Byzantine Rite Divine Liturgy for All Saints' Day
For this month's pilgrimage, we decided to head to Palo Alto for the celebration of the Byzantine Catholic All Saints' Day. We had met Father Anthony at an earlier pilgrimage in which we joined him at his parish, St. Basil the Great, in Los Gatos for Vespers. He is an extremely knowledgeable and dedicated Byzantine rite priest. I told him later in the day that he has to serve essentially as an apologist for the history, beliefs, and the traditions of the Eastern Catholic Church to those of us who are unfamiliar with the other side of our history (the other lung, as Blessed John Paul the Great described it).
For those of us from the Latin rite tradition, it was Holy Trinity Sunday, but for the Byzantine rite Catholics, it was All Saints' Day. That meant that in addition to being part of liturgy different from our own (but still 100% Catholic) we were going to be able to see lots of first class relics (parts of bodies of Saints)! Father Anthony has quite a few, and, normally, Father Michael Pintacura concelebrates the Liturgy. Father Michael has the largest collection of relics west of the Rockies, so many of us were really excited. Unfortunately, something came up for Father Michael, so we made do with the 7 relics that Father Anthony took. He had some that really thrilled some of us, and at least interested the others, but more of that after a brief description of the Divine Liturgy.
Those of us from the Latin rite are used to the entire mass being said, with some exceptions for the rare priest who will chant some of the prayers. The entire Byzantine rite is chanted. (You can't call it a mass, as the word "mass" comes from the Latin term "missa", from the sending at the end. The Byzantine, by definition, are not and do not follow the Latin, hence Divine Liturgy and not mass.) Similar to the mass, there is a lot of deep meaning that, unless you understand and follow it, can easily be missed. Before the Liturgy even begins, the celebrant and the deacon prepare the Eucharist. The majority of the Liturgy is behind walls called "iconstasis" or wall of icons, which bring to mind Christ, the Theotokos (Mother of God), and patriarchs of the Church. The preparation of the Eucharist full of deep prayer, includes removing the outer layer of a loaf and cutting it into a square called a "lamb". The lamb is then pierced with a lance (a knife in the shape of a lance) while the deacon pours wine and water symbolizing the blood and water that poured forth when our Lord was pierced in His holy side. The lamb is then cut into small cubes which will be later spooned into our mouths during communion. Wow! And all that process begins before the beginning of the Liturgy.
For those of us from the Latin rite tradition, it was Holy Trinity Sunday, but for the Byzantine rite Catholics, it was All Saints' Day. That meant that in addition to being part of liturgy different from our own (but still 100% Catholic) we were going to be able to see lots of first class relics (parts of bodies of Saints)! Father Anthony has quite a few, and, normally, Father Michael Pintacura concelebrates the Liturgy. Father Michael has the largest collection of relics west of the Rockies, so many of us were really excited. Unfortunately, something came up for Father Michael, so we made do with the 7 relics that Father Anthony took. He had some that really thrilled some of us, and at least interested the others, but more of that after a brief description of the Divine Liturgy.
Those of us from the Latin rite are used to the entire mass being said, with some exceptions for the rare priest who will chant some of the prayers. The entire Byzantine rite is chanted. (You can't call it a mass, as the word "mass" comes from the Latin term "missa", from the sending at the end. The Byzantine, by definition, are not and do not follow the Latin, hence Divine Liturgy and not mass.) Similar to the mass, there is a lot of deep meaning that, unless you understand and follow it, can easily be missed. Before the Liturgy even begins, the celebrant and the deacon prepare the Eucharist. The majority of the Liturgy is behind walls called "iconstasis" or wall of icons, which bring to mind Christ, the Theotokos (Mother of God), and patriarchs of the Church. The preparation of the Eucharist full of deep prayer, includes removing the outer layer of a loaf and cutting it into a square called a "lamb". The lamb is then pierced with a lance (a knife in the shape of a lance) while the deacon pours wine and water symbolizing the blood and water that poured forth when our Lord was pierced in His holy side. The lamb is then cut into small cubes which will be later spooned into our mouths during communion. Wow! And all that process begins before the beginning of the Liturgy.