The Divine Liturgy and Our Worship of God — 20160214

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Holy Eucharist IconIn the Eastern Church’s experience and tradition, the Church is herself a sacrament. Historians of theology have many times noted that in the early patristic tradition we find no definition of the Church. The reason for this, however, lies not in the “lack of development” of the theology of that time but in the fact that in her early tradition the church was not an object of “definition” but, rather, the living experience of the new life. This experience was sacramental and symbolical by its very nature, for the Church exists in order to be always changing into that same reality that she manifests, the fulfillment of the invisible in the visible, the heavenly in the earthly, the spiritual in the material.

The Church is a sacrament in the cosmic sense because she manifests in “this world” the genuine world of God as He first created it. A world which is oriented to its Creator in love.

Being a sacrament in the most profound and comprehensive sense of the term, the Church creates,         manifests and fulfills herself in and through the sacraments, and above all through the Eucharist, the “sacrament of sacraments.” For if the Eucharist is the sacrament of the world and its fulfillment as the Kingdom of God, then it is completed by the Church’s ascent to heaven, to the “homeland of the heart’s desire,” the messianic banquet of Christ, in His kingdom.

I would draw your attention to the last paragraph and have you reflect on it. The Divine Liturgy is the HEAVENLY BANQUET of Christ IN HIS KINGDOM. When we pray the Divine Liturgy together, we declare right in the beginning that we believe that during our worship we place ourselves in GOD’S KINGDOM. In His Kingdom there is this banquet – the spiritual meal began by Jesus when He was physically here on earth – to allow us “union with” God in a real, concrete and personal manner. When we pray the Liturgy we are joined to all the faithful already in the Kingdom and Jesus, the Christ, is truly present among us. We hear in one of the prayers after the Our Father: Look down, O Lord Jesus Christ…Who are seated on high with the Father and dwell here invisibly among us.

It is important that, as we pray, we make an act of faith and believe that Christ IS invisibly among us.

CALLED TO HOLINESS — 20160214

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sunday1GFThe spiritual life calls for total commitment. Once we sincerely enter into the discipleship of Christ, we have to reorient not only part, but the whole of our activities and relationships. This explains why our liturgical texts touch all sectors of life. Our Eastern Christian worship aims at penetrating all the facets of our daily life, consecrating them, transforming them, and rendering them divinely meaningful. Let us take as an example the hymn texts used during the Great Fast. Here the specific virtue we are called to pursue is charity, the “queen of all virtues”. Acquiring this spiritual treasure is the only way to combat selfishness, the obstacle to spiritual health. Without charity, the human heart suffers to asphyxiation. Love creates the appropriate spiritual climate for progressive sanctification. By love we are liberated from the bondage of our passions and are reconciled to the Lord.

Arising from charity are good deeds such as almsgiving, identification with our fellowman, and the sheltering of the homeless. Charity is universal, extending to all human beings and knowing no racial discrimination, for all are sisters and brothers, created in the image of God Such openness and unconditional love constitutes the only way to subdue the extreme individualism which not threatens human existence. In one of the hymns of our Church we pray:

Knowing the commandments of our Lord, let us feed those in hunger; let us give the thirsty to drink; let us dress the naked; let us help the strangers; let us visit the sick and those in prison, so that the Judge who one day will judge the whole universe might say also to us: Come, you blessed of my Father and inherit the Kingdom of Heaven which has been prepared for you.

Such prayers are not meant to be just pious words that we repeat from the Gospels. They are meant to be the words that emanate from the very depths of our souls. By saying them we declare our willingness to embrace the Jesus WAY of living – a way of living that truly loves our neighbors as ourselves.

Making the Great Fast Real — 20160214

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During the next seven days of the Fast why don’t you try to turn off the radio and television and just spend the time you would watching or listening to spiritual reading, or sending a note to someone you have spoken with for some time. The Bible is a good place to start. It is funny what happens when we fast from external noise or sounds. It’s not necessarily an easy thing to do, I can assure you. But the blessings are many. Just try it for one week.

Understanding Our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church — 20160214

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gregorydialogosIt is a long-held Eastern tradition that the Divine Liturgy is not celebrated during the weekdays of the Great Fast. Why? Because the celebratory nature of the Divine Liturgy conflicts with the idea of fasting. However the Church, in order support the faithful in their Lenten effort, designate that the fast can be broken on Wednesdays and Fridays by the reception of Holy Communion. Our Church sees Holy Communion as spiritual food given to us by God to nourish our souls and help us in our efforts at becoming His children.

The Liturgy is a very ancient one. This Liturgy was first documented by St. Gregory the Dialogist (AD 540-604), who was the papal legate to Constantinople. At one time it was supposed that he had come up with the idea himself, but now it is generally supposed that he simply recorded what was otherwise being practiced at Constantinople. He is still commemorated as its traditional author.

This Liturgy is also mentioned in the Canons of the 7th century Quinisext Council, obviously indicating that it was in use at a much earlier date. We read this: On all days of the holy fast of Lent, except on the Sabbath, the Lord’s Day, and the feast of the Annunciation, the Liturgy of the Presanctified is to be served (Canon 52, Quinisext, 692).

The Liturgy is an evening service. It is the solemn lenten Vespers with the administration of Holy Communion added to it. During this service there is no consecration of the gifts of bread and wine. The Holy Communion given from gifts sanctified on the previous weekend. It derives its name from the fact that the gifts are presanctified.

During the weeks of the Great Fast, Old Testament readings are traditionally used from Genesis and Proverbs. During Great and Holy Week a Gospel reading is added. The Old Testament is used to set the stage for us to think of the 40 days of the Fast as a reliving of the 40 years of Israel in the desert and to begin to see Jesus Christ as the New Moses. These readings also remind us that Jesus is the same Yahweh who led Israel out of bondage to freedom. These readings remind us of Exodus of Israel from captivity. The book of Proverbs reminds us that our covenant with God is a covenant which suggests a “way of living.” A close listening to Proverbs reminds us that the way to establish a union with God is by living in a certain way. They convey common sense living.

The Spirituality of the Christian East — 20160214

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Ladder of Divine AccentSt. John includes on his 12th Step FALSEHOOD, something that he calls False Promises or Oaths. He categorizes false promises as another form of lying and quotes Christ’s warning in His Sermon on the Mount:

Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ But I say to you, do not swear at all.

This is an extension of the ancient commandment, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain”. Knowing that promises cannot always be kept for reasons beyond our control, our Lord discourages us from making promises in God’s name, thereby making His name unbinding and of no effect. He goes yet further and tells us not to swear by anything at all.

So Christ commands us to be not only honest and well-meaning, but simple and straight-talking, not       allowing our tongues to utter empty words or promises that may be broken by unforeseen events or due to our limited knowledge.

St. John also includes HYPOCRISY in the category of FALSEHOOD. He states that the passion of falsehood is something deeper than telling a lie out of necessity or to avoid causing needless offense. It is rooted in one of the worst sings of all: hypocrisy.

The original meaning of the word hypocrisy is “pretense,” and hypocrite means “actor.” For as long as we are pretending to be something we are not, inasmuch as we want others to see us not as we are, but as we want to be seen, we will be an embodiment of falsehood, a passion, a sickness of the heart, not an act of necessity. Thus only when we have purified our heart can we be liberated from the sin of falsehood.

Gaining a Deeper Understanding of the New Testament — 20160214

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the_four_evangelistsMany scholars believe that the remarkable concordance found among the three Evangelists is the result of a primitive oral gospel. In its most extreme form this solution excludes any common literary dependence on a single written Gospel. The primitive preaching became stereotyped at an early date. This preaching was constantly repeated. The similarities in the written texts are thus accounted for; the dissimilarities are explained by the diversification of the same catechesis necessary in various areas. To support the existence of such a primitive catechesis the extraordinary memory of the Oriental is invoked. As we consider Judaism and Islam we understand how very important memorized texts are.

Doubtless a period of oral tradition did precede our written Gospels. Modern criticism almost universally admits to the primacy and importance of oral tradition in the Gospels. But the supposition of an oral tradition alone cannot account for the very complex problem found in the three Gospels of similarities and dissimilarities in the written texts. There is in many passages an exact verbal agreement, especially in Mark and Luke. Oral tradition can explain the divergences in the Gospels but not the similarities. These would seem to demand some literary dependence as well. Thus the theory of an oral tradition being the basis of the Synoptic Problem seems to be an inadequate answer.

A second theory is called the Literary Interdependence. This type of hypothesis is also known as the       Mutual-Dependence Theory and the Use or Utilization Theory. According to this hypothesis, each Evangelist (except the first) depended upon his predecessor or predecessors. The first of the Gospels in date was followed by the two others as derivatives. This would explain the points of agreement among the Synoptics. There are several possible orders of dependence, each having had its proponent at one time or another. Only two of these combinations have really been able to hold any ground. They are: Matthew as the source of Mark and Luke OR Mark as the source of both Matthew and Luke.

During the coming weeks I would like to share with you other various solutions to the Synoptic Problem and also provide an evaluation of each of the solutions according to biblical scholars. I think it is imperative that we have a good sound understanding of the Gospels so that they can play a real part in our spiritual development. Hopefully you will find this valuable.

Reflections on the Scriptural Readings for this Weekend — 20160207

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garden_of_edenThe weekend immediately before the beginning of the Great Fast, which is called Cheesefare, we are called to offer forgiveness to all in our lives. Why? Because we cannot truly grow spiritually if we are at odds with others. We hear this in the Gospel we use this weekend: if you forgive the faults of others, your heavenly Father will forgive you yours. If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you. How can this be true, you may ask, since our Father unconditionally loves us? The simple truth is that if we have not experienced offering forgiveness we do not have the ability to accept forgiveness.

Our Church also remembers this weekend the story of the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Why? The story is meant to remind us that we must grow in our likeness of God, as clearly seen in the Person of Jesus and not think that we can achieve this on our own. Remember the story clearly suggests that Adam and Eve wanted to be like God but thought they could achieve this without God. Our human personalities can fool us to think that we can achieve this likeness without God’s help.

The Great Fast, a period focused on personal transformation, is meant to help us become aware of our true need for God and that this earthly life is meant to help us grow in His likeness with, and only with, His help.

The general theme of the Great Fast is personal transformation with the help of God. During this time, we will be called to focus our attention on how Christ lived as a man. The 40-day period ends with us living again the suffering and death of Jesus with a very definite emphasis on how He handled it. He handled it with nobility and courage. He did not let the hatred and cruelness of others diminish His love for them. Hopefully be living this with Him, we will gain the courage to live in the same manner.

Our Epistle this weekend comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul states: Put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the desires of the flesh. Our Gospel clearly tells us that any ascetical practices we use to help in our personal transformation should be done in such a manner that others do not know what we are doing. So let us begin this 2016 Great Fast with a determination to become more like Jesus, unconditionally loving and forgiving others. Let us discover for ourselves God’s desire to help us be more like Jesus and His willingness to help us in this effort. You will never regret observing the Great Fast.

Making the Great Fast Real

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Although this may be an old fashion approach to observing the Great Fast, I would like to suggest this practice on this first week. Why not decide to put aside each day a certain amount of money. Then for 40 days save up those funds and, at the end of the Great Fast, donate that amount to a charity of your choice. I would suggest that it is a charity that helps those in need or those who have experienced abuse of some kind. We practiced this when I was a kid and it seemed to make Lent a whole lot more real.  cross_vine

Learning Our Faith From the Greek Fathers of the Church — 20160207

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St Gregory Palamas

St Gregory Palamas

St. Gregory tells us that Christ is unique in that the union of human nature with His divine Person is hypostatic or in more modern terms, personal. But the consequence of this hypostatic union, namely, the exchange of the natural properties of each of His two natures, serves as a model for our own salvation and, of course, deification or Theosis. What is true of Christ’s humanity can also be true for us – by grace or by God’s help. It is a gift given to us by God if we freely and with faith give ourselves to the task of personal transformation.

This is how salvation, according to St. Gregory, is understood in the Eastern Church. It is not understood in merely moral or ethical terms, but as the attainment of Christ-like perfection. This is what is meant when we sing, especially at Baptism, All you who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ, Alleluia. This is the purpose of human existence – to become by divine grace what Christ is by nature.

This is a high calling indeed, and one which only God Himself can accomplish in us. But it is attainable, and the Church sets before us the example of St. Gregory on the Second Weekend of the Great Fast, precisely in order to emphasize the importance of personal experience in the life of the Church.

On the first weekend of the Great Fast we will celebrate the Triumph of the True Faith which was achieved when iconoclasm was branded as heretical. We will celebrate the fact that, by keeping the Faith which those who have gone before us – the faith confessed by all those who through the ages have become Christlike – we too may come to know the Truth which is Christ. So, we receive our Christian Faith through those men and women who have successfully followed the WAY which Christ revealed to us. The teachings or doctrines of the Church are like a map that points us in the direction of salvation, of eternal union with God. We learn, therefore, from those who have been tried and tested, and who, by means of Christlike humility, have emerged from the good fight as victors. That is why, in his first sermon on the Transfiguration, St. Gregory writes: We believe what we have been taught by those enlightened by Christ, things which they alone can know with certainty.

I would encourage you to think about St. Gregory’s description of salvation during the Great Fast. It is the goal or this earthly life to become, by divine grace, what Christ is, by nature. The Great Fast is meant to help us actualize the potential God has given us to grow in His Likeness.

Understanding Our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church — 20160207

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holy-cross-justice-icon-of-the-resurrectionWhile our Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, as most Eastern Christian Churches, still puts a lot of emphasis on the period that has become known as Lent in the West, it does stress the fact that our efforts are only truly valuable if they are voluntary. We do not fast or engage in other ascetical practices to make God love us more or even be more disposed to forgive us our weaknesses. We cannot change God’s attitude towards us. He unconditionally loves us and only desires that we come to know how very much He does love us. Further, He knows that we can never achieve perfection and, more importantly, doesn’t expect us to achieve perfection in this lifetime. Being a saint does not mean that a person reached perfection. All God wants for us is to come to a deeper awareness of His love and to desire, ever more deeply, to cooperate with His grace and grow in the likeness of Jesus, His Son. He shares His Spirit with us so that we have the power and ability to grow in the likeness of Jesus.

As I was preparing this issue of the Bulletin it dawned on me that our Church begins the Great Fast with a remembrance of Adam and Eve being forced out of Paradise and ends the Great Fast with the remembrance of Christ pulling Adam and Eve out of the grave. The way the Eastern Church   understands Easter tells me the meaning of the exodus of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. It tells me that when we live without an awareness of God’s role in our lives we are living outside of Paradise. When we truly believe that God came into our world in the Person of Jesus to show us how to live, He revealed to us that with His help we can freely make this world His Kingdom.

It is interesting that in Western Christianity there is no real mention that Christ freed Adam and Eve from captivity to Death. In the East this is quite prominent in our Easter Icon and in the Tropar that we sing over and over again. The persons that Jesus is depicted as directly pulling out of the grave are Adam and Eve. I would have you think about this and, if you have any thoughts about it, please send them to me because I would love to hear your reflections. I truly think that our iconography reveals quite clearly our approach to spirituality and salvation. This is the traditional icon of the Resurrection. It represents the impact of the Lord’s resurrection. In the East It is not appropriate to represent Christ coming out of the tomb – it   wasn’t seen by anyone. Real salvation is understanding this reality!