Traditional Latin Mass for Primary School children

Father Timothy Finigan reports on this excellent news of educating young children in the rich heritage of the Catholic faith.

Day of Prayer and Penance for the Cause of Bishop Baraga Friday March 11th

From the Office of Bishop Sample of the Diocese of Marquette, Michigan.

March 12, 2011 is a very important day in the Cause for Beatification of our first Bishop, Frederic Baraga.  On that day the positio will be examined at  the Vatican by a group of theological consultors to the Congregation for Causes of Saints.  This positio is the documentation of the life, ministry and writings of the Servant of God Frederic Baraga.  It also includes a summary of his virtues.

The theological consultors, after discussing Bishop Baraga's life and ministry, will make a formal recommendation to the Congregation for Causes of Saints concerning whether or not Bishop Baraga exhibited in his life what is referred to as "heroic virtue."  If such a recommendation is made and accepted by the Congregation, then it goes to the Pope who would declare the heroic virtue and give Bishop Baraga the title of "Venerable."

This is a critical step in the eventual beatification of Bishop Baraga, the other being the recognition of a miracle attributable to his intercession. We have been waiting for over twelve years for this step to be taken.

Bishop Alexander K. Sample is calling upon all the faithful of the Diocese of Marquette and beyond to observe Friday, March 11, 2011 as a day of prayer and penance for the success of this important step.  Due to the six-hour time difference between here and Rome, it is important that we pray before the examination by the theologians on March 12.  The bishop especially recommends attendance at Mass, Eucharistic adoration and not eating between meals.  Since this is a Friday in Lent, he is also asking that our communal abstinence from meat on March 11 be offered for this special intention.

Sometimes the Church must punish

In the light of the Church's sexual abuse crisis, the Church's penal law is being reviewed. For years it has been said that some bishops have simply failed to use the options of imposing penalties that the Code of Canon Law gives them.

John Allen of the National Catholic Register recently interviewed Archbishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts and will be publishing extracts of the interview. Today Allen writes:

One reason for the current lack of uniformity (in the application of penal law), Arrieta said, is that the new penal law of 1983, incorporating the vision of the Second Vatican Council, left tremendous discretion in the hands of individual bishops.

“There are something like 2,500 dioceses in the world,” Arrieta said. “In the post-Vatican II code, every bishop has a great deal of latitude in terms of deciding whether or not to punish someone, and if so, which punishment to impose.”

“As a result, the response of the church to the problems it faced was incredibly diverse,” he said. “Paradoxically, in order to respect the liberty of the bishops, the code effectively created a risk to the unity of the church.”

So it seems that proposed revisions to the Church's penal code have been circulated to various experts in Canon Law around the world. Read more at Crime and punishment in the church gets a new look.

Don't rub off your ashes!

So suggests Bishop Kieran Conry of Arundel and Brighton, England. The Catholic Herald quotes Bishop Conry:

The wearing of the ashes provides us with a wonderful opportunity to share with people how important our faith is to us and to point them to the cross of Christ. I invite you where possible to attend a morning or lunchtime Mass.

“Please try not to rub off your ashes as soon as you leave church, but take the sign of the cross to all those that you meet – in your school, office, factory, wherever you may be. This might just make people curious and wonder why you would do this. If you explain about Lent and Easter it might just make them think and may even awaken in them the questions that might lead to faith. Many people have a dim awareness of Lent and even ashes. It would be good to make this clear rather than dim.

Good suggestion from the Bishop.

Pope Benedict: the Jews are not guilty of Jesus' death

Theologically I always understood that it is not the Jewish race that is guilty of Jesus' death. It is all of humanity that rejected Christ who came into his own but his own received him not. (Jn 1) Of course he came first to the Chosen Race, but, as Pope Benedict says in his about-to-be-published Jesus of Nazareth II,

Jesus' blood "does not cry out for vengeance and punishment, it brings reconciliation. It is not poured out against anyone, it is poured out for many, for all."

Here's the BBC report.

This book will be my first Kindle purchase, pre-ordered for a mere $9.99. (Had to invest in the Kindle, of course!)

Here's a preview of the book:


See also Fr Fessio, Fr Z and others.

Shahbaz Bhatti professes his faith in Jesus Christ in the face of Pakistani blasphemy laws

Shahbaz Bhatti was the only Christian on the Pakistani Government cabinet and was assasinated yesterday. He knew his life was at risk.

I believe in Jesus Christ who has given his own life for us. I know what is the meaning of the Cross and the following of the Cross... I will die to defend the rights of my suffering people and for my principles.

Read this report at the BBC and watch a video Bhatti recorded two months ago.

40 Days for Life

The next observance of 40 days for life commences on Ash Wednesday March 9th and continues through to April 17th, Palm Sunday. There is an official 40 Days for Life website giving ideas and tips for how to observe the 40 Days. Crucial is prayer and fasting, and also some public manifestation, e.g. outside a Planned Parenthood facility or other place where abortions are either carried out or facilitated, or outside a City Hall, Courthouse, etc.

I am told that there are no abortions in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. However there is a Planned Parenthood facility here in Marquette. And even there were no such place or no abortions taking place in a particular area, it is still important to pray and to make some public witness so that minds and hearts, above all of legislatures, may be moved to promote pro-life laws.

The three elements of 40 Days for life are:

• prayer and fasting

• constant vigil

• community outreach.

Daily prayers can be found here.

Visit the 40 Days for Life website for lots more information.

I am looking into whether we can do something public here in Marquette, but the important thing is prayer and fasting, and all of us can do some of that.