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I, too, have been disappointed in the attitude expressed by some Latin Catholics toward the Eastern Catholic Church. I have been told by some to tone down my expression of Byzantine spirituality in front of others. I had to educate Latins on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father alone and explain why Eastern Christians have more, and different, Holy Days.
I also cross myself in the Byzantine fashion when attending a Roman Catholic mass and was told that I am crossing myself wrong. The Byzantine method of making the sign of the cross was approved by Pope Innocent II. I could find no reference by a Pope to making the sign in the Roman fashion. Eastern Catholics need to continue to express our faith openly and educate the Romans.

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

I wonder if my small community was lucky in this area--people looking down on and oppressing others because of ethnicity.

My birth parish was blessed with a pastor who served for 52 years until 1926--from 1874. He was the only priest in a couple counties for a long time. He reportedly told all the people, "We're all Catholics here; forget all that ethnic stuff that divides us." He heard confessions in English, Italian, French, German, Slovak, Polish, and Lithuanian, keeping our multi-ethnic parish together. He also was said to have gone to the home of each Protestant minister who came to town and told them that he would support them in any way he could without any conditions. He is said to have welcomed them all. At his death, after 52 years in the same parish, all the clergy in town walked behind the hearse to his place of burial. All this was reported in the newspapers of the time.

Would that we all could have lots and lots of this kind of spirit.

In Christ,

BOB

Bob,

They were (and are) out there - people like the priest you described - may his memory be eternal.

I posted a couple of months ago about a Msgr Quinn in Brooklyn. Cardinal Cushing, of whom Father Serge and I have often spoken, was another - mourned as keenly at death by Boston's Jewish community as he was by his own faithful. Mother Katherine Drexel, the Four Immortal Chaplains [immortalchaplains.org] of WWII fame, the present mission (Ruthenian, as I recollect) which sounds as though it is able to exist only through the love of 4 bi-ritual Latin priests, who rotate so as to be able to provide pastoral care to its faithful, despite the demands of their own parishes. And there are many more

Many years,

Neil

Christ is Risen!

One is edified that Cardinal Keeler has asked pardon. Now will he and his episcopal conference please rectify the damage, so far as possible, by rescinding and cancelling all attempts to force celibacy on our clergy?

A propos of Archbishop John Ireland - I take no pleasure in attacking the memory of a hierarch, but truth also has its claims. The sad fact is that Msgr Ireland was an equal opportunity bigot. Most Greek-Catholics are unaware of it, but Msgr. Ireland was at least equally biased against Irish-speaking immigrants who also failed to "conform" to his Americanist program. On at least one occasion he had a large number of people from Connemara pushed on to a train, sent north from Minneapolis, and dumped out on open land with no facilities whatever to face a Minnesota winter as best they could. Check with the Irish-American Cultural Institute in Minneapolis about the man's lamentable record.

Again, I am sorry. But closing our eyes and ears and attempting to pretend it all never happened is not a viable approach (except, perhaps, for the double-headed Byzantine ostrich).

Fr. Serge

When attending RC Mass, I still cross myself the Eastern way...it usually gets a quick glance of attention from the Priest..I always thought it was good attention, as in: 'How nice that an Orthodox is atteding our Mass'.

In my parish, one will see a scattering of parishioners cross themselves the RC way...they are either RC spouses of Orthodox who have not converted, or ones who have converted! Neither our priest or our parishioners mind...Infact, I say: "Good for them"...everyone should be proud of the tradition of their foundations...

Alice

I tend to mimic those around me unconsciously by accommodation.

So, soon after I had attended a Catholic funeral, when I came back to my Orthodox parish, I had trouble remembering which way was the Byzantine way of signing myself. In fact, the Bishop was present, and so I ended up crossing myself back and forth a few times and he noticed it!

Just to give a different perspective. I am a Latin Catholic with deep appreciation for Eastern Christianity. Whenever I am discussing Eastern Christianity with a Latin Catholic - which is frequent, since I often bring it up :), I find they are always very receptive and very open to learning about it. None I have encountered have considered it "less" Catholic or against their own practices. Most, in fact, are quite edified when they hear about the beautiful practices of the Eastern Churches. I have already brought one friend to a Melkite liturgy, and another friend has requested to come along with me the next time I go.

In my experience, the typical Latin attitude towards the East today is ignorance, not hostility.

Annually the "Latins invade" from the local Latin Seminary to check out "how we do" in the East. To the man I hear compliments and praise and enthusiasm for learning more about the Byzantine East and interest begins in learning about the non-Byzantine East as well. Many of them come back on their own when they have a free Sunday or for a Holy Day liturgy to get more experience, when they visit you can always count on a lot of questions at coffee hour and they are excited about guided tours that explain the meaning of the icons, liturgical appointments, a peak into the sacristy to see the sacred vestments.

Good neighbors become good friends.

If we are patient and charitable and generous with our time and talent in exposing folks to our rich treasure and explaining it to them, we will succeed in having a dividend payment in spades.

Folks should always make efforts to invite folks to experience us and patiently answer all questions they can when they can. It is an effort that will improve awareness of our existence and expand the horizons of many non-Eastern Catholics as they get an idea of just how universal the Universal Chuch is.

Chuckle! In my college days I used to cantor the annual Divine Liturgy at the local Roman Catholic seminary. The books had music and they all sang the Liturgy very well. I remember training two of the seminarians to serve at the altar. I played up on the emphasis of everything being Trinitarian and said they must always use three scoops of incense in the kadillo. Needless to say one could almost not see through the haze of the incense before the Divine Liturgy was over. What fun that was!

We often had the "Latins invade" as well, which was quite fun. Our guests were curious and receptive to learning what all is the tradition of our Church. I don't know, perhaps it is because I'm in a more multi-ethnic area of the US, but I have yet to meet a "Latin Catholic" who has been aggressive or oppressive towards us. Usually what I encounter is more a hunger to learn more.

Even when we were only in a "partial communion" with the Church of Rome, even if they had no idea who we were, they were usually curious to learn more about our Eastern ways. Once the situation between our Church and theirs had been clarified, it was a long conversation about our history, our traditions, liturgy, etc. etc.

Count my blessings I suppose... I do love my friends from the local Latin Catholic congregations, and no bad experiences yet.

Peace,

JOHN:

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He is Risen!!

I had a chuckle, too, since I assume that liek most Latin places they used that fast-burning incense that looks like dirt and smells about like it, too. Enough to make anyone with any kind of lung problem choke. LOL

I solved that problem in my own parish by buying my pastor some good incense from an Orthodox site. The only thing they had to get used to was to set some of it alight before putting it into the kadillo because it didn't really get going until after they were finished censing. Funny, it doesn't cause anyone any problems and has a great scent to it.

BOB

Oh this brings back some memories of an episode with incense and visiting servers! One server coming from a parish that used the type of incense where it is really in small granuals and you heap on a spoonful or two thought the same applied for the variety we used... Our variety is of the "small nugget" type and one "nugget" gets the job done, handily.

Thinking the "scoopful or two" measurement applied, easily 5-10x as much as we would usually use was put in there. Father directed the back door be opened... Not that the scent wasn't magnificent, but visibility was approaching the level of coal mine on a moonless night. No cologne was needed afterwards - hair had a heavenly aroma for the rest of the day and my cassock - which was hung up for next week in the closet at home, gave a hoyful fragrance for the rest of the week when I opened the door.

My life has been deeply richened by Eastern Christianity. As a Latin, I did not even know there were such a thing as Eastern Catholics in communion with Rome until I was 21 when a PROTESTANT minister who was teaching a religion class at KU (Univ of Kansas)
taught this !!!!!!!

The same minister correctly explained the immaculate conception to me. And yes, I went through 12 years of catholic schools before college !!!

My feeling is let the Eastern Catholics marry if they want! Don't they have synod and patriarchs for crying out loud. Another example of the stupid action of the American latin clergy. Why don't the Maronites marry in the US ?? I don't believe they should need Rome's approval for this !!!

I absolutely love our new pope. He, health granted, is going to be a giant and a real man of tradition.

Damn, I feel like some tabouli and pita bread !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You could have gotten some real mileage out of that if you'd hung in a storage place. Some people used to use an apple covered with cloves to make a storage closet smell good over time.

BOB

I used to make apples covered with cloves when I was a girl scout.

Let us pray for Archbishop Ireland.