Topic: Questions on aspects of Catholicism

Date originally posted: November 8, 2002

Source of this posting: Moderator response to emailed question

Moderator who originally posted this source: Father Phillip

Question: 1. What prayer is recited at 6 am, 12 noon, and 6 pm. The signal to recite this prayer is the ringing of the church bells.2. Something that is intellectually opposed to a religious faith is known as?3. Another name for the papacy or the office in terms of its jurisdiciton and court is?4. Thanksgiving, sacrifice, and mystery are all definitions of the word?5. Principalities, powers, and Dominations are three class of.....6. How many bishop are usually required for the ordination of a new bishop?7. What is the name for the nine days of prayer for a special intention?8. What is the general name for religious schools in the united states?Thank you so much

Answer: 

Lots of questions!

1. The Angelus is the prayer traditionally recited three times a day.

2. "Something that is intellectually opposed to a religious faith is known as?" I really don't know how to answer this question; you'd need to give me more specificity about what you're trying to get at.

3. Another name for the papacy or the office in terms of jurisidiction and court: The Papacy is oftened referred to as the Apostolic See, the Holy See, the Vatican. The 'technical' term that is often used to denote the jurisdiction of a Bishop and/or Pope in the Catholic Church is "ordinary." That suggests the that the "ordinary ruling, executive, and legislative authority" is vested in the office of the Bishop for a local diocesan Church; the Pope has "ordinary" authority in the Diocese of Rome of which he is Bishop and in every Diocese throughout the world, should the Pope choose to exercise that authority.

4. Thanksgiving, sacrifice, and mystery are three words which can be used to refer to the Sacred Eucharistic Liturgy or Mass.

5. Principalities, powers and Dominations are three classes of angels or, more accurately, of angelic beings.

6. For a Bishop to be ordained in the Roman Catholic a Papal Writ naming the person and the See (Diocese) to which he has been named Bishop by the Pope is absolutely essential. Usually three Bishops need to be present for the Ordination Rite itself.

7. A novena is a special prayer, usually offered to the Lord for some special intention. A novena can be nine days, or nine weeks, or even nine hours.

8. I suspect that you're asking about the phrase "parochial schools" in reference to religious schools in the United States. But, not all religious schools are, in fact, parochial -- that is, of or pertaining to a particular parish. For example, in our own small Diocese of Raleigh, we have a Catholic High School, but that school is operated by the Diocese itself with special jurisdiction by the parishes in the Raleigh Deanery; so, technically, this school is not a parochial school.

I feel as though I've been taking a Catholicism 101 exam; did I pass?

Blessings,
Father Phillip