Welcome

Our Parish Family is indeed honored and pleased to have you share in this celebration of the Divine Liturgy.  As we raise our minds, hearts, bodies – our entire being – in joyful praise to God, we reflect with the psalmist in how good it is for sisters and brothers to raise their voices as one! 

Who are we?

Yes, we are Catholics in union with the Bishop of Rome whom we recognize as the visible head of the Catholic Church.  We are recognized as being “Catholic” by the local Roman Catholics and the Bishops of the United States and the whole world.

Having said that we are “Catholics”, we must now state that we are NOT Roman Catholics, but Catholics who are identified as being Eastern Catholics.  As Catholics, we Eastern and Roman Catholics share the same seven sacraments.  The difference is that we Eastern Catholics have a different way or rite of expressing our faith in regards to Liturgy and customs.

At the Last Supper, after Jesus changed bread and wine into His own Body and Blood, he told his disciples to “Do this in memory of Me.”  This they did.  As the disciples brought the Gospel to different parts of the world, they adapted ceremonies of he Liturgy to the customs and music that people.  In the end, four great centers of Christianity emerged with distinctive Christian customs, but the same faith.  These centers were located in the great cities of Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, and Alexandria.  A couple of centuries later when the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to the Eastern city of Byzantium and renamed Constantinople, an adaptation of the Antioch way of celebrating Liturgy was made.  Thus a new center of Christianity arose in Constantinople and her ritual became known as the Byzantine Rite. 

The Byzantine civilization was one of the most glorious and durable in human history, and the Fathers of the Church were able to grow in an understanding of our Lord and His gospel that was then passed on to many nations of Eastern Europe, including the Ruthenians, the Russians, the Ukrainians, some Croatians, Hungarians, and Slovaks, the Romanians, and others.  When people from these ethnic groups migrated to the United States, they brought this treasure of faith with them.  Our Church membership is open to people of all ethnic backgrounds and races.  It is the heir to a faith in God, one in the Holy Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – that is essential in our journey to God.  It is both traditional and modern, and emphasizes that through our union with Christ we become God-like and His beloved children.  We believe that God is with us and that in Holy Communion we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, the Son of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that we can say, “We have received the Heavenly Spirit.”

Hints for Participating in the Liturgy

 As we have already mentioned, we celebrate the Divine Liturgy according to the Ruthenian tradition of the Byzantine Rite.  Today’s Liturgy will have recognizable parts – Scripture readings, Eucharistic Prayer, and Holy Communion – but the ceremonies surrounding them will be different.  The following are some comments that me be helpful in participating in today’s Liturgy.

Icons: In from of the Church you see two icons flanking the altar.  The icon of Mary with the Child Jesus in her arms reminds us of the first coming of Jesus, the Godman.  The icon of Jesus by himself represents His second coming at the end of time.  The altar between beckons us to enter into God’s presence in the Kingdom and put aside all earthly care and distractions.  The icons on the walls depict the great feasts of the Eastern Church.

Incense: We use incense as a sign of reverence for the sacred place and the sacredness of the people who are made in God’s image and as a sign of preparing for something important about to happen.  It is our prayer ascending like the smoke of incense before the throne of God.

Gospel Book: A gold-covered Gospel Book is resting on the altar as a sign of God’s special presence in His message through the teachings of His Son Jesus.  This message is God’s wisdom speaking to us.  We need to be attentive!

Bows and Blessings: We bow and make the sign of the cross many times during the Liturgy as a sign of our faith and the receiving and accepting of God’s blessings.  As a rule we bow slightly and bless ourselves every time we mention the persons of the Trinity by name or the priest blesses the congregation.  We also bow and sign ourselves whenever we enter or leave the Church.

Singing: One of the great beauties of the Liturgy as celebrated in the Byzantine Rite is the congregational singing.  The melodies are not difficult and are easy to pick up.  So, we encourage you to sing out to the Lord!

Altar Bread: Our altar bread is made with yeast and therefore has a thickness to it.  At the beginning of the Liturgy, the priest will cut a loaf of specially baked altar bread and prepare cubed particular that will be used for the distribution of Holy Communion.

Holy Communion: The consecrated particles are placed into the chalice just before Communion time.  A small cubed particle is placed on a spoon and given to the communicant.  If you wish to receive Holy Communion, come forward to the priest and quietly state your first name.  Then open your mouth wide, tilt your head back slightly, and keep your tongue in your mouth.  Do NOT say “Amen.”  The priest will bring the spoon to your mouth and will gently place the Eucharist into it.  Wait for the priest to being his hand away from your face.  Then close your mouth and return to your place.

Holy Anointing: On the Sunday following a great feast, the priest will anoint the congregation with holy oil as a sign of our joy.  Unconsecrated, blessed bread is then distributed.  An offering is made as a sign of our concern for the needs of all.

Thank you for being with us

Once again, thank you for joining us this today.  Your presence has brought our community great joy. Please join us for our coffee social so that we may come to know each other better.  Please join us again and bring a friend!  God bless you! 

Joining the Parish

If you do not have a church home or if your church is not a home to you, we invite you to become part of our parish family.  Our Church is faithful to Jesus’ command to bring His Gospel to all people.  (Matthew 28, 16-20).  All who seek to know and love God are welcome in our Church.  Byzantine Catholics who are transferring into the area are most welcome and can join by application to the pastor.  We do not proselytize members of other churches, but will welcome those who wish to join our Church for reasons recognized by Church law, particularly spiritual welfare.

Those who have been baptized in a Church that is not Catholic can join by taking a series of instructions, and by making a profession of faith and by receiving the sacrament of Chrismation if it has not previously been received.  We especially welcome back those who have been members of the Catholic Church and wish to renew their faith, and those who have never been a member of a Church, but now wish to seek God through faith.  Those who have not been baptized can join the church by a series of instructions, called the Catechumenate, and by baptism “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” 

If you wish further information, please contact the pastor. 

Welcome Visitors!

Holy Apostles

Byzantine Catholic Church

4788 Clock Road

Lake Worth, FL  33463