Can you believe, quizzicians, that by the time I next see you, we’ll be in the season of Lent? My, how the liturgical calendar flies. Savor these last few days of Ordinary Time, and enjoy this quiz.
1) Saints
This saint is invoked against throat diseases, and many Catholic churches celebrate his Feb. 3 feast day by blessing the throats of congregants. Of which saint am I speaking?
a) St. Blaise
b) St. Pollio
c) St. Benedict of Nursia
d) St. Julian the Hospitaler
2) Scripture
The second reading for Sunday, Feb. 3, comes from St. Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians. Fill in the blank from the Scripture: “If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but do not have _______, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.”
a) Faith
b) Hope
c) Power
d) Love
3) Popes
Prior to becoming Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger served as a prefect of which Vatican office?
a) Congregation for the Causes of Saints
b) Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
c) Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
d) Congregation for the Clergy
4) Lent
True or false: Sundays are NOT counted in the total 40 days calculated for the Lenten season.
a) True
b) False
5) Religious Orders
Members of which religious order use the initials “S.S.S.” after their names?
a) Scalabrinians
b) Dominicans
c) Blessed Sacrament Fathers
d) Divine Word Missionaries
6) Devotions
What is the fourth Station of the Cross?
a) Jesus is condemned to death
b) Jesus falls the third time
c) Jesus meets his sorrowful mother
d) The women of Jerusalem weep over Jesus
7) Geography
In terms of geographical distance, the largest Catholic diocese in the U.S. encompasses more than 400,000 square miles. Which diocese is this?
a) Diocese of Orange, Calif.
b) Diocese of Orlando, Fla.
c) Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas
d) Diocese of Fairbanks, Alaska
Answers: 1) a, 2) d, 3) b, 4) a, 5) c, 6) c, 7) d