Faith – Page 19 – Royal Doors

Jun

27

2013

Righteousness Through Faith in Christ

Faith

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…

Jun

19

2013

By Most Rev. Lawrence Huculak

The Iconostasis and the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada

Faith, Liturgy

Introduction The Sistine Chapel in Rome is famous, not only as the place where new popes are elected but also for the important series of frescoes, begun in 1508, by arguably the world’s greatest artist, Michelangelo. On 12 November 1979, two icons by a lesser-known artist, Sviatoslav Hordynsky, were placed in the Sistine Chapel for the episcopal ordination of Myroslav Ivan Lubachivsky, as Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia. The service took place according to the Ukrainian Byzantine Liturgical rites and the main celebrant was Pope John Paul II. The Sistine Chapel obviously did not lack in artistic decoration, but it was lacking…

Jun

17

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

From Slavery to Freedom

Christian Life, Faith

When we think of slavery it is the experience of blacks in America which most often comes to mind. Africans targeted by commercial slave traders as ignorant savages were captured in raids, transported across the Atlantic and sold on the open market like livestock. In the Roman Empire slavery was not tied to race as it was here. The first slaves seem to have been children sold by their own parents and enemy warriors and their families captured during battle. Debtors sold themselves into slavery to cover their debts. They could be freed if their family or friends paid off…

Jun

10

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Hope of Glory

Faith

Recently, the website, “Ship of Fools,” reported the following list of support group meetings for the week at a Lutheran church in Ohio: Mon – Alcoholics Anonymous Tues – Abused Spouses Wed – Eating Disorders Thu – Say No to Drugs Fri – Teen Suicide Watch Sat – Soup Kitchen At the Sunday service the sermon was “America’s Joyous Future.” While America’s future may be joyous, its present seems decidedly troubled. There are not enough days in the week to treat all the disorders plaguing our society: internet gambling and pornography as well as school shootings, being only the most…

Jun

06

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Seed of the Word in the Gentiles

Faith

In much of the world today multi-cultural communities abound. There are cities whose residents trace their lineage to every part of the globe, where a host of languages, religions, foods and music abound. At the same time we know that there are also more homogeneous communities – usually smaller or more isolated – where a different ethnic, religious or even regional background would set people apart as being outsiders. In these traditional societies uniformity is more valued than diversity. Israel during its formative period was such a society. In many respects it was similar to its neighbors in the Middle…

May

29

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

Fasting with the Apostles

Christian Life, Faith

“After the long Feast of Pentecost, fasting is especially necessary to purify our thoughts and render us worthy to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit … Therefore, the salutary custom was established of fasting after the joyful days during which we celebrated the resurrection and ascension of our Lord, and the coming of the Holy Spirit” (from a sermon of Pope St. Leo the Great, +461). The fifty days of feasting from Pascha to Pentecost is followed by a time of fasting which we call the Fast of the Apostles. The first evidence of this fast is found in…

May

25

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Purgatory and the Christian East

Christian Life, Faith

It is often asked of Eastern Catholics what it is they believe about Purgatory. (At least it is a question that I myself have been asked on more than one occasion!) Roman Catholics, after all, speak in quite definitive terms about it, while the Orthodox explicitly reject the doctrine. Consequently, it might be supposed that Eastern Catholics either fall right in the middle of the two positions, or that they simply adhere to Latin definitions. I would argue, however, that neither of these options is the case, and that what Eastern Catholics can do today is reflect upon the truth…

May

24

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

The Language of the Liturgy: Speaking God’s Kingdom

Faith, Liturgy

The issue of religion and language has been with us since at least the third century BC, when the books of what we now call the Old Testament were first translated from Hebrew into Greek. Three centuries later, by the time the apostles began to move out from Jerusalem and carry the message of Jesus across the known world, each of them will likely have known Aramaic, Hebrew, and Greek. Subsequently, as the Gospel spread and the liturgies of the Church developed, the languages of the Church multiplied. As we might expect, Latin was almost immediately added, but so was…

May

19

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

The Promise Fulfilled

Faith

Several hymns of Pentecost allude to promises made by Christ concerning the coming Holy Spirit. He would be “another Paraclete” (Comforter or Advocate), Jesus Himself being their first Paraclete. The Holy Spirit, being immaterial, would “abide with you forever” (John 14:15). He would be “everywhere present and filling all things,” as we say in the hymn to the Holy Spirit which begins most of our services. The Lord Jesus, took on our humanity to be like us in all things except sin. His earthly life, like ours would be limited to a certain time and a certain place so that…