Friday of the Second Week of Lent
March 21, 2014

Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified


My good and dear Jesus, I kneel before you, asking you most earnestly to engrave upon my heart a deep and lively faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. As I reflect upon your five wounds, and dwell upon them with deep compassion and grief, I recall, good Jesus, the words the prophet David spoke long ago concerning yourself: "They have pierced my hands and my feet; they have counted all my bones!"



O Sacred Head Sore Wounded: Click here to listen

Question of the Day:

What is meant by the term "Apostolic See?"

In one sense the term is very simple to explain, but on the other hand, there is some complexity involved. Basically, the Apostolic See (sometimes referred to as the Holy See) is a term used to signify the pope as the head of the universal Church and all those associated with him who assist in the administration of the universal Church. So then, the Apostolic See does not just refer to the pope. The Code of Canon Law at c. 361 provides a description of the term by stating:
"In this Code the term Apostolic See or Holy See mean not only the Roman Pontiff,
but also, unless the contrary is clear from the nature of things or from the context,
the Secretariat of State, the Council for the public affairs of the Church, and the
other Institutes of the Roman Curia."

There are 30 principal offices within the Roman Curia (each with specific functions) which go to make up the Apostolic See. They come under seven headings and are as follows:

Secretariat of State

 Congregations (9)

1. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

2. Congregation for the Eastern Churches

3. Congregation on Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

4. Congregation on the Causes of the Saints

5. Congregation for Bishops

6. Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples

7. Congregation for the Clergy

8. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

9. Congregation for Seminaries and Institutes of Study

Tribunals(3)1. Apostolic Penitentiary2. Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

3. Roman Rota

Pontifical Councils (12)
1. Pontifical Council for the Laity

2. Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity

3. Pontifical Council for the Family

4. Pontifical Council on Justice and Peace

5. Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"

6. Pontifical Council on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Tourism

7. Pontifical Council on the Apostolate for the Care of the Sick

8. Pontifical Council on the Interpretation of Legislative Texts

9. Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue

10. Pontifical Council for Dialogue with Non-Believers

11. Pontifical Council for Culture

12. Pontifical Council for Social Communications

Administrative Offices (3)
1) The Apostolic Camera
2) The Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See

3) the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See

Other Institutes of the 1) The Prefecture of the Papal Household Roman Curia 2) The Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

A Number of Interdicasterial Commissions