The word “Pentecost” might immediately evoke images of tongues of fire, rushing wind, and the dramatic descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. But before the fanfare of Pentecost Sunday, there is a lesser-known but deeply rich liturgical celebration: the Pentecost Vigil. Often compared to the Easter Vigil in tone and structure, the Pentecost Vigil is one of the Church’s hidden gems—solemn, expectant, and deeply rooted in Scripture and the life of the early Church. ++ La palabra "Pentecostés" podría evocar inmediatamente imágenes de lenguas de fuego, viento impetuoso y el dramático descenso del Espíritu Santo sobre los apóstoles. Pero antes de la fanfarria del Domingo de Pentecostés, hay una celebración litúrgica menos conocida, pero de gran riqueza: la Vigilia de Pentecostés. A menudo comparada con la Vigilia Pascual en tono y estructura, la Vigilia de Pentecostés es una de las joyas ocultas de la Iglesia: solemne, expectante y profundamente arraigada en las Escrituras y en la vida de la Iglesia primitiva.

The word “chaplet” may bring to mind rosary-like beads or rhythmic prayers, but many are unfamiliar with the range and richness of these devotional tools. A chaplet is a form of prayer, usually structured and often prayed with a string of beads. While the Rosary is the most well-known, it is actually one of many chaplets in the Catholic tradition. READ MORE

The term novena is related to the number nine and can be connected to many devotional practices throughout Christian history and the world. If the word is familiar it probably brings to mind a set of daily prayers for nine days. The structure of Novenas can be quite formal and liturgical but could easily be done simply for a personal reason. ++ El término novena está relacionado con el número nueve y puede vincularse a muchas prácticas devocionales a lo largo de la historia cristiana y del mundo. Si la palabra te resulta familiar, probablemente te recuerde a un conjunto de oraciones diarias durante nueve días. La estructura de las novenas puede ser bastante formal y litúrgica, pero también podría realizarse fácilmente por un motivo personal.

One of the various forms of prayers are Litanies which in a general sense includes a repeated phrase between various other words. We have two litanies that occur at almost all Masses. The Kyrie (Lord, have mercy) and the Agnus Dei(Lamb of God). In one of the forms of penitential act, petitions are added between each iteration of the Lord have mercy & Christ have mercy. The Agnus Dei typically has three repetitions with the repeated part starting- Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world and the second part changing- have mercy on us/grant us peace. Prior to the 2010 revision of the Roman Missal it was not odd to have a variety of invocations at the start of the Lamb of God. For example, Bread of life you take away, cup of mercy, you take away, etc… ++ Una de las diversas formas de oración son las Letanías, que, en sentido general, incluyen una frase repetida entre varias palabras. Existen dos letanías que se repiten en casi todas las misas: el Kyrie (Señor, ten piedad) y el Agnus Dei (Cordero de Dios). En una de las formas de acto penitencial, se añaden peticiones entre cada iteración de "Señor, ten piedad" y "Cristo, ten piedad". El Agnus Dei suele tener tres repeticiones; la parte repetida comienza con "Cordero de Dios, que quitas los pecados del mundo" y la segunda parte cambia: "Ten piedad de nosotros/concédenos la paz". Antes de la revisión de 2010 del Misal Romano, no era extraño tener diversas invocaciones al comienzo del Cordero de Dios. Por ejemplo, "Pan de vida que quitas", "Cáliz de misericordia que quitas", etc.

On Saturday, June 7 (5-7PM), celebrate the Feast of Pentecost by enjoying a night with Mass, food, drinks, and entertainment from around the world while supporting our Youth & Young Adult Ministries! Reserve a table to decorate and represent your family heritage with posters, artifacts, flags, or anything else you want to display. Please bring 100 food samples! You may also share a slideshow, popular game or craft, wear traditional clothing, bring music, demonstrate a dance, or teach simple words or phrases. Each table will have a 4 foot space. Please bring whatever power cords or materials needed. Set up and rehearsal times will be available beginning Saturday morning at 9am. El sábado 7 de junio (de 5 a 7 p. m.), celebre la Fiesta de Pentecostés disfrutando de una noche con misa, comida, bebidas y entretenimiento de todo el mundo mientras apoya nuestros Ministerios de Jóvenes y Adultos Jóvenes. Reserve una mesa para decorar y representar su herencia familiar con carteles, artefactos, banderas o cualquier otra cosa que desee exhibir. ¡Por favor traiga 100 muestras de comida! También puede compartir una presentación de diapositivas, un juego popular o una artesanía, usar ropa tradicional, llevar música, demostrar un baile o enseñar palabras o frases sencillas. Cada mesa tendrá un espacio de 4 pies. Traiga los cables de alimentación o los materiales necesarios. Los horarios de montaje y ensayo estarán disponibles a partir del sábado por la mañana a las 9 am.

"Peace be with all of you!" - the first words of Pope Leo XIV. The Conclave has elected Robert Francis Cardinal Prevost as the 267th Bishop of Rome. The new pope was announced to the waiting crowds by Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti.

The church provides many books to help support the faithful in their liturgical worship and in practice of their faith. Some of these I have referred to many times, including the Roman Missal (the large book the priest uses throughout Mass), the lectionary(the readings for Mass), and the Book of Gospels(a decorated book including the Gospels used for processions and proclamation). The Book of Blessings is a very helpful book which can be used to supplement Mass as well as be used outside of Mass.

In Fiddler on the Roof (one of my favorite musicals) people are constantly asking the Rabbi if there is a blessing for all manner of things. The Rabbi always responds that there is a blessing (even for the Czar). This prominence and preponderance of blessings is a commonality we as Catholics have with our Jewish brethren. We incorporate prayers of blessing in the Mass a few times, have specific special blessings for use during Mass, and more spontaneous blessings outside of Mass as well.

One of the main reasons people come to Mass is to seek a personal and intimate connection with God. We do this most tangibly through the reception of the Eucharist, but many people spiritually connect with God through their personal prayers. However, there is tension within the Mass between the communal nature of Mass and personal spiritual growth. An oft expressed critique of the Tridentine (pre-Vatican II) Mass is that since the people didn’t know the language, with the priest facing the altar, and I would guess less than ideal sound systems, the assembly's ability to hear and follow what was going on at Mass must have been significantly impacted. So the image of people simply praying the rosary while Mass occurs became prevalent. So much so that bells were rung to bring people’s attention back up to the altar at most sacred moments. Vatican II sought to develop ways to enhance the communal nature of worship at Mass by making changes to encourage the full, active, and conscious participation of all of the faithful in the Mass. Therefore, personal prayer has rightfully been diminished during the Mass in favor of communal prayer (vocally and with liturgical ministers).

Mary Queen Parish Offices will be closed Holy Thursday - Easter Monday. Staff will return on Tuesday, April 22.

Continuing in our series on prayer at Mass, we have now come to the Lord’s Prayer. When people think of or are asked to say a prayer this is the most likely candidate to be mentioned. There are a few reasons for this. It is found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke as the example of how Jesus says we should pray. So this prayer is foundational to our Christian faith. It is also commonly shared with all of the Christian faithful, so it is one of ways we can truly show our unity as the faithful. ++ Continuando con nuestra serie sobre la oración, en la Misa llegamos al Padrenuestro. Cuando la gente piensa en una oración o se le pide que la rece, este es el más común. Hay varias razones para ello. Se encuentra en los Evangelios de Mateo y Lucas como ejemplo de cómo Jesús dice que debemos orar. Por lo tanto, esta oración es fundamental para nuestra fe cristiana. También se comparte comúnmente con todos los fieles cristianos, por lo que es una de las maneras en que podemos mostrar verdaderamente nuestra unidad como fieles.

On April 1 over 300 people from all over Lexington attended the BUILD Rally at MQHR. We were reminded about the necessity of working for the needs of our people through the power of the people. We reflected on some of Dr. Martin Luther King’s quotes from the Letter from the Birmingham jail. Such as: “But the judgement of God is upon the church as never before. If today’s church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of missions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. Every day I meet young people whose disappointment with the church has turned into outright disgust.”

Continuing our series of various types of prayers, let’s focus on the special prayers unique to our upcoming celebration of Holy Week. This week holds not only our most visual symbols of worship(palms, cross, footwashing, candles, etc…) but also feast of deep prayer. The Triduum (three days) includes prolonged periods of prayer both prescribed and for personal devotional time. The prayers for this week reflect some of the hallmarks of our faith: praying for the world, adoring Christ, and encountering our history in word and action.

The Season of Lent is not only a season of penance, austerity, and sacrifice. It is a very special season of preparation for those who will be coming into the church at Easter. At any point during the year, those who have considered becoming Catholic have entered into Christian Initiation (formerly Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and now called Order of CIA) which has several different phases beginning with Inquiry. We have over 30 people who will be baptized this Easter (what a tremendous blessing) many of whom are children (in the eyes of the church anyone eight and older is considered an adult).

Continuing our series of various types of prayers, this is our second article breaking down the Eucharistic Prayer. We left off at the first acclamation of the Sanctus (Holy, Holy...). In response to this proclamation of God’s holiness, we adjust our posture by kneeling and prepare for the most sacred moments of the Mass. The priest then offers more words of thanksgiving concerning the nature of God as holy and as creator. Which then leads into the epiclesis. This is when the priest extends his hands over the offerings of bread and wine and implores the Holy Spirit to make them holy. At Mary Queen this moment is accompanied by bell ringing (if we have enough servers).

The Season of Lent is not only a season of penance, austerity, and sacrifice. It is a very special season of preparation for those who will be coming into the church at Easter. At any point during the year, those who have considered becoming Catholic have entered into Christian Initiation (formerly Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults and now called Order of CIA) which has several different phases beginning with Inquiry. We have over 30 people who will be baptized this Easter (what a tremendous blessing) many of whom are children (in the eyes of the church anyone eight and older is considered an adult). ++ El Tiempo de Cuaresma no es solo un tiempo de penitencia, austeridad y sacrificio. Es un tiempo de preparación muy especial para quienes se acercarán a la iglesia en Pascua. En cualquier momento del año, quienes han considerado convertirse al catolicismo han entrado en la Iniciación Cristiana (anteriormente Rito de Iniciación Cristiana para Adultos y ahora llamado Orden de la CIA), que consta de varias fases, comenzando con la Indagación. Tenemos más de 30 personas que se bautizarán esta Pascua (¡qué gran bendición!), muchas de las cuales son niños (para la Iglesia, cualquier persona de ocho años o más se considera adulta).

To prepare for the Nehemiah Action, where we will ask our city officials for specific ways to make Lexington a better place for us all, all Justice Ministry Network Members will gather at MQ for the Rally, April 1, 7 PM. Here we will get the latest updates on what we will ask at the Nehemiah Action and the officials that we will be asking. Then, to win the necessary help for our neighbors we need LOTS of people at the May 6 Nehemiah Action at Central Bank Center. Plan to attend! We will carpool from MQ at 6. Action starts at 7. Mark your calendars, more information will be coming.

The most important sequence of events in our Masses lead to the consecration of the Eucharist. These prayers which transform common bread and wine into the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ are called the Eucharistic Prayer. Though the term is familiar, all of the various components can make this one of the more confusing parts of the Mass to understand. We will take a couple of weeks to break it down. In one missal I have for use at Masses, we have twenty seven pages dedicated to the order of the Mass fifteen of which are dedicated to the Eucharistic Prayer. ++ La secuencia más importante de eventos en nuestras Misas conduce a la consagración de la Eucaristía. Estas oraciones que transforman el pan y el vino común en el cuerpo y la sangre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo se llaman Plegaria Eucarística. Aunque el término es familiar, todos los diversos componentes pueden hacer que esta sea una de las partes más confusas de entender de la Misa. Nos tomará un par de semanas para analizarlo. En un misal que tengo para usar en las Misas, tenemos veintisiete páginas dedicadas al orden de la Misa, quince de las cuales están dedicadas a la Plegaria Eucarística.