Liturgical Propers

(Shortened) Question: I read that some sins like the one to be married in front of a non-Catholic minister cannot be forgiven by any priest but only by a priest authorized to do so by his bishop. Is this the case also within the Ukrainian Catholic rite?  Answer from:...

Full Question: "Hello my name is ... I’m 19, I don’t want to make this too long but just to give you the reason behind the meaning of my question but years ago my family and I went through a rough traumatic time, with my mom saying and doing the unthinkable... so I...

Your question could also be reversed to read: Why be Ukrainian Orthodox and not Ukrainian Catholic? However you phrase it, there is a tragic separation in the one Church of Kyiv. When the Great Schism divided the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054, the Kyivan Church...

Thank you very much for your good question.  The Eastern Churches generally do not characterize sins as mortal in the same way that Roman Catholics distinguish them. In the Roman Catholic Church, sins are categorized as “mortal” and “venial. Simply put, the Catechism...

Full Question:  Hi, I was wondering if you could help me please as Im a bit lost! As a child I was baptized a catholic (although a non practicing one but still a believer) but many years later I took my shahada and became a Muslim. I no longer practice or believe in...

Full question:  CIX My students are still asking why the Bishop removes his mitre ( as in the Divine Liturgy for the Ukrainian bilingual schools)? Looking forward to your response 🙂   Answer From: Bishop David Response:  There are certain points in the Divine...

Question: Why is same-sex marriage not allowed in the Catholic Church? Is homosexuality considered a sin?  Answer From: Fr. Stephen  Response:  Thank you for these timely and relevant questions. Please allow me to begin by addressing your second question first.  ...

Answer From: Fr. Jim Shortened Question: Hello Father, Ten years ago when I was in college I cheated more than being academically honest. I finished my Bachelor’s degree and I got my diploma. I got employed after that. While I was employed I cheated on my...

Answer From: Fr. Danylo   The Ukrainian Catholic Church does not have its own, separate policy regarding cremation. There is no mention of it in Christ – Our Pascha, the Catechism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church. Our policy is more or less the same as that of Roman...

The origins of the English word “Easter” are uncertain. The 8th century Benedictine monk, Bede the Venerable, considered to be among the greatest scholars of the medieval West, declared that it originated from Old English and refers to the pagan goddess of...

Answer from: Fr. Julian Full Question: Fathers, Although I have been raised and educated in the Catholic tradition, many of the rules continue to offer so much room for interpretation. Here is my example. The Church limits the amount of time a Catholic can engage in...

Answer From: Fr. Jim Full Question: In the Roman Church, when adults become Catholic, they go through RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults), this can be up to a year (or more), of weekly classes going over Church teachings, prayer, etc. Is there an RCIA in...

Full question: I'm a Protestant who has lapsed quite a bit from his faith in God. I haven't been to church in years. Much of which was because I stopped believing in the concept as sola scriptura. But then I came to the conclusion that, with this concept, any person...

Answer from: Fr. Mike Bombak Full question: Hello! I have a question about mediums/spiritists.  My mother-in-law claims to be a medium.  She has many times, "spoken with the dead", on behalf of others.  We, lovingly, engaged her on this, providing numerous scriptural...

Full Question: Why does our Eparchy still practice “first Holy Communion” when catechumens receive all three sacraments during their baptism. Isn’t a “latinization” that we should move on from if we are to retain the authenticity of our liturgical traditions? Answered...

Full question: Hello, I am a huge fanatic of the fictional character Catwoman (Selina Kyle) who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. However, I was baptized in a Catholic Church as an infant. I was raised Catholic. Since Catwoman represents one of...

Answer from: Fr. Stephen  Thank you for your many-faceted question. I say that it has many sides to it because I am not quite certain what you mean by “Eastern Churches” or who that someone is who is presenting the argument. There is also the matter of what we mean by...

Question answered by: Father Michael Bombak  That’s a great question, and it’s made even better when we consider some of the different practices within Roman Catholic Masses and Ukrainian Catholic Divine Liturgies. Some of the confusion arises from a difference in...

Respectfully submitted by Fr. Julian Bilyj Crosses are recognized universally as the symbol of Christianity. The three-barred Cross, sometimes called an Eastern Cross or an Orthodox Cross, has a special position in Ukrainian religious life. It is composed of a...

We invited Fr. Kris, from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton, to help us answer this question in a video on why our church is united!

Answer from: Fr. JimIn 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...

Answer From: Fr. JimProbably the most obvious reason why the Western church, has done more missionary activity than the Eastern churches throughout history is numbers. As of 2018 statistics, in the West, the Roman Catholic Church has 1.3 billion adherents worldwide...

Answer from: Fr. Mihajlo PlanchakThank you for the interesting question. It should be emphasized that both methods are correct. Unleavened bread was used in the Old Testament during the Passover meal. The tradition of using leavened bread, risen bread, symbolizes the...

Question: What is the difference between the Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church which I know isn’t fully in union with the Catholic Church right now. As I understand it the Roman church uses the Latin rite The Ukrainian...