Last week I was at a meeting and the conversation was very interesting. Why are there so very many practices within the Catholic faith – some of them common, others not quite as well known – and how is it that from parish to parish the understanding of these customs is so different. I think in general it is a good thing to have such a huge array of possibilities before us, but it can be over whelming, especially to those who are new to the faith. We have the Precepts of the Church so there is a standard of “basic” and that basic is a pretty good start.
I am Byzantine Catholic and my children attend a Roman Catholic School. Sometimes the differences are overwhelming. Byzantine Liturgy’s espcially have subtle differences from church to church that sometimes can be hard to explain to the children,especially when I don’t know the answers myself!!