Hearing mass as a guest

[choy]

can i just walk into an Eastern Rite Catholic Church and hear mass and receive communion?

or do it have to speak with the priest before hand and introduce myself as a Roman/Latin Rite Catholic?

 

[Pakesh]

can i just walk into an Eastern Rite Catholic Church and hear mass and receive communion?

or do it have to speak with the priest before hand and introduce myself as a Roman/Latin Rite Catholic?

If you are a practicing, Baptized Roman Catholic, you are free to receive any of the Sacraments in any of the Eastern Catholic Churches. The Eastern Catholic Churches are just as “Catholic” as the Roman Church. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church is just one of 23 Churches that make up the Universal Catholic Church (that is, all of them are in Communion with the See of Rome).

That being said, there is a great difference between the Mass in the Latin (Roman) Church and the Divine Liturgy (“Mass” in the Eastern Catholic Churches). There have been threads on this I’m sure, and my fellow posters will give you more information.

So, I suppose the quick answer to your first question is “Yes, absolutely.” However, I don’t suggest just walking in blind to a Divine Liturgy without doing some research on it.
In Christ,
Pakesh

 

[gmcbroom]

Pakesh is correct. However, its always best to go a little early so you can introduce your self to the priest. That way he’ll know you can get communion and it won’t be akward. Just think of it as being polite.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Most of the Eastern Churches I know of are fairly small communities. If you introduce yourself beforehand they will be very welcoming and help you understand the liturgy.

 

[choy]

would it be best if i find someone to serve as some sort of “host” for me?

i just want to exeperience the Eastern Divine Liturgy

 

[Elizium23]

If you are familiar with the liturgy of the Latin Rite then you should be able to follow along fairly easily with the Divine Liturgy. Booklets are usually provided.

I came early and met the priest and introduced myself. They use your baptismal name when distributing Holy Communion, so it is best to meet them beforehand.

Just find a place where you have a good view of the choir or cantor or at least other people, and try to do what they do. You will quickly get a feel for things like making the Sign of the Cross when the Holy Trinity is mentioned, etc.

If you are lucky, you will probably find someone who will explain more to you and show you around. I had no trouble making friends at a Byzantine-Ruthenian parish. You will probably even find former Latin Catholics there.

 

[KyivAndrew]

would it be best if i find someone to serve as some sort of “host” for me?

i just want to exeperience the Eastern Divine Liturgy

Nah… I say just walk in, and find a pew in the middle of the church, that way when the Liturgy calls for standing or sitting you can just follow the congregation and not get lost. You might note that Eastern Catholics (well, at least Ukrainian, as I am unfamiliar with other Eastern Catholics really ) do not go down on knee before sitting at pew, but cross themselves whilst bowing toward the altar. The sign of the cross is done with 3 fingers (the Trinity) right-to-left, not left-to-right as in Roman Catholicism. But don’t worry about it as it might just confuse things and nobody will notice.

If it’s a larger parish, I don’t think anyone would notice if you were to partake in Holy Communion, but remember, Eastern Catholics take communion by mouth directly as the priest drops the consecrated bread and wine by spoon into your mouth as you open wide, crossing yourself after you have partaken. If you don’t feel comfortable at first to take Communion just go and sit through the Liturgy and enjoy I say. I know in our Ukrainian Catholic Churches we follow the Divine Liturgy using a bilingual missal, Ukrainian and English.

You might want to check the Church beforehand if they have a sign in front listing times of Liturgy and what languages they are done in at what time. It all depends if you plan on attending Ukrainian, Maronite, Ruthenian, Romanian, or others.

I hope this helps. If not then you can complain on this thread that I was of no help. (ducks)

 

[KyivAndrew]

On the other hand, maybe Elizium is right. I guess it all depends on whether it’s a city, or small town and what the people are like. O.K. I’m a big help.

I don’t know. I just know that when I began attending Roman Catholic masses at University that is what I did originally. Go in, follow prayer book, watch everyone else. Slowly pick up on communion, confession, etc.

 

[choy]

Kyiv, are we in the same locale? perhaps you can be my “host”

 

[KyivAndrew]

Kyiv, are we in the same locale? perhaps you can be my “host”

Toronto. I would have to fly several thousand kilometers to meet you. Would you cover my air flight.? Would love to see B.C.

Oh well, sorry Choy

Worth asking.

 

[5Loaves]

I think most Eastern Catholic Churches are used to having guests come who are unfamiliar with the Divine Liturgy. As Elizium23 mentioned you will likely find former Latin Church Catholics there as well as those like myself who are still canonically Latin but primarily functioning as Eastern Catholics.

If you look back through posts here in the Eastern Catholicism section you can find numerous posts about going to an ECC for the first time.

Our parish has neither pews nor service books. (Neither does the Orthodox parish I sometimes go to have those.) We have a bench along the back wall and a 2 person one closer to the iconostatis, plus 4 chairs. The Liturgy has elements which are highly repetitive and if you’re where you can hear the choir you can easily join in for those parts. We do have cards which give the Prayers of Preparation Before Holy Communion, St. John Chrysostom, which are said immediately before going forward for Eucharist,

We do not kneel on Sundays which are all little Paschas/Easters, although if you happen to go on Pentecost, the Kneeling Vespers typically is celebrated after Divine Liturgy and it includes a great number of prostrations. This year East and West had Pascha on the same day, so Pentecost will also be on the same day as in your Latin Church,

 

[choy]

Toronto. I would have to fly several thousand kilometers to meet you. Would you cover my air flight.? Would love to see B.C.

Oh well, sorry Choy

Worth asking.

ah, maybe someday

by the way, what’s the best way to seek Eastern Catholic Churches in Canada?

i know like the Archdiocese of Vancouver would have a website. what of Eastern Rite Churches? (whats they keywords basically )

 

[Hesychios]

i know like the Archdiocese of Vancouver would have a website. what of Eastern Rite Churches? (whats they keywords basically )

Check out this link to the UGCC for starters.

Also a handy resource is to be found here, put together by some real nice folks.

 

[KyivAndrew]

Edit: Choy these are more informative links. In the post below I give the B.C. eparchy’s link to its parishes.

Choy, apart from Hesychios’ good link, it is also worthwhile to look at the homepage of our Church in the home country:
ugcc.org.ua/index.php?L=2

Plus a parish close to mine:
saintelias.com/ca/index.php

Plus a homepage to which one of CAF’s Ukrainian Catholic members contributes:
stirenaeus.net/

 

[KyivAndrew]

i know like the Archdiocese of Vancouver would have a website. what of Eastern Rite Churches? (whats they keywords basically )

Sorry Choy, I just saw this and my links were more generic above.

FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA UKRAINIAN CATHOLIC PARISHES look here:
nweparchy.ca/index.php?go=parishes

Maybe one close to you.

And maybe some of the other Eastern Catholics have info. on B.C. apart from mine?

 

[choy]

Ukranian Churches seems to be the most popular here in Canada. there is quite a few of them here while hardly any of the other Eastern Churches, especially here in BC

i’ll do more research on it and maybe sometime over the summer i’ll attend Divine Liturgy in one of them

 

[choy]

so our priest is on leave and i was talking to our substitute priest and he happens to be a Chaldean Rite priest. i asked him if i can hear mass at his parish and he said yes

it will be in Aramaic, although the Church itself is a Latin Church

i’ll go there sometime later in May

 

[angelic06]

When I first went to the Divine Liturgy at St. George Maronite Catholic Church here in San Antonio, TX, Subdeacon Raymond Casillas was apparently able to tell that I was a Latin (maybe I genuflected or something or other). So, he came over to me, greeted me, then he started talking a bit about the Christian East. Now, I did some research beforehand, I even did my high school senior English research report on the break between the East and West. I’ve also been to a Greek Orthodox DL long long ago my frosh year in college. I would love to go back to a Byz DL, though the Maronite one is pretty cool, too.

Now, some differences: I can’t speak for the Byzantines, but in the Maronite Church, Holy Communion is received by dipping the sacred Host into the Blood of our Lord----as the Master of Ceremonies (my term, for lack of the precise terminology, for the layman who takes the place of roles specified for the deacon in the rubrics) at St. George is sure to emphasize, NEVER on the hand.

Also, we bow when we enter the pew. There are kneelers, but they are never used during the DL itself. The priest incenses a few times during the DL—you can still smell the incense even when it is not actively incensed, but usually it does not cause anyone problems. (I have heard of some churches which use a nasally obnoxious type.) But I don’t think anyone is going to object if you have to leave for a minute or so if the incense starts to get to you. The priests at St. George also chanted (relatively in tune ) the Anaphora in Aramaic. After having chanted this, with a few replies from the people, the priests then ask that the Holy Spirit come upon the Gifts to make then the Body and Blood of our Lord.

Now, as for the Byzantines, as I remember, they use a spoon to dip the Body of our Lord into the precious Blood.

Paul R. Viola

 

[angelic06]

so our priest is on leave and i was talking to our substitute priest and he happens to be a Chaldean Rite priest. i asked him if i can hear mass at his parish and he said yes

it will be in Aramaic, although the Church itself is a Latin Church

i’ll go there sometime later in May

I do not know what you are trying to say here. The Chaldeans are not Latins. They use the East Syrian Rite. While your substitute priest may have faculties to say the Latin rite Mass, there is no admixture authorized for saying a half Chaldean, half Latin Mass/Divine Liturgy from what I understand. Such would be a Latinization if it occured in the context of a Chaldean Divine Liturgy, which the Holy See has constantly asked the Eastern churches to rid themselves of.

Or are you trying to say that a Chaldean Divine Liturgy (without admixture) is offered on the altar of a Roman Catholic Church, which is perfectly permissible according the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches? If so, then my sincere apologies for the confusion.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaldean_Catholic_Church

Paul R. Viola

 

[GIR]

I was received quite warmly at the Maronite church in Austin. They even had someone sit with me and explain the order of the Qurbono. I also went to a ruthenian mission a few times. They were equally nice, and even gave me the antidoron since I was the only guest.