www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Discovering The Byzantine Rite from the Latin Rite

Hello friends. I am a pretty devout Latin Rite Catholic who has recently discovered through a friend(who happens to be a Franciscan Friar) the Byzantine Liturgy. In the past I had heard of Byzantine Liturgy and it never really appealed to me until I had recently participated in one. I have to say that I am so thankful for having discovered it. Me being a daily mass communicate in the Latin Rite I am deeply drawn to experiencing heaven in the mass and receiving Christ through the Eucharist. Now I am seeing how much more reverent the Byzantine Liturgy is than the Roman mass, and I feel like I have found something that I have been missing all of my life. I do not want to knock the Roman Rite because it has certainly provided so many life saving graces through the sacraments and devotional prayers in my life, but I feel more drawn to the Byzantine Liturgy. The big issue I am having though is the idea of receiving the Eucharist daily. The Roman Rite offers this but obviously the Byzantine Rite does not, and knowing how powerful and life changing the Eucharist is, why do they not have a daily liturgy? So if I become a full fledged Byzantine Catholic the daily Eucharist will go away, and I am having a struggle there at the moment. Has anybody been in a similar situation? Thank you all.

Welcome, Andrew!

There are Byzantine Catholic parishes that have daily Divine Liturgy.

One thing to consider, however, is that many Byzantines look upon the weekdays as preparation for the Sunday Eucharist. You can sort of look at the ideal found in the cycle of services for Sundays and Feast Days. Saturday evening Vespers and Sunday morning Matins prepare you for the Divine Liturgy and the reception of the Eucharist. We can take the time during the week to prayerfully prepare for the Sunday Divine Liturgy.

John

I was thinking as such John, thank you for confirming that. I need to start learning how to pray Vespers, compline, and Matins myself. Do you have any recommendations on where to purchase material that would be helpful? Thank You

Andrew, you can get the Divine Office from the eparchy of St Josaphat in Parma. Give them a quick google search and go on their website. The book is a bit complicated just like many others like it because you have to cross reference different pages. I would recommend getting the un changeable parts of each service first and getting the propers from the OCA website. Which translation are you looking for Ruthenian or the Ukrainian one. Te texts differ a bit but its mostly the same

Ruthenian

Some parishes, such as St. John Chrysostom Byzantine Catholic Church (Ruthenian) in Houston, TX, offer weekday liturgy by request. While it is not the tradition in the Byzantine rite, I may take advantage of it when I get married to see to it that my children are exposed to the riches of both the East and the West.

(For the record, daily Masses are not typically sung in the Roman rite of the Latin Church sui juris, at least not in the parishes I've been to, and I do not wish my children to be turned off from the Latin Church - my currently desired beloved is a parishioner of a parish of the Roman rite Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter [established for Catholics coming from the Anglican tradition], which has beautiful choral Masses and Evensong depending on the parish. Consequently, I think it will be best to raise my children in the Ordinariate and then take them, as time permits, to St. John Chrysostom for daily liturgy. At the same time, though, I did inquire from St. John Chrysostom parish as to the availability of Great Vespers, as I do not wish to make it a habit of attending Eastern Orthodox ones so that my children do not grow up thinking that I am indifferent to the Holy Catholic Faith and to full communion with the Successor of St. Peter, currently Pope Francis.)

*** As for my background, I am currently Latin Catholic, but I have been attending the Byzantine Catholic community in San Antonio, TX for six years now. I am considering moving for work related purposes.

Andrew, if you are still looking for the texts for the Divine Office, the Metropolitan Cantor Institute has the text for Matins, Vespers, and Complines along with the propers presented in an easy to use format, but as far as I know, they have produced a hard copy book though perhaps some Ruthenians might know. Of course, you could always email a priest or the Byzantine Seminary press and see if they might have some old copies of Great Vespers or Matins