Ask Father Mateo


Msg Base:  AREA 5  - ASK FATHER            CIN ECHO   AMDG
  Msg No: 269.  Wed  3-18-92 23:17  (NO KILL)  (MAILED)
    From: Father Mateo
      To: Martin Morrison
 Subject: Titles for Our Lady

+-
| When were the following titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary officially
| promulgated and how (encyclical name, etc.):
|        Mediatrix of All Graces
|        Mother of the Church
+-[MM=>FM]
 
Dear Martin,
 
The Second Vatican Council in its Dogmatic Constitution on the
Church teaches that "the Blessed Virgin is invoked in the Church under
the titles of Advocate, Helper, Benefactress and Mediatrix" (sections
60-62).  Her maternal mediation is studied in Part III of Pope John
Paul II's encyclical, "Mother of the Redeemer".
 
In his Discourse of 21 November, 1964 at the end of the Council, Pope
Paul VI solemnly proclaimed that Mary is "Mother of the entire Christian
people, both faithful and pastors," i.e., Mother of the Church.  In 1968,
in his "Credo of the People of God," the same Pope repeated this teaching,
which Pope John Paul II also confirmed in his encyclical.
 
                                Sincerely in Christ
 
                                Father Mateo
Msg Base: AREA 5 - ASK FATHER CIN ECHO AMDG Msg No: 267. Wed 3-18-92 23:10 (NO KILL) (MAILED) From: Father Mateo To: Rose Copenhaver Subject: Angels +- | In you response to my question regarding Archbishop Lefebvre, you stated: | | life of prayer and penance. I recommend prayer to Our Lord, the Head | | of His Mystical Body the Catholic Church; to Our Lady and Mother, the | | Queen of all apostles; to St. Joseph, patron of the Church; and to your | | own guardian angel and the angels of the people you talk to. In the | | So, now I have a question regarding angels. Do you believe that there are | people who are able to see (literally) their guardian angels? +-[RC=>FM] Dear Rose, You have asked if there are people who can (literally) see their guardian angels. The existence of angels was taught by the 4th Lateran Council in 1215. Saint Gregory the Great (590-604) and other Church Fathers taught that angels are pure spirits, free, and of service to God in caring for each human being. Since angels are of their essence pure spirits and have no bodies, no human being can see them, properly speaking. Holy Scripture records human beings seeing, hearing and even touching angels (Revelation, passim; Genesis 32:23-30; Gospels', passim; Acts 12:7-10; et al.) These events were visions or apparitions. In these cases, the visionaries' experience was either internal -- a vision in the imagination or the mind of the beholder, whether asleep, awake or in rapture -- or external, like the angel in Acts 12:7-10 or the one seen in 1917 by the children at Fatima, Portugal. St. Thomas teaches that an angel is where he operates. So if God sends an angel to operate on your retina, you have an apparition of the angel for God's purposes. If you want to read a book about angels, try: Jean Danielou "The Angels and Their Mission According to the Fathers of The Church". Published by Newman Press. ISBN 0-87061-056-2. Sincerely in Christ Father Mateo ##MMR 2.38(beta). !link RC 3-04-92 9:31