Brent Kostyniuk

Oct

16

2026

Christ’s Death and Resurrection Has Conquered Sin for All Time

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk Sin. Since the time of Adam and Eve, sin has been a part of the human condition, and it is always with us. Christ our Pascha, the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, explains the consequences of our first parents’ disregard for God’s commandment: “149 The Fall of our first ancestors is the tragedy of humankind. Instead of being sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters to all, and stewards of creation, humans by their own sinful choice became slaves of evil, enemies to other people. They fell under the sway of the world. Created in…

Jun

27

2026

By Brent Kostyniuk

Encyclicals

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith, News

by Brent Kostyniuk Do you write letters? Real honest to goodness letters with a pen on paper. Few people do now. To a large degree it has become a lost art. Yet letters are a unique form of communication. To receive a letter is to know that the sender has taken the time to organize their thoughts and the trouble to put those thoughts down, word by word, sentence by sentence. Moreover, there is something very special in knowing that the missive has actually been handled by the person who sent it. While letter writing is becoming increasingly rare, its…

Feb

13

2026

By Brent Kostyniuk

The Final Goodbye – at least for a while

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith, Liturgy

by Brent Kostyniuk It has become fashionable to call funerals “Celebrations of Life.” The rationale for this seems to be a desire to enhance the memory of the deceased person and keep it fresh. In a subtle way, however, a Celebration of Life can be an attempt to deny reality. While we all want to remember loved ones who have passed, we also need to accept the fact they have left this earthly life. All of us grieve in our own way. We cry, we despair, we struggle with thoughts of what might have been, we overindulge to ease to…

Oct

26

2025

By Brent Kostyniuk

Guardian Angels

Both Lungs, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk Angel of GodMy guardian dearBy whom God’s love entrust me hereEver this dayBe at my sideTo light and guardTo rule and guide. I do not remember a time when I did not know this prayer. Presumably either my mother or father taught it to me at a very young age, when I would kneel beside my little cot and say a nightly prayer. On the wall above my bed was a picture of a very little boy and his dog, both kneeling by their bed, invoking the simple prayer of, “Please.” Although I did not have a…

May

25

2025

By Brent Kostyniuk

Memory Eternal

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk It is often said we should save the best for the last. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. These words, which come at the end of the Nicene Creed, express the best, the greatest, belief we hold as Christians. They remind us that Jesus has conquered death by death and to those in the grave He granted life. Our greatest fear – death – has no hold over us. We live with the certainty that Jesus has, indeed, prepared a way for us and that a beautiful…

Apr

14

2025

By Brent Kostyniuk

I Believe

Both Lungs

Imagine St. Nicholas – jolly Old St. Nick – becoming so agitated with someone that the holy man stormed across a room and slapped that person on the face. That is what supposedly happened at the First Council of Nicaea held in 325, exactly 1700 years ago. According to ancient church historians, the Council was convened by Emperor Constantine I. The Council itself was to settle, for all time, the relationship between Jesus Christ and God the Father. He was motivated by the heresy of Arianism, which stemmed from the teaching of the Alexandrian priest, Arius (c250-336). Arius taught that…

Feb

25

2025

By Brent Kostyniuk

The Jubilee Year

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk The year 2025 is being celebrated by Catholics throughout the world as a Jubilee Year, an event which generally takes place once every 25 years. The custom of Jubilee stems from the Old Testament when, once every 50 years, a holy year was announced with the sounding of a ram’s horn, known in Hebrew as yovel. From this the term jubilee is derived. The Jubilee was a time of liberation and restoration, underscoring the covenantal relationship between God and the Israelites. The custom of a Jubilee Year was revived by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. Although uncertain,…

Oct

09

2024

By Brent Kostyniuk

Religious Language

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk It goes without saying that language is central to any society. It allows the members of that society to exchange thoughts and ideas and, in turn, prosper. While the language of a particular society may not be totally unique, it will have developed individual characteristics. Often this takes the form of slang, understood only by members of the society. For example, during the Second World War, Royal Air Force pilots referred to the aeroplanes as “kites.” In other cases, a society will have developed specific meanings for otherwise common words or have invented words unique to itself.…

Jun

23

2024

By Brent Kostyniuk

“Buying a Mass Card”

Both Lungs, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk When a loved one is gravely ill, or perhaps has passed away, we long to do whatever is possible to help them in this world, or the next. Out first inclination should be to pray for that person. However, often it seems as if our prayers are not enough. We want to do more. We want a stronger and more direct means of imploring God’s mercy. At those times, we often approach our pastor and request a Divine Liturgy be said for that person. When I was growing up, I often heard my parents and relatives talk…

Mar

07

2024

By Brent Kostyniuk

The Byzantine Experience

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk “Wow!” That was the reaction of a friend of mine when she first stepped into a Ukrainian Catholic church. Although a life-long Catholic, and, indeed, a religion teacher in our city’s Catholic school system, this was her first encounter with the Byzantine tradition. She had not yet heeded St. John Paul II’s admonition that the Church should breathe through Both Lungs – East and West. Moreover, he proclaimed it was the duty of Catholics of the West, that is Roman Catholics, to learn about their Eastern brethren. “It’s so big inside!” Her eyes were drawn upwards to…