, nation and culture gives an Eastern Catholic a deep sense of responsibility for the Church. This is often reflected in the active participation by the men of Eastern Catholic parishes.

Light is a recurring theme in Eastern Christian spirituality. This light is manifested most brightly in human persons who remain Faithful and hopeful even in the darkest hours if the Church.

"We bow to Your Cross O Lord, and we glorify Your Holy Resurrection." A profound mystery of salvation and every aspect of life on earth is captured in this one brief prayer of the Byzantine Church.

Teenagers and young adults often arrive at certain critical junctures in their spiritual journey. Knowing the great "WHY" behind their Faith and the Church can be a helpful signpost along the journey.

It's a new liturgical year in many Eastern Churches. A great New Year's resolution would be to pray more often and better. For that we will get some help from an old friend of ours at Light of the East.

Light burns out the darkness. True healing for the dark scandals in the Church will come about only when the Light of God's Divine Plan shines brighter in our homes, parishes and seminaries.

Don't just "go to Church." Don't just "satisfy an obligation." Rather, LIVE the Liturgy, which is an immersion into the truth of life, particularly when it comes to marriage.

Among the many descriptions and title for the Blessed Virgin Mary is that of consoler, In the Byzantine tradition an service is based on the Virgin Mary as consoler, It is prayed before the Feast of her Dormition.

When Jesus Christ was transfigured on Mt. Tabor amidst three Apostles they were overwhelmed by the sight of Christ's Divinity but also by the glory of His humanity, a glory that is our origin and our destiny.

There is something transformative and bonding that happens to us when we gather as a community in the liturgical worship of the Church. It is a mystical reality for which we have proof.

The Byzantine Liturgy is not just a particular Liturgy that we find suitable for our Sunday obligation. The Liturgy is part of a living church and life itself flows in and out of the Liturgy.

Don't just "go to Church" Don't just "satisfy an obligation." Rather, LIVE the Liturgy, which is an immersion into the truth of life, particularly when it comes to marriage.

God Himself took on flesh and submitted Himself to His own laws. What other response can we have except that of the Elder Simeon: "Now you may dismiss your servant, O Lord."

The hazy, lazy wonderful days of summer are not a signal to get lazy and casual about our Faith. We can trust the Church's liturgical life to provide the proper context and grounding for our lives during summertime.

The spiritual masters of the eastern monastic tradition taught that we must think about our own death a few minutes each day. This may be frightening and can certainly make us wonder about the mystery of the afterlife.

Living in the both-and, means living in the mystery, in the confluence of what is known and not known. This particular genius of the Eastern lung of the Church is handily applied to some confusing and controversial issues.

It is the Sunday of All Saints in some Eastern Churches - it is a celebration of all those who have reached "normal" humanness. To be a saint is not something extraordinary but ordinary according to God's original design.

Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, who are everywhere present and filling all things, come and dwell within us. Cleanse us of our sins and save our Souls O Gracious One.

The Nicene Creed, as proclaimed at every Byzantine Divine Liturgy, has a significance and relevancy today as it did during its beginnings when the Church Fathers gathered at Nicea in 325 AD.

The Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven unites our earthly nature with Heaven. During this same week the Feasts of Ss. Cyril and Methodius unites both lungs of the Church, east and west.

The sanctity of marriage and the whole order of man and woman finds its context in the Liturgy and iconography of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. His Resurrection is also our Resurrection.

Story telling is the essential way that Our Lord and the Liturgy of the Church immerse us into the drama and message of the scriptures. Our special guest, Eric Groth tells stories through the medium of film.

This week through the Liturgy of the Church we become the Myrrh-Bearing women who are the first to hear of Christ's Resurrection. The fact that it was women is Providential.

In the Byzantine calendar the Divine Mercy of God comes through the reality of Christ's Resurrected body appearing to St. Thomas. In this same Resurrected body we find our own true health of body and soul.

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.

Hosanna in the Highest! Flowers, palm branches and joy - a moment of Triumph is provided by our Lord to sustain our hope and faithfulness in the days of despair and betrayal lie ahead.

LIGHTEAST703 - St. Mary of Egypt and Fr. Zozimus

On Friday March 23rd, a fitting movie, Paul, Apostle of Christ will hit theaters across America and Eric Groth of ODB Films will be here to tell us all about it.

Why do we adorn, wear and venerate Crosses, once an instrument of suffering and capital punishment? It is because through this instrument God gives us salvation and assures victory over evil.

At one time an oppressed Church that had to go underground. Our special guest will tell us how this same Church is now vibrant and growing.

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.

By the Waters of Babylon we weep as did the Israelites of the Bible. For the Byzantine Church the season of Lent has begun, our immersion into the Biblical experience.

We pass the liturgical baton with the help of our friend Nepsis. He is not a person but something that can help us become a person that partakes in the Divine nature.