The Divine Liturgy – the continual ascent, the lifting up of the Church to heaven, to the throne of glory, to the unfading light and joy of the kingdom of God – should be the focus of our experience. As … Continue reading
Category Archives: Divine Liturgy
I believe that for the Church, for the world, for mankind there is no more important, more urgent question to be asked that what is accomplished in the eucharist. In reality this question is mot natural to faith, which lives … Continue reading
During this coming week our Church will celebrate one of the 12 major feasts of our Church, namely the “Dormition of the Mother of God.” We will also celebrate it, since it is within the octave of the feast, next … Continue reading
There is a complete sequence of proper prayers for the Divine Liturgy of the Transfiguration. These include: special Antiphons, a special Entrance Hymn, a Tropar and Kondak, a special Prokimen, Alleluia Verses, Hymn to the Mother of God, and Communion … Continue reading
When you seriously explore our Divine Liturgy, you find that we consistently pray to the Holy Trinity. Although we remember during the Divine Liturgy what Jesus did, we realize that it is our means of worshipping God Who is Three-In-One … Continue reading
In the last issue I began to raise the issue of when the gifts of bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ – when Christ truly becomes present to us in the gifts of food, … Continue reading
Over the course of the centuries, especially in the Western world, much theological debate has been focused on trying to answer the when and how of the Eucharist. The WHEN deals with at what moment are the bread and wine … Continue reading
As I have previously shared with my readers, although the Divine Liturgy has several distinct parts, nevertheless it is a single, though multifaceted, sacred rite, a single sacrament, in which all its “parts,” their sequence and structure, their coordination with … Continue reading
Someone asked me once, why do you Ukrainian Greek-Catholics sing so very much? My response was two-fold. First we like to sing and second when we approach Almighty God, Who is greater than any king or emperor, we show Him … Continue reading
While we worship God in union with Jesus, our worship is now a stylized ritual that remembers how and what Jesus did to worship God. Our Liturgy is, first and foremost, a ritualized way for us to offer “THANKSGIVING” to … Continue reading