Worship at Nativity Parish
"Incorporated into the Church by Baptism, the faithful have received the sacramental
character that consecrates them for Christian religious worship. The baptismal
seal enables and commits Christians to serve God by a vital participation
in the holy liturgy of the Church and to exercise their baptismal priesthood
by the witness of holy lives and practical charity."
Worship in the Eastern Catholic tradition is marked by theological richness,
distinct cultural expression, and profound reverence. The Liturgies of
the Eastern Catholic Church are almost entirely sung. At Nativity the
majority of the Liturgical celebrations are in English, but there are
also prayers and songs in Slavonic and Ukrainian.
At the heart of Eastern Catholic worship is the
Divine Liturgy.
While the Divine Liturgy is, in its essence, the same Eucharistic celebration
as the Mass, its outward expression is a bit different from what most
Catholics experience in the Western, or Roman, rite.
There is also the use of
icons and gestures
and a different emphasis in the practice of
spirituality.
The Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom is the most commonly celebrated
Liturgy at Nativity parish.
St. John Chrysostom (ca. 349-407)
was the patriarch of Constantinople and a Father and Doctor of the Church.