As part of our program in the canonical year, we are participating in different Eucharistic celebrations of Oriental Churches, on the Sundays of February. We went to:

• Greek community – This Church uses the Byzantine liturgical rite and uses Greek and Arabic as liturgical languages.
• Syrian community – Is an Oriental Catholic Church, in communion with the Latin Catholic Church. It uses Syrian, Arabic, Aramaic, English and French as liturgical languages.
• Maronite community – Traditional in Lebanon, the Maronite Church has its own rite. The Maronites have several of their religious canonized or beatified by the Catholic Church, such as St. Maron (the founder of the Maronite Church).
• Armenian community – Its liturgical rite is the Armenian rite and its liturgical language is Armenian.

All these particular churches, being autonomous or local, are led by ordained ministers, who, ultimately, all obey the Pope. The rites of them are different from the Latin Church. For some of us it was new to participate in these different kind of rites.

Lúcia de Fátima NDS, Novice
Congregational Novitiate Ein Karem, Jerusalem