ASK A PRIEST
FATHER EMMANUEL KWOFIE Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Raymondville
Q: Are there specific feast days dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary? The Church has dedicated specific feast days to the Blessed Virgin Mary within the Liturgical Calendar in honor of her signifi- cant role in Jesus’ life and God’s plan of salvation for the world ( Sacrosanctum Concilium #103; CCC #1124). They are ranked as solemn Holy days, Feast days, and Memorials (obligatory or optional) for universal, regional or local observance. The following are key feast days dedicated to Mary: January 1 – Mary, Mother of God (Solemnity) February 2 – The Presentation of the Lord – (Feast) March 25 – The Annunciation of the Lord (Solemnity) May 31 – Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – (Feast) August 15 – The Assumption of Mary (Solemnity) September 8 – The Nativity of Virgin Mary – (Feast) December 8 – Immaculate Conception (Solemnity) Commemorative days of apparitions of Mary : February 11 – Our Lady of Lourdes (France) – (Feast) May 13 – Our Lady of Fatima (Portugal) – (Feast) October 7 – Our Lady of the Rosary – (Feast) Dec. 12 – Our Lady of Guadalupe – (Feast U.S.A & Mexico) Q: What are the different types of prayers in the Catholic faith? Prayer is a communication with God, a raising of one’s mind and heart to God (St. John Damascene). Paragraphs 2626 -2643 of the Catechism describe the main types of prayer in the Catholic faith. These include the following: Prayer of blessing: We respond to God and the many gifts he has given. It helps us see our lives in a whole new light. Prayer of Adoration: In this prayer, we praise and worship God for who he is, and we exalt God’s greatness. The Mass and other liturgies of the Church are full of prayers of adoration or worship. Prayer of Petition: We ask God for our needs and desires either spiritual or material, trusting him to grant them, and always remain open to receiving his blessings. Prayer of Intercession: Here, we pray for others (loved ones or
friends, our community, nation, and the world) lifting up their concerns and requests to God. Prayer of Thanksgiving: Here, we express gratitude for God’s goodness and gifts in our life, and shift our focus from what is lacking to what we have been given. The Mass is a perfect example of Thanksgiving. Prayer of Praise: We acknowledge with joy that God is good and we express our love for him who is the source and object of all love. The Eucharist contains and expresses all the forms of prayer.
Q: When Christ instituted the
Eucharist, he proclaimed it as being his Body and Blood. Why is a transference from a priest necessary, when it has already been done by Christ himself? The Eucharist is the most central sacrament and heart of the Church’s life. At the Last Supper with his disciples, Christ instituted both the Eucharist by changing bread and wine into his Body and Blood, and the priesthood and the power for consecrating, offering and administering his Body and Blood. He effected the Eucharist with the words, “This is my Body … This is my Blood,” and the Priesthood, “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22:19). In order to make present Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross throughout the ages as he commanded, a validly ordained priest acting in the person of Christ in every Mass, has to consecrate the bread and wine saying the words Christ uttered at the Last Supper, invoke the power of the Holy Spirit, so that the entire substance of the bread and wine on the altar instantaneously converts into the Body and Blood of Christ. The Body and Blood of Christ will then be present simultaneously (as Christ intended it to be) in all the consecrated bread and wine on the altars in several distinct places at the same time, and not through local movement only in one place at a time. ( Presbyterorum Ordinis §2; CCC #900§1)
Submit your question at www.cdob.org/ask-a-priest
10
DIOCESE OF BROWNSVILLE
Immaculate Conception (1632) by Francisco de Zurbarán / Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online