[Apologetics] From Bret - Back from Vacation - Williamsburg Byzantine Catholic Church is Super!

[bbellamy at mindspring.com]

Hi all,

Looks like a lot has been going on within the group while I was away in Williamsburg.

I attended Divine Liturgy this past Sunday at Ascension of Our Lord Byzantine Catholic parish in Williamsburg, my first taste of Eastern Rite Catholicism.  The whole liturgy was sung/chanted, mostly in English with a few Slavonic parts (booklets were available to follow along, and it was easy to keep up).  Beautiful icons and iconostasis, with a beautiful mural (for lack of a better word) behind the altar of the Ascention of Christ done in the Eastern style!  Splendid.  Good homily, the whole service was done with reverence, heart and propriety, essentially incense without nonsense.  They do use a lot of incense in the Eastern Rite, which is just fine with me.  The pastor was most kind and welcoming to me when I introduced myself to him afterwards, in fact he told me to consider his parish my home away from home whenever I was in Williamsburg.  

Other than Cape May, NJ, which has a very good Latin Rite parish, I plan when travelling to attend only Eastern Rite Catholic parishes as much as possible (i.e., within an hour's driving distance at the most).  It was a wonderful experience.  Some people may not find a sung/chanted liturgy to be their thing.  For me, better to have that and know that the Easterners don't suffer from all the "experimentation", "innovation" and other assorted silliness that has all too sadly made shopping for a parish, especially when travelling, to be a less than fun "adventure."  

Cheers to all,

Bret