Both Lungs – Page 7 – Royal Doors

Feb

16

2015

Walking Together

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk For six years now, this column has worked at spreading the message of St. John Paul II who proclaimed that the Church – that is you and I – should breathe through both lungs, East and West. One who breathes through both lungs is Fr. Mark Woodruff a priest with bi-ritual faculties serving both the Latin and Ukrainian Catholic Churches in London, England. Having previously explained how he came to his deep appreciation for the East, Fr. Mark now offers his views and experience of East and West. Moreover, based on that experience, he challenges us to…

Feb

08

2015

By Brent Kostyniuk

Fr. Mark Woodruff </br>Bi-Ritual Faculties

Fr. Mark Woodruff
Bi-Ritual Faculties

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk Back in September, Both Lungs recalled a particularly uplifting Divine Liturgy I attended while on holidays in London. The celebrant was Father Mark Woodruff who had been ordained in the Latin Church, but who had bi-ritual faculties. This month, Both Lungs visits with Father Mark to get a different perspective on the Eastern Church and its relationship with the West. Father Mark’s interest in the East began through ecumenical work. “For many years, I have been involved with Catholic ecumenical engagement. In England in the past we concentrated on unity among Western Christians, but in the last…

Dec

19

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

Christmas Traditions

Both LungsChristmas, Christmas Eve, didukh, kutia, sviat vechir

by Brent Kostyniuk O, Most merciful Lord and You, Son of Righteousness We greet you with holy Christmas Last year You gave us a harvest, You gave us goodness, You gave us health, You gave us wealth Then help us this year so that it will be better. Given Ukrainians’ love for ritual and symbolism, it is no surprise their Christmas celebrations are rich in traditions. Some traditions are purely religious ones, having evolved over the ten centuries since the people of Ukraine accepted Byzantine Christianity in 988. Others are much older. Born in ancient pagan times, they have been…

Sep

15

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

Ecumenism in London, or What I Did This Summer

Both Lungs, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk “So, what did you do for summer holidays?” This time of the year, as life begins to return to its normal routine, that question seems to be a popular one as people gather at the office water cooler or coffee machine. Unfortunately, as a freelance writer, discussions about summer holidays are generally limited to me talking to myself by the kitchen sink. However, I know you are interested, so I’m going to tell you what I did do this summer. I went to London, not as Dick Whittington’s famous cat to visit the Queen, but to spend…

Jun

11

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

Both Sides

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk “I’ve looked at life from both sides now…” I’m sure Joni Mitchell’s words mean something different to just about everyone who hears them. Over the past several months, they have taken on a special new meaning for me, as I reflect on St. John Paul II’s famous exhortation that the Church needs to breathe through both lungs - East and West. For the past five years, this column has used the saint’s words as a focus in attempting to spread knowledge and appreciation of Eastern theology and spirituality to those from the Christian West. Often, the theme…

May

06

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

Ut Unum Sint

Both Lungs, Christian Life, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk As this marks the fiftieth appearance of the Both Lungs column, it seems appropriate to learn more about the context in which Saint John Paul II made the remark from which this column takes its title and its theme. As it turns out, he used the phrase many times. However, one which seems most relevant to this column was in the encyclical Ut Unum Sint [That They May Be One] given on May 25, 1995. Ut Unum Sint looked ahead to the year 2000 and the Jubilee of the Incarnation of the Son of God. It builds…

May

02

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

An Encounter with the Shroud

Both Lungs, News

by Brent Kostyniuk Both Lungs is about East and West, the belief and spiritual heritage we share as Catholics, and the elements of our respective traditions which are different. It is about unity in diversity. Now during Lent, or the Great Fast as it known in the East, an opportunity has come to encounter a part of our mutual heritage which is held in deep regard throughout the Christian world - the Shroud of Turin. On Monday March 3 (the beginning of the Great Fast for Eastern Catholics) the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton celebrated with the solemn exposition of…

Jan

17

2014

By Brent Kostyniuk

You Say Potato

Both Lungs, Faith

by Brent Kostyniuk One of my son-in-laws is fond of saying, “You say pot-ay-to and I say pot-ah-to.” He usually makes the comment towards the end of a long conversation when we have been discussing cars or modern technology. We never really argue and our discussions never become heated. However, we come from different generations and tend to look at many things in different ways. Still, we understand each other and respect each other’s viewpoint. Essentially, his remark means we have agreed to disagree. Mutual understanding is the key. I understand why he has the viewpoint he does, and I’m…

Dec

20

2013

By Brent Kostyniuk

Light from the East

Both Lungs

by Brent Kostyniuk If at times Both Lungs seems to take on a bit of a defensive tone, it is, perhaps, justified. It is, after all, nearly 120 years since Pope Leo XIII issued the apostolic constitution Orientalium Dignitas. In it, the Pope praised the Eastern Churches and extolled their place in the Catholic Church. “The Churches of the East are worthy of the glory and reverence that they hold throughout the whole of Christendom in virtue of those extremely ancient, singular memorials that they have bequeathed to us. For it was in that part of the world that the…

Dec

20

2013

By Brent Kostyniuk

The Nativity Icon

Both Lungs, LiturgyChristmas, Nativity of our Lord

by Brent Kostyniuk It is often said that icons are windows onto heaven. Indeed, that is exactly what they are meant to be. In their beauty, in their unique artistic style, and in the theology they convey, icons do lead us away from this world and into the next. Unlike other forms of religious art, icons are not meant to be realistic. As the noted Canadian iconographer Myroslaw Tataryn explains, “...they are symbols that reveal, in an artistic manner, a profound spiritual truth - the mysterious reality of God’s presence in human life.” The question of whether or not it…