One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church

Question from a dear reader: Tell me how a Maronite differs from Roman?

Answer:

So, we're all One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. We express our faith and worship to God in different Rites (mostly along cultural lines, but there are Rites for how the mass is celebrated, even within the same culture). The Eritrean Catholic Church is a Rite in its own right, but based upon the Coptic Rite, I am told, but the Eritrean Mass is in no way celebrated like the Coptic Mass is. The Byzantine Rites (I learned from VassalOfChrist that the Byzantine tradition has several Rites associated with it) has a very Eastern (European/Russian/Slavic/German) way of celebrating the Divine Liturgy (what those Rites call the Mass). The Latin Rites ('Roman') have several Rites associated with that tradition, did you know that? Each with their distinctive way of celebrating the Mass. The Maronite Rite is a very different Rite than all the other Rites, being 1,000 years in isolation, surrounded by Islam on all sides, but it has hints to it of both the Latin Rites (after the reunification with Rome in only very recent history) and the Eastern Rites.

Each of these Rites have their distinct form of worship, but each is unified in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith, so we all share some traditions with Rome and all have parts of the Mass/Divine Liturgy that you could recognize if you stumbled into a different Rite accidentally on purpose.

Others can talk about the beauty of their own Rites, let me talk a little bit about the Maronite Rite.

What strikes me in a Maronite Mass, like in a Byzantine Divine Liturgy, is the absolute awe and certainty of God's Divine Majesty. In both Rites during our Mass/Divine Liturgy, we keep calling out to God and praising Him. This is the Trisagion in the Maronite Rite:

ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܐܰܠܳܗܳܐ
ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬ ܚܰܝܠܬܳܢܳܐ
ܩܰܕܺܝܫܰܬܠܳܐ ܡܳܝܽܘܬܳܐ
ܐܶܬܪܰܚܰܡ ܥܰܠܝܢ

(Here is the youtube link to Quadishat Aloho/Holy God if video does not play.)

Note that we sing this in Syriac, which is close to Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke. And that you notice right away: parts of the Mass are in the vernacular (English in the USA), Arabic, and then the high, holy parts (the Consecration and the Trisagion) are in Syriac.

Also, a lot goes into preparation both for the priest and the people. There are chants for vesting and incensing, even before the Mass begins (so don't be late, or you'll miss out!), the priest is asked for blessings before the readings, and the people are asked to pay attention to the word of God. The Gospel is read in the vernacular, then in Arabic. After Mass, at Our Lady of Lebanon in Washington, D.C., we have a holy hour of adoration. There are no kneelers in the church, because we remember when families had to run or be killed in the church by the monotheists (both Islamic and Arian) both in history and even today, with the our brother Coptic martyrs of the Church in the Middle East.

What I think, when I think of the Splendor of the Truth of the Catholic Church, is this: what a superabundant grace God has given us! He speaks to us each in his own language and tradition, but He speaks to us in one voice: Jesus, the Christ, our Lord and Savior, and we bow down and we worship the Lord in this various and diverse Rites in one voice in response, glorifying and praising God.

But not only that, but each Rite has something to give to its own, but to other Rites. You want the proof of the Universality of the Church on Earth? Look no further than the length and the strength of the reach of the Latin Rites! You want absolute fall-on-your-face adoration of God-Most-Holy, spoken in Jesus' native tongue? Look no further than the Maronite Rite! You want to know with certainty that Mary – Mary, ever pure, ever virgin, is the Θεοτόκος/Theotokos, the Mother of God? Look no further than a Byzantine Divine Liturgy! I have found, attending other Rites' sacrifices of the Mass – Maronite, Roman (both Novus Ordo and Extraordinary Form), Eritrean, and Byzantine – that my Catholic Faith is not only strengthened, but deepened. What does the 'Holy, holy, holy' mean, viscerally? Is Mary really the Mother of God? What does 'Universal Church' mean, physically? Certain Rites show you things about your Faith that you take for granted in your own Rite.

One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church: the Catholic Church has it all, because we have Jesus, the Christ, and Christ has us.