The Theotokos’ Great Commission: Pray the Rosary On October 7 in the Roman Rite, we celebrated Our Lady of the Rosary, or a commemoration of the Victory of Lepanto. This feast was celebrated for the 448th time this year. The Church attributed this Title to the Theotokos. Both as the heavenly originator of the Holy …
A prayer rope, which can also be called Chotki or Komboskini, is a Byzantine prayer tool which dates back to the fourth century. St. Pachomius the Great (born in the 3rd Century) started the prayer rope as a way to keep track of prayers and prostrations. The most popular prayers that the prayer rope is …
One important mark of a Christian life is praying for others. We pray for our family and friends, and ask friends and family to pray for us all the time. Sometimes we forget that we have even more family in heaven, in the saints! This week’s article is a quick exploration of why it is …
On August 16th we celebrate the Feast of the Image Not Made by Hands, the very first icon. We also know this icon by other names, including the Holy Napkin/Cloth, the Icon Not Made by Hands, The Image of Edessa, and the Mandylion (which is Greek for facecloth). This is the third Christological feast in …
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever! August 1 to August 15 marks another special season in the liturgical calendar of the Byzantine Church. A season dedicated to preparing with prayer and penance a heart like our Blessed Mother, the Holy Theotokos. We try to create a heart like Her’s because on August 15 the Theotokos …
Tomorrow we celebrate Jesus’ love for us, in both Eastern and Western churches. In the East, this Friday is called Christ, Lover of Mankind and in the West it is called the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart and is traditionally celebrated on the Friday 19 days after Pentecost. This Friday we focus upon the image …
The next feast day coming up is the Nativity of John the Baptist. John the Baptist, or John the Forerunner, is highly venerated in the Byzantine Churches. There are a couple reasons for this. First of all, he baptized Christ. And he is the last prophet, the one to prepare the way for Jesus (see …
After the birth of my first baby, I spent most of my time thinking about her future baptism. Part of this was just me worrying something might happen to Little Fox before she was baptized. But I also was excited about being able to bring Little Fox into the Church. While I was baptized as …
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In the East, we call the second Pascal Sunday (the seventh day after Easter) Thomas Sunday, Sunday of St. Thomas or Antipascha (The “antithesis” of the Octave of Easter). The eighth day after Easter is also commonly known as Divine Mercy Sunday, particularly since St. Faustyna (St. Faustina) shared her private revelations about Christ’s mercy …
