Faith – Page 17 – Royal Doors

Aug

05

2013

70×7 = Infinity

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

What is the hardest thing to accept in Christianity? Is it the doctrine of the Trinity? The idea that God became man? Or that the Eucharist is the body and blood of Christ? While these teachings may meet with obstacles in our minds, the hardest thing for us to accept in practice is the absolute need to forgive others. In our broken humanity we are much more at home with seeking vengeance. We are often more comfortable with the pre-Christian vision of a vengeful God: “And the LORD said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on…

Jul

28

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Mustard Seed Faith

Faith, Featured Articles

The healing of an epileptic described in Matthew 17:14-21 took place late in Christ’s public ministry. One indication is that the very next verses speak of Christ warning His disciples about His coming Passion (vv. 22-23). It was only as the time of His earthly ministry was drawing to a close that He began insisting on what was about to happen to Him. Another sign that this healing took place late in Christ’s earthly ministry is the reaction of His disciples. Their question, “Why could we not cast it out?” (v. 19), shows that they had already been healing the…

Jul

22

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

The Order of Repentance – Long Form of Confession

Faith, Liturgy

Priest: Blessed be our God at all times, now and for ever and ever. All: Amen. Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You! Heavenly King, Advocate, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, Treasury of Blessings, Bestower of Life, come, and dwell with us; cleanse us of all that defiles us, and O Good One, save our souls. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen. Trinity…

Jul

21

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

The Order of Repentance – A Communal Penance Service According to the Byzantine Rite

Christian Life, Faith, Prayer

Priest: Blessed be our God at all times, now and for ever and ever. All: Amen. Glory be to You, our God, glory be to You! Heavenly King, Advocate, Spirit of Truth, Who are everywhere present and fill all things, Treasury of Blessings, Bestower of Life, come, and dwell with us; cleanse us of all that defiles us, and O Good One, save our souls. Holy God, Holy and Mighty, Holy and Immortal, have mercy on us. (3) Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and for ever and ever. Amen. Trinity…

Jul

14

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Introduction to Epistle Readings Help Card

Faith, Featured Articles, Liturgy

The following was created by Fr. Michael Winn for the Eparchy of Edmonton in order to help those who read the Epistle at the Sunday Divine Liturgy. It is a list of the "introductions" to the Epistle readings, in both English and Ukrainian, that also acts as a book marker. It was created on standard letter-size paper and is intended to be folded in half vertically and then laminated. Introduction to the Epistle Readings

Jul

12

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

An Introduction to the Eastern Catholic Churches

Faith, Featured Articles

with Fr. Thomas Loya The Catholic Church is a communion of churches. It is made up of churches from the Eastern Tradition and Western Tradition. Every Catholic has a responsibility for understanding the fullness of the Catholic Church. Blessed Pope John Paul has said "the Church must learn to breathe again with its two lungs, its eastern and western one" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFIzumjrEjc

Jul

09

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Hidden Messiah

Faith, Featured Articles

The ninth chapter of St Matthew’s Gospel records several miracles in succession: the healing of a paralytic, of the ruler’s daughter, of a woman with a flow of blood, two blind men and a mute man. Only in the case of the two blind men do we find that the Lord Jesus “…sternly warned them, saying, ‘See that no one knows it’” (Matthew 9:30). Why did the Lord want these two to keep quiet while not demanding that the paralytic and the others do the same? The key seems to be in the way the blind men approached Jesus. Unlike…

Jun

30

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

When Icons Argue

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

The Fast of the Apostles which follows the feast of Pentecost concludes with two special commemorations: on June 29 we remember the glorious leaders of the apostles, Peter and Paul; on the next day we observe a synaxis (assembly) for all Twelve. The feast of Saints Peter and Paul is particularly observed as the throne-feast of two apostolic patriarchates: Antioch (where both apostles ministered earlier in the lives) and Rome (where both were martyred and buried). Peter and Paul in Antioch The Acts of the Apostles devotes its first part to the ministry of St Peter in the Holy…

Jun

27

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

Faith, Featured Articles

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Sandy Koufax raised many an eyebrow at the 1965 World Series when he refused to pitch at the opening game because it was Yom Kippur. He remains a model for countless observant Jewish athletes, debaters, spellers and other competitors who decline to practice or compete on the Sabbath, even if it means forfeiting a championship. As one Jewish teenager put it, “Shabbat is not at all voluntary and not something you can compromise on.” Observant Jews do not see the Law as arbitrary but as the rational will of God for them. When the Hellenistic king…

Jun

19

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Isaiah: The Fifth Gospel

Faith

In Winter of 2004, I followed a graduate course on Eastern Christian Hermeneutics and Exegesis in the Prophecy of Isaiah. It was taught by an excellent man and professor, Fr. Andrew Onuferko. At the time he was also the Acting Director of the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies at Saint Paul University, Ottawa. One section of the course highlighted the early Church and their use of the only Scriptures they knew of at the time what we Christians now call the Old Testament. The author, John Sawyer in his excellent book, The Fifth Gospel: Isaiah in the…