During the commendation of Pope John Paul’s body this morning, the assembled Eastern Catholic patriarchs joined with prayers in Greek from the Byzantine office for the dead.
Since this is the Paschal season, they sang the refrain several times: “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by his death, and bestowing life on those in the tombs.”
The Melkite Greek-Catholic patriarch Gregory (Laham) was intoning the hymn — which is a wonderful sign, inasmuch as he is a strong advocate of Orthodox-Catholic full communion, and considers Greek-Catholics as “Orthodox in union with Rome.”
Then, when the hymn was repeated, he sang it in Arabic! Of course: he’s Syrian, he’s Melkite, they’re Arab Catholics, it’s normal.
But when the Church now has a great task to address the Arab world, putting those Arabic praises of the Lord Jesus al-Massih at the end of the most-watched Mass in history is brilliant.
34 comments
Leave a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.
It appeared that some of the Orthodox prelates joined the Eastern Catholics for the prayers. Does anyone know who all those bishops were who took part?
I agree. The Eastern Liturgy has long been a favorite of mine, and to hear those voices raised in their rich voices to sing the praise of God, is and will always be a tremendous asset to my Catholic Faith. I have attended the Ukrainian Catholic Liturgy for many years, having had many Ukrainian friends in my earlier years, and I was always grateful for having learned and heard and beheld the Divine Liturgy. Our Holy Father was so instrumental in bonding with the Eastern Rite, and I am hopeful that all Eastern Rite Orthodox Faiths will become One with us, as I know, somehow, they already are. Their Faith in God is unshakable, orthodox, and so very fervent. Gloria Gizzi-Hasset in Pittsburgh, Pa.
I’m sure most who read this is left sort of like…speechless.
Thanks to the nation of Poland for your son John Paul II
Everything was awe-inspiring. John Paul II was truly a saint, a man for our time and a man for all time. We have all been witness to a great event, a life-changing event. To see all the people of the world, representatives of all religions, cultures, races, and creeds gathered together to honor one man, gives me reason to hope that the world as a whole can transcend the differences that divide us, and live in peace as God and Christ intended. Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace. AMEN!!!
We just wondering about to chose younger pope to live longer than older pope for the ROME church and hope to pick good one pope.
Thank you for adding yet another dimension to the life and death of this wonderful man. The love that this dear man inspired carried over to these amazing displays of cultural and religious unity.
Hallelujah!
I am not catholic, but after hearing the news concerning Pope John Paul II my heart was touched in a way that I can’t explain. This man was so awesome; I am finding it difficult to put into words how I really am feeling about the late Pope, and the Catholic faith. The entire ceremony was beautiful, especially the litany of the saints.(did I say it right?) If God is just and I know that he is, he has reserved a place for this great man of God.
As A Melkite Greek Catholic, I was very moved by the use of the Byzantine Mass for the Dead….all I kept thinking about were the “two lungs” the Pope spoke of in His wonderful encyclical “Light of the East”…
Whenever John Paul spoke it touched my heart and always made me want to help someone. You could feel his love and I am grateful that he lived as an example to those of us who are still here.
Pope John Paul taught me the fundamental values of being an orthodox Catholic. The funeral mass was a testimony to the world that Catholicism and the Pope is not behind the times. May Pope John Paul II and all the saints and angels pray for us here on earth.
JOHN PAUL TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF THE WORLD NOW HE CAN REST IN PEACE.AND WE CAN PRAY FOR THE PEACE HE BROUGHT TO US
The Holy Father left a better world by helping to discard communism and dictators. He also left us a lot of messages that if we follow them, they would draw us closer to the Omnipotent and still transform our world into a much better place to live in as brothers and sisters regardless of our differences in race, faith, culture and language!
POPE: John Paul II God rest you for enternity, You gave us all the greatest gift, example of how to treat your Bro’s and Sister’s no matter the color. Rest in peace
Pope John Paul II – What a wonderful, wonderful man. His service was magnificent.
Trice, If I were a betting gal, I’d say that the feelings you are having are the work of the holy spirit in you. Pope John Paul II was everyone’s pope. I’m grateful to God that so many non-Catholics were truly touched by the holiness in His lowly servant pope John Paul II. We have all been blessed (whether we know it or not)through the grace of God working through the pope.
OH – and I LOVE the litany of the saints also. I find myself chanting it (don’t know it in order or by heart) quite often these days.
I will remeber this pope as the most boriest thing in life
I agree that we witnessed a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pope John Paul II’s funeral. What we all experienced is difficult to translate into language; but we all felt it, and it was intense. It is not surprising that we are also sharing the experience of invoking that Litany of the Saints………….our beloved John Paul II has joined their ranks, and we all know that in our hearts and spirits.
HUNDREDS OF YEARS FROM NOW, PEOPLE WILL THINK ABOUT THIS MOMENT IN TIME. WISHING THEY COULD TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO SEE,HEAR AND TOUCH THIS EXTAORDINARY MAN.
WE ARE TRULY LUCKY AND PRIVILEGED TO HAVE JOHN PAUL II LIVED IN OUR TIMES OR SHALL I SAY WE LIVED IN HIS TIMES.
Pope John Paul had a beautiful funeral. Cardinal Ratzinger did a terrific job in his homily. The Byzantine office of the dead was the grand finale which the Pope so richly deserved considering his great love for the Eastern Church. It was stunning and most moving.
Now I hope the next Pope will permit Byzantine liturgical practices to be used in the somewhat dry, dull, and boring Roman liturgy in order to bring people back to the Church. I think Pope John Paul would definitely approve. Requiescat in pace.
I was in Rome in person for the Pope’s Funeral Week. I stood in the long lines for hours and hours and was so inspired. The Funeral Mass was one of the most memorable things in my life. The Roman Catholic Church and the world are better for having had the likes of this very Holy Pope. He will be known as Pope John Paul, II THE GREAT! I am thankful for the honor to have been in Vatican City this past week. PAX John Paul. PAX!
While I was not in Rome this past week (my cousin Elias Disney was) I was still quite thrilled and blessed to have watched the events unfold via EWTN, Fox and CNBC. I stayed up all night to watch the funeral Mass and when I saw all of the world leaders coming together for this historical event, I know Pope John Paul II was happy. The end when his casket was taken up the steps and then turned, before he was taken to the crypt, I was in tears. Rest in Peace. John Paul The Great!!
I still don’t understand why the Patriarchs don’t have a vote…aren’t they a notch above the cardinals….??
I THINK JOHN PAUL THE SECOND, WANTED EVERYONE, TO BE ONE PEOPLE ONE WORLD AND SHARE THE LOVE FOR ONE GOD
As a African-American Muslim, I feel the whole of mankind has lost a great man! His life is his legacy…
Re Marriage of the Prince Charles. Can anyone tell me if there are CDs available for the singer who sang the Russian Orthodox liturgy?
Thanks
How grateful we are for the life and example of God’s servant, John Paul II. May his love, reflecting Christ’s love, continue to transform us all.
POPE JOHN PAUL II WAS THE GREAT UNITER. HE STARED
BOTH NAZISM AND COMMUNISM IN THE FACE AND DID NOT
BLINK. HE LOVED ALL. TRULY DOING JESUS WORK ON
EARTH!
THERE IS NO DOUBT IN MY MIND POPE JOHN PAUL II WAS SENT BY THE HEAVEN TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH.
HE HAS DONE EXACTLY THAT AND MUCH MORE.
MY ONLY REGRET IS THAT HE DID NOT HAVE THE CHANCE FINISH THE BRIDGE OF DIALOG BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND MUSLIMS BEFORE GOD TOOK HIM HOME.
I HAVE TO ASSUME ITS THE JOB OF NEXT POPE.
I notice that while most of the prayer “O God of spirits and of all flesh …” was sung in Greek, the conclusion of that prayer was also in Arabic.
I was deeply moved by all the events concerning Pope John Paul II. Beginning with his transition process. How appropriate that after the awful tragedy of the Schiavo case, we were all blessed to witness the transition process the way God ordained it. The Pope was graced to summon people to his side, give final instructions and then settle back and commune with God as he welcomed him into his rest. Many Cardinals spoke about JPII’s close relationship with God. I think it was the Cardinal from Washington who talked about the Pope being a man of constant prayer. His constant seeking after God drew God nearer to him. The bible says, “Draw near to me and I will draw near to you.” I was in awe of Holy Spirit working so beautifully to bring nations together to pray for the Pope’s peaceful transition to meet the Lord. Many people felt Holy Spirit move in the earth. He left us much to emulate. His greatest gift to us is the admonishment to follow Christ and be living epistles. The Liturgy of the Saints was so beautiful. All of the prayers were moving. The corporate worship shifted something in the heavens and in the earth. I sincerely hope and pray that we become encouraged by his example and fulfill the various callings in our lives.
God Bless You All
The Eastern Catholic Patriarch can’t vote if they are not cardinals. The rank of patriarch is of completely different order than that of cardinal. A patriarch is a head of the patriarchal sui iuris Church, he is an actual bishop with his own flock to tend, while a cardinal is ‘just’ an advisor or aid to the bishop of Rome and a head of sui iuris Latin Church. Although cardinals are almost all bishops these days, and many of them are ordinaries (shepherds of the local Church), the cardinalate doesn’t add much to that and it definitely can’t beat the charism of the episcopate. In my view restriction of papal electors and electees to cardinals serves well the idea of the autonomous sui iuris Churches – otherwise patriarchs voting _ex officio_ would be reduced to vice-presidents managing some “weird” subgroups of Catholics.
As for the ranking – cardinals precede eastern patriarchs in any business concerning Rome and Latin Church en large, naturally, papal election being one of them, or if cardinals act by papal delegation of the universal jurisdiction in the specific matters. In other contexts patriarchs are considered equal to the Bishop of Rome – he can’t even depose them once elected by the Patriarchal Synods (he has no say in selection of candidates)!
Of course some of eastern Patriarchs and Arch bishops ARE cardinals (Patriarch Ignace Moussa Cardinal Daoud and Archbp. Lubomyr Cardinal Husar, to name just two, both having concelebrated the Funeral Mass). Would they accept elevation to the pope? Hard to tell, with all the ramifications to consider. Somebody commented how great it would be for Latin Rite to have Eastern Pope. I think it would do plain nothing – the status quo would be preserved for the entire pontificate. With the exceptions of liturgically indifferent Roman Catholic bishops and those blindly in love with Eastern liturgies, there would be huge outcry from liturgically engaged bishops (both liberal and traditional) if some easterner will meddle with Roman Rite, even if he constrains himself to the boundaries of Roman liturgical heritage, let alone mixing rites.
Tough job for an easterner, looks to me.
And lastly, yes – the inclusion of an (abbreviated) Byzantine burial service was brilliant, and I am very grateful to whomever came up with that idea. The troparion ‘Christos anesti ek nekron’ was so much befitting the occasion (even if directed by mere calendaric provisions). Also the service matched in a great way the attitude of our beloved Pope.
Memory eternal!
BTW. Wasn’t it Patriarch Cardinal Daoud censing the casket? I recognized only Melkite Patriarch Gregory intoning a prayer in Arabic (there were more Melkites besides him, I guess, as they prayed with him the Arabic text). And of course, one can’t mistake the identity of Archbp. Husar…
Thank you for your comments about the Byzantine funeral service at the end of the Papal Requiem Mass. If you want plenty of information as regards the text and the people who sung it, then I suggest you read Edward’s weblog at infernoxv.blogspot.com.