Just the Facts - Maronite Rite

Fact - I want to remain Catholic.

Fact - There are different varieties of Catholic out there.

Fact - We have found one such Catholic church in the Maronite church.

Fact - The manner of reception of Holy Communion matters to me.

Fact - The manner of reception of Holy Communion at the Maronite church checks off several of the boxes for me: unleavened Host, dipped in Blood-Wine and therefore receive once but under both forms, received directly on the tongue, received directly from consecrated hands, received in the context of a joyous and reverent liturgy.  

Fact - I am used to kneeling in the context of worship.

Fact - I associate kneeling with reverence and humility.

Fact - One of the reasons we are looking for a new church is to become part of a community of faithful.

Fact - To be part of a community, we need to adjust to their cultural norms.

Fact - The Maronite Catholics do not kneel during their Divine Liturgy, as it is a Western/Latin practice.

Fact - I can still kneel in private prayer, in Eucharistic Adoration, on retreat, whenever attending Novus Ordo (daily) Mass, and even before/after Divine Liturgy.

Fact - I have long been drawn to veiling.

Fact - Being around a lot of women who veil at Holy Cross Orthodox church has given me the confidence I needed to start this devotion without worrying about if I'm the only one doing it.

Fact - Women's veiling is a universal historical practice.

Fact - The Maronite church in question does not currently have any women who veil.

Fact - I can still veil while in attendance at the Maronite Divine Liturgy without being disrespectful because it is not a Latinate custom.

Fact - A commute doesn't lend itself to a very convenient community.

Fact - None of the Catholic churches we have considered lend themselves to a very convenient community either, and those that do, are not to our standards in terms of reverence.

Fact - Holy Cross is not an ideal church choice for us because (1) it is not Catholic and therefore we cannot fully participate in the Liturgy as we are barred from their Communion, (2) if we were to become catechumens, we would have to stop receiving the Eucharist at Catholic churches and so we would go without being spiritually fed until our formal reception into Orthodoxy, and (3) their Communion form is so foreign to me that it does not feel like the Eucharist at all.

Fact - We have missed the boat on allowing our children full access to the Holy Mysteries from the time of their baptism because we come from the Latin rite and were unaware of alternatives.

Fact - Going forward, my son can get married and still become a priest in the Maronite Rite should that be what God is calling him to.  

Fact - DH and I both agree we felt positive vibes from the Maronite church.

Fact - If community is what we're after, we already met one family from the Maronite church - the very homeschoolers who introduced us to this Rite!  We should make an effort to both meet additional people there, and to help the kids that have already met hit it off.

Fact - The Maronite church seems to be a good blend of what I love about Catholicism and what I've come to love about Orthodoxy.  

Fact - Hearing chant and prayers in a language closely related to the very language Jesus spoke is valuable in itself, and this is something the Maronite Rite offers that cannot be found in other Rites.

Fact - Unless and until we come across an obstacle, we should continue where we have been led, even if unexpectedly and even if it doesn't look exactly as I had envisioned it.

Fact - Seemingly missing from the Maronite church: color and wall decoration of any kind, kneeling, women's head covering, proximity to our home, unknown homeschooling people.

Fact - The alternative to the Maronite church is the Novus Ordo church led by Fr. Eric, where we will nonetheless continue to attend monthly children's Mass.  This is the "safe" option.  We may need to quickly discern where to become parishioners in order for Antonio to receive his First Communion there.

Fact - Antonio wants to receive his First Communion at a reverent church, he would prefer to receive kneeling, today in church he said he'd rather wait until he's 7 so it'll be more special, and now he says kneeling isn't as important to him anymore.  Bottom line, we need to make an executive decision for him.

Fact - I want to give the Maronite church a fair shake.  I don't know what the future holds, but I'm intrigued enough to return and to prepare some questions for the priest there and make an effort to meet some of the other parishioners.