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Catholics/Proper form in writing a letter
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Question
Dear Brother Ignatius,
Can you please tell me how to address a Reverend or a Father in a letter. Is there a difference between the two?
Tamara M. Carless
Dear Tamara:
The word "reverend" means "deserving reverence" and identifies a person as clergy. Father specifically identifies the clergyman as a priest.
The forms of address various clergy and Religious are:
SECULAR PRIESTS:
Address on envelope:
Rev. (full name); or
Rev. Father (full name); or
Father (name)
Salutation: Dear Father:
Concluding a letter:
Respectfully yours in Christ,
In personal speech: Father
RELIGIOUS ORDER PRIESTS:
Address on envelope:
Rev. (full name) (adding letters designating his Order); or
Father (full name) (adding letters designating his Order)
Salutation: Dear Father:
Concluding a letter:
Respectfully yours in Christ,
In personal speech: Father
BROTHERS:
Address on envelope:
Brother (name) (adding initials designating his Order.)
Salutation: Dear Brother (name)
Concluding a letter: Respectfully yours in Christ,
In personal speech: Brother
BROTHER SUPERIOR (non priest):
Address on envelope:
Brother (full name) (adding initials designating his Order.)
Salutation: Dear Brother (name)
Concluding a letter: Respectfully yours in Christ,
In personal speech: Brother
ABBOTS:
Addressing a letter:
Right Reverend (full name)(adding letters designating his Order) Abbott of ______
Salutation: Right Reverend Abbot:
Concluding a letter: Yours respectfully in Christ,
In personal speech: Father Abbot
SISTERS:
Address on envelope:
Sister (name)
Salutation: Dear Sister (name)
Concluding a letter: Respectfully yours in Christ,
In personal speech: Sister
MOTHER SUPERIOR (or MOTHER GENERAL):
Addressing a letter:
The Reverend Mother Superior (General)
Convent of______; or
The Reverend Mother (name) (adding initials of her Order.)
Salutation: Dear Reverend Mother:
Concluding a letter: Respectfully yours,
In personal speech: Mother
BISHOPS:
Addressing a letter:
Most Reverend (full name)
Bishop of ______
Salutation: Your Excellency:
Concluding a letter: Asking Your Excellency's blessing, I am, Yours respectfully,
In personal speech: Bishop
ARCHBISHOPS:
Addressing a letter:
Most Reverend (full name)
Archbishop of ___________
Salutation: Your Excellency:
Concluding a letter: Asking Your Excellency's blessing, I am, Yours respectfully in Christ,
In personal speech: Your Excellency
CARDINALS:
Addressing a letter:
His Eminence (Christian name) Cardinal (Surname) (If an archbishop or bishop give title and see)
Salutation: Your Eminence:
Concluding a letter: Asking the blessing of Your Eminence, I am, Yours respectfully in Christ,
In personal speech: Your Eminence
THE POPE:
Addressing a letter:
His Holiness Pope (name)
Salutation: Most Holy Father; or Your Holiness:
Concluding a letter: I have the honor to profess myself with the most profound respect, your Holiness' most obedient and humble servant.
In personal speech: Your Holiness
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Answers by Expert:
Bro. Ignatius Mary, OLSM, L.Th.
Expertise
I am a Catholic apologist, catechist, spiritual director, and spiritual warfare/deliverance counselor holding a degree of Licentiate in Theology. Questions dealing with the Catholic Faith will be answered according to official Church teachings, where such official teachings exist, and according to solid principles taught by the Church and the saints on areas where there is no specific Church teaching. I am a one-hundred-percent loyal and obedient to the Pope and Magisterium of the Church. If you want to know the TRUE SCOOP of Church teaching, here is the place to get it.
We have three major ministries:
1) an Apostolate of Prayer;
2) Apologetics and Catechesis primarily offered through a Catholic Q&A (plus volunteering on expert.com); and
3) Deliverance and Spiritual Warfare: involving many things ranging from investigating "haunted houses," to counseling with demonized people, to dealing with spiritual warfare issues in our society.
Experience
I was a Baptist preacher, Bible teacher, and evangelist for 15 years before converting to the Catholic Church in 1992.
As a Catholic I have been teaching Bible, Catechetics, apologetics, and evangelism for 14 years. I also have 24 years of pastoral counseling experience and 14 years experience as a Catholic Spiritual Director.
I have been in deliverance ministry since 1986 as a Baptist. After converting to the Catholic Church I continued the spiritual warfare work including counseling, writing, consulting, and teaching workshops, and training Deliverance Counsellors.
In 2002 we began a new apostolate called the St. Padre Pio Center for Deliverance Counseling. This agency offers counseling to those persons who are demonized, and offers training for people who feel called by God to become Deliverance Counsellors. As director of the St. Padre Pio Center I was featured in a series of interviews on Spirtual Warfare on Ave Maria Radio.
Award: Recipient of the prestigious Kaltenborn Foundation Grant.
Organizations
In Religion: Catholic Society of Evangelists, Institute on Religious Life, Adoremus: Society for the Renewal of the Sacred Liturgy, Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, Coming Home Network, The Blue Army of our Lady of Fatima, Apostleship of Prayer, Confraternity of Mary, Queen of All Hearts (Montfort Fathers), Confraternity of the Brown Scapular
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In Counseling: American Counseling Association, Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, the International Society for Mental Health Online, and the former National Psychiatric Association. Brother is also currently working with two other counselors to form a new association called the American Nouthethic Association of Catholic Counselors. This association is not yet operational.
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In Creative Writing: Academy of American Poets, the Association of Authors and Publishers, and is listed as Editor and Publisher of St. Michael House Press and Writers House Press in the International Directory of Small Presses and Little Magazines and the WritersNet Online Directory
Publications
Religious Book Publications include:
+"Regula Sanctus Michaelis" (The Rule of St. Michael)
+"Three Secret Strategies of Satan and Other Essays"
+"St. Michael's Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog"
+"Hope, Help, Victory: A Spiritual Warfare Workshop"
+"St. Michael’s Deliverance Counseling Manual"
+If God Wants This of Me: The Story of a Baptist Minister Turn Catholic Friar" (forthcoming)
Poetry Publications and Credits:
Book: "Only Silence is Shame"
Magazines & Readings: published in various magazines and conducted numerous readings
Listed: "Who's Who is U.S. Editors, Writers, and Poets" and the "International Authors and Poets Who's Who" out of London in the 1980s
Other Publications:
Book: "The Wilder Letters" (book of essays)
Book: "The Falling Torch: Our Democracy in Crisis"
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