Royal Doors

Jun

19

2013

What is the Liturgical Year?

LiturgySeptember 1

In a pastoral letter issued at the close of the Second Vatican Council (1965), our Bishops, together with Cardinal Joseph Slipyj, defined the Liturgical Year as: “A liturgical cycle of the universal or some particular Church, that consists of Sundays, weekdays, the feasts of our Lord, the Mother of God, the saints and the periods of fasting and forbidden times.” We call the Liturgical Year the Ecclesiastical or Church Year, because it contains the Church Calendar, which in some respects is similar to and in others differs from the civil calendar. In the Eastern Church the Church Year differs from…

Jun

17

2013

By Fr. Roman Planchak

From Slavery to Freedom

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

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, Featured Articles

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, Featured Articles

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, Featured Articles

“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

26

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

It Smells Like Love – A Short Story

Christian Life, Featured Articles

The five bells began to ring. Their sweet notes grew in size as they floated over the snow-covered neighbourhood. A squirrel, more interested in gathering food than hibernating, stopped in its tracks to listen. The voice of the bells seemed to call for the neighbourhood to awaken from its mid-winter slumber. The morning sunlight struck their eyes with a sharp intensity as they left the church. Shading his eyes with his hand on his brow, Roman searched for his children finding them playing in the freshly-fallen snow. Taking the hand of his wife, Olenka, they began to walk slowly to…

May

25

2013

By Fr. Michael Winn

Purgatory and the Christian East

Christian Life, Faith, Featured Articles

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, Featured Articles

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…

May

15

2013

By Royal Doors Roving Reporter

Being “One in Us”

Faith, Featured Articles

In monastic or religious circles it is common for spiritual leaders to leave their followers a “spiritual testament,” an outline of the teachings and instructions which they want uppermost in their disciples’ minds. Christ’s prayer in John 17 is a kind of spiritual testament. In it the Lord expresses His holy will for Himself, for His apostles, for the Church and for all mankind on the eve of His crucifixion. The Time of His Glorification– The prayer begins with Christ praying for Himself: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify You” (verse 1). What…