Light of the East

As we have died with Christ, we now rise with Him in his bodily resurrection making all things new not just 2,000 years ago, but even at this very moment and forever.

Behold the Bridegroom comes in this middle of the night. Blessed is the servant He shall find awake. It is time to light our lamps and keep vigil during this Great and Holy Week.

On this last Sunday of Lent in many Eastern Catholic Churches a woman is put before our eyes who is a model of repentance, reverence for the Eucharist and hope for women experiencing the pains of shame.

The Fourth Sunday, and the Fifth week of Lent in the Byzantine liturgical calendar features a powerhouse of spirituality and culminates in a special service to the Mother of God.

We have come to the Mid-Point of Lent. As the Cross with Christ upon it was planted in the middle of the world, it is planted again in the middle of the Church.

The Eastern Catholic Churches are known for the richness, depth and sometimes length of their liturgical prayers. However, two favorite Lenten prayers are actually short but poignant.

Anathema be upon you! Anathema I say! These words were pronounced for centuries on the First Sunday of Lent in many Eastern Christian Churches for those who ascribed to the heresy of iconoclasm - the prohibition and destruction of Holy Images.

“Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress.” The words of Adam and Eve as Lent, the season of the Great fast, now begins in the Eastern Catholic Churches.

A loving God would not really send someone to hell forever, would he? Why do Catholics pray do dead people? Learn what the Eastern Catholic Churches say about these and other related questions.

This is a week of Encounter in Many Eastern Catholic churches. We encounter another pre-Lenten Sunday. Our Lord encounters Simeon. And we, encounter liturgically our deceased family members.