www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Looking for info/help

Thanks again for the welcomes and information.

Memo,

I always agreed with your understanding of our Sunday obligations. The only reason I raised the question was that the information provided in the link to the Knights of Columbus document seemed unclear at best. In the first paragraph it states that attendance at a Divine Liturgy fulfills your Sunday obligation. The next paragraph states you can receive communion at an Eastern Catholic Church. The following says that you cannot receive communion at an Eastern Church that is not in communion with Rome. I think the structure or wording leads to confusion as to what fulfills your Sunday obligation. I've always believed your understanding but this publication caused me to do a double take. Since I still am unclear as to the meaning of the linked document, it is probably best to err on the safe side and attend a Liturgy/Mass I know to be Catholic.

One final thanks for all the insight.

Dear T-bone, I would first recommend reading the Light for Life series for a basic catechesis. It is completely legit to attend eastern Catholic churches to fulfill obligations but I would caution you to something. If you find that you are interested in celebrating the Catholic faith through the eastern rite tradition as opposed to the western tradition, it would not be advised to jump from eastern to western often. I say this because we have different feast days and different nuances about the faith even though we are in full communion with each other. If you have children or are planning on having children then they are automatically the rite of the father so if you find yourself wanting to become a permanent fixture in an eastern church I would recommend changing your rite. This however should only be done after consistently attending an eastern rite for a couple of years. Our traditions are beautiful and retain so much meaning. I was once a Roman rite many years ago and was improperly catechized. I had no clue what was going on in Mass. Through my experience of the Divine Liturgy, I now have come to appreciate Mass more and understand what they are trying to do even though it is so "sterile."

I'd recommend "The Orthodox Church" by Timothy (now Bishop Kallistos) Ware. As a western convert to Orthodoxy he's aware of most of the questions westerns have and does a great job answering them. The first section is about Church history and the second is the Theological section.