I just looked at your link. While there are no Eastern Catholic Parishes here in VT, there are some near where we vacation.
Can you tell me what differences there would be between the TLM and Maronite or Byzantine liturgy?
Well .. my parish in Troy, NY is about 1 hour from Burlington, VT. Is that anywhere near you?
As most of us realize, the Church began in the East. Our Lord lived and died and resurrected in the Holy Land. The Church spread from Jerusalem throughout the known world. As the Church spread, it encountered different cultures and adapted, retaining from each culture what was consistent with the Gospel. In the city of Alexandria, the Church became very Egyptian; in Antioch it remained very Jewish; in Rome it took on an Italian appearance and in the Constantinople it took on the trappings of the Roman imperial court. All the churches which developed this way were Eastern, except Rome. Most Catholics in the United States have their roots in Western Europe where the Roman rite predominated. It has been said that the Eastern Catholic Churches are "the best kept secret in the Catholic Church."
Many people forget - or do not realize - that Christianity came from Judaism. As the church expanded beyond the realm of Judaism, it adapted itself to the people and cultures in which it took root. This cultural adaptation resulted in the 22 different rites of the Catholic Church today.
It is from Jewish roots that the church of Antioch sprung. In fact, the church of Antioch was founded by St. Peter and it was there that the terms "Christian" and "Catholic" were first used. The first Christians were Jews and entire communities came to accept Jesus as the Messiah. Evidence from archaeological studies of Maronite church buildings show that they had earlier been synagogues.
During the many disputes among Christians in the fourth century over the divinity and humanity of Christ, the arguments became heated in Antioch. Under the leadership of St. Maron, the head abbot, monks left the city for peace and quiet. Lay people and clergy -Maronites- followed the monks. Later during the Arab invasion of the Middle East the Maronites fled to the Cyprus and to the safety of the Lebanon mountains.
To this day, the Maronite Church retains its Jewish roots more than any other Catholic rite, as evidenced by its use of Aramaic/Syriac and by the prayers which remain faithful to Semantic and Old Testament forms.
You can learn more about the differences at this link:
"Can you tell me what differences there would be between the TLM and Maronite or Byzantine liturgy?"
The TLM and Byzantine liturgies are dramatically different. Not in reverence: both are very reverential liturgies and beautiful in their own way. First off, there's the language, the TLM is in Latin of course, while the Byzantine liturgy is in the vernacular (usually English). To me, however, the biggest difference is in how parishioners participate in the liturgy.
In Byzantine liturgy, parishioners are very involved in the liturgy. You're not a spectator or taking a relatively passive role. The vast bulk of the liturgy is chanted back and forth between the Priest, Deacon and the parishioners. So you're pretty much singing back and forth for the better part of an hour and a half. You're also crossing yourself a lot. (One of these days, I'll count how many times we cross ourselves during Divine Liturgy, but it's got to be over 50 times).
We also have different ways of showing reverence. We don't genuflect per se, but do something called metanies. We generally don't kneel, either. But bow instead.
One nice thing about Byzantine liturgy is that you're compelled to be focused on the Liturgy; you have to be simply to keep up.