www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Divine Mercy Sunday

Dear DJS,

Thanks! That's beautiful.

God bless,

Karen

Dear Edward,

Actually, that is an interesting observation about the colours of the flag of Poland . But I really don't think St Faustina Kowalska was such a nationalist . . .

Otherwise, I'm sure Ukrainians would want to use blue and yellow . . .

And do you have an icon of the Russian Admiral St Theodore Ushakov? Hmmm?

Alex

"The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous, the red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the depths of My most tender mercy at the time when my agonizing Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross...Fortunate is the one who will dwell in their shelter, for the just hand of God shall not lay hold on him".

The Lord's spoken words to St. Faustina

james

John Patrick,

"I do not recall that Jesus told St. Faustina Kowalska that His request is only for Western Christians. It may be necessary for me to read her Diary again."

I don't recall the Church saying we had to accept any private revelation. Oh wait, the Church actually teaches no one is required to accept any private revelation.

Fr. Deacon Lance

Dear Father Deacon Lance,

Christ is Risen!

I once read of a revelation to an Orthodox nun where our Lord tells her that we all need to become Orthodox!

That does it - if you "dox," I will too!

Isn't John Patrick, well, ridiculous?

In a loveable sort of way, that is . . .

Alex

XB!

Heavens no - I was never particularly keen on military saints!

Dear Edward,

O.K. then!

My point is that it isn't just the Polish and others who are patriotic and let their patriotism go over into their religious devotion!

A blessed Bright Week!

Alex

However, what makes things complicated is when Roman Catholic proponents of the Divine Mercy devotion go on an international Catholic TV station and, in response a Melkite woman who asked if the Eastern Catholic Churches celebrate the feast, say that Pope John Paul II instituted the feast for the WHOLE universal church, and that it is indeed a feast for the Eastern churches. (They then said that the devotion ends with an Eastern prayer, thus showing the two lungs of the Catholic church--when will people realize that "Holy God" in the chaplet has more to do with Good Friday services of the Roman rite and with Polish Benediction than with the Christian East?)

Now there IS a feast of the All-Merciful Savior in the Russian tradition: it's August 1st/14th, if anyone is interested!

XB!

Dave

This is one of the problems I am finding as one who is technically a Latin Rite Catholic but who prefers and thinks of herself as an Eastern Catholic.

The idea that the Bishop of Rome has universal jurisdiction over every minute practice of the Eastern Churches tends to give Latin Catholics a sense of superiority over the Eastern Rites. "Well the Pope is Roman Catholic and he's in charge of you so our way must by default be the only right way."

I seem to be running into this more and more lately and it is, honestly, both disconcerting and extremely bothersome. Causing me to begin to ask, "Why bother to be Eastern Rite if everyone expects that we should do things in the Latin Rite fasion." which I suppose is better expressed in the question, "Why am I not Orthodox?"

You are definitely right about private revelations.
Personally, I think Divine Mercy is a good devotion with a message which needs to be heard. I am presently reading Sister Faustina's diaries. They are edifying. However, the feast, like it or not, was only established for the Western Church by Pope John Paul II, presumably acting as Patriarch of the West, before they did away with that title. (why not use the title "Patriarch of Rome" in exchange for "patrirach of the West"?)

Dear Chtec Dave,

Christ is Risen!

Yes, indeed, the feast of the All-Merciful Saviour in August, the first "Feast of the Saviour."

It was instituted after the victory of St Andrei Boholiubsky over the Volga Bulgars and at once commemorates the Saviour, His Precious Cross and the Holy Maccabean Martyrs - on that day, poppy-seeds are blessed and put away to make "kutya" for the feast of the Nativity of OLGS Jesus Christ.

It is also the day on which is commemorated the formal Baptism of Kyivan Rus" by St Volodymyr the Great.

Finally, it is also the birthday of our esteemed Administrator.

A great many important events celebrated on that one day . . .

Alex

Dear Carole,

There are Latin Catholics who will have as little to do with the Divine Mercy devotion as possible.

There are also struggles over imposing this or that within Orthodoxy and Orthodox jurisdictions, including the Western Rite Orthodox.

But if you want to become Orthodox, don't join the Ethiopians - they have liturgical dancing!

Cheers,

Alex

Thank you, Alex. It isn't just the Divine Mercy devotion. Lately it is just about everything from the filioque to the use of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom to Divine Mercy ... the list seems to be endless. I've had quite a few "clashes" with Latins of late insisting that sui iuris doesn't really mean sui iuris because the Pope's Universal Jurisdiction means that everything he institutes he institutes for the whole church and not just one Rite.

I suppose this Divine Mercy Sunday conversation is yet another illustration of the manner in which Eastern Rite Catholics stuck in the middle between two groups who really don't accept us or understand us.

It is just a personal crisis of faith that I will have to work through in prayer and supplication.

Keep reminding yourself that those opinions come from ignorance. I am finding that I am one of the few "formerly Latin" Catholics who received some education, in a parochial school, on the existence of the 20 +/- Catholic Eastern Churches. Most RC's I encounter today (with the exception of those on this board) are completely and blissfully ignorant of anything Eastern. Part of it is our own fault, because we don't "market" what we have. I heard an Orthodox speaker once say that "Eastern Orthodoxy is the best kept secret in America". He was wrong. It is Eastern Catholicism. My pastor got an e-mail from a friend in Ukraine which , "tongue in cheek", spoke of the glories of being Uniate. One sentence which grabbed me was "Roman Catholics think you are Eastern Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox think you are a heretic".

Fr. Deacon Robert

Dear Fr. Deacon Robert,

Christ is Risen!

What you said reminds me of a letter by the Greek-Catholic bishop Boretsky (ancestor of our Bishop Kyr Isidore Boretsky, eternal memory - and mine as well) who wrote to (Saint) George Konissky and said, "In anger, the Poles will call us (Greek-Catholics), as well as you (Orthodox) "schismatics."

Alex