Fr. Anthony Amato is the Pastor of St. Peter's Parish in Clifton Springs, New York. He was ordained as a priest in June of 2017 by Bishop Salvatore Matano of the Diocese of Rochester, New York.

 

 

• Why we veil Sacred Images during Passiontide?
• Sometimes I have gone to confession and have forgotten to mention a sin. I was not purposely withholding anything from the priest during the confession. I had honestly forgotten. However, after the confession was over I was conscious that it had totally slipped my mind during the confession to mention the sin. Can I still receive the Eucharist? If I do under these particular circumstances, am I committing a serious offense of sacrilege?
• Do Diocesan priests in any way get to choose or at least request where they are going to be assigned to work? How might that differ for a non-Diocesan priest?
• I plan on getting married in the Catholic Church, but some of my closest relatives and friends are not Catholic. Can I still have them in my wedding party or even as a Maid of Honor?
• What if I am willfully naive in thinking that something was a venial sin when it was a mortal sin, when I go to confession?
• I see that many parishes offer Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, usually in conjunction with some kind of prayer service. I have been at my parish for most of my life, and to my knowledge our parish has never had a Benediction for as long as I have been here. Can you explain, first of all, what a Benediction is used for, and secondly why some parishes seem to prefer it often when others don't do it at all?
• Can a lay person expose the Blessed Sacrament for adoration if a priest isn't available?
• What makes for a good amount of time for daily prayer for a regular lay person and are there prayers that are daily staples? What are good steps to take to avoid going stale and losing interest?
• Since God forgives us our sins only if we are sorry for them, then if someone hurts us in some way, do we have to forgive them even if they are not sorry for what they have done?  Also, is it a sin if you don't forgive a person who has sinned against you?
• Where can I find a spiritual director and should it be a priest?
• I feel like I am always asking God for things, even money, so that I can provide for my children, but then I feel guilty that I am just asking for things all the time. Do you have any advice on how I should approach my prayer life?
• What are your thoughts about the end times (Illumination of Conscience)? How, and to what extent, should we be preparing?

 

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