English Catholics Set to Dust Off Their Tuna Casserole Recipes

From Zenit News comes this encouraging story out of England. Hopefully the U.S. Bishops will follow suit.

The bishops of England and Wales are re-establishing the practice of abstaining from meat on Fridays as a penance to identify with Christ on the cross.

"Every Friday is set aside by the Church as a special day of penance, for it is the day of the death of our Lord," a statement of resolutions from the assembly reminded. "The law of the Church requires Catholics to abstain from meat on Fridays, or some other form of food, or to observe some other form of penance laid down by the Bishops’ Conference." (Most people have forgotten or are unaware that some form of penance is still required) 

"The Bishops wish to re-establish the practice of Friday penance in the lives of the faithful as a clear and distinctive mark of their own Catholic identity," the statement announced.

The prelates added that it is "important that all the faithful be united in a common celebration of Friday penance."

After 40 Years the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form in the Twin Cities

After 40 years the Sacrament of Confirmation was held again in the Extraordinary Form at the Church of St. Agnes in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis. On Wednesday May 11th, twenty seven young men and women received this Sacrament with the customary slap on the cheek from Fr. Ubel, the pastor of St. Agnes, who was designated to administer the Sacrament by Archbishop John Nienstedt. Following the administration of Confirmation a High Mass was celebrated by Fr. Ubel. Archbishop Nienstedt has promised to continue this tradition next year, mostly likely on the eve of Pentecost.  I have posted a couple pictures but apologize for their quality.

Sculpture of BVM "Descent from the Cross" in Cathedral Notre Dame

During one of the reflections given on our pilgrimage, Fr. Joseph Callipare talked about a sculpture of Mary holding Jesus which is found behind the main altar at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. This beautiful Pieta by Nicolas Coustou depicts the "Descent from the Cross." Since it was unfamiliar to many of us I thought I would post it here. It is a reminder of how works of art can teach us the Faith more deeply.

After New Constitution, Hungary Launches Pro-Life Ad Campaign | LifeNews.com

Last month Hungary adopted a new constitution that includes an article which protects life from the moment of conception.

Article II states: “Human dignity shall be inviolable. Every human being shall have the right to life and human dignity; embryonic and foetal life shall be subject to protection from the moment of conception.”

After New Constitution, Hungary Launches Pro-Life Ad Campaign | LifeNews.com

Lourdes Pilgrimage 2011

It was my wife's first time on the Lourdes pilgrimage and she really lucked out, being able to meet both the Grand Master, Fra Festing, and also the Prelate of the Order, Archbishop Acerbi.

Reflections on Lourdes Pilgrimage from Archbishop Dolan

My wife and I had blessing of being on the pilgrimage to Lourdes this year with our fellow Knights and Dames of Malta and also the good fortune of having Archbishop Dolan along with us as our chaplain. As usual his homilies were wonderful.  He has written a beautiful article on the pilgrimage, reminding us of our Blessed Mother's love for us in his weekly column in Catholic New York which you can read here.

Spiritual Reflections From the Retreat of the Grand Priory of England

Last week the Grand Priory of England held their Annual Order retreat for men at Douai Abbey, Berkshire. Two papers given by the Chaplain of the Grand Priory, Msgr Antony Conlon are available at the Conventual Church of St. John of Jerusalem's blog,

There is always a danger that our hearts are far from where they ought to be, slightly envious of those who have less regard for virtue and yet seem to prosper and be well regarded. Though we stay this side of outright wickedness and carry out what is expected of us, our loyalty may be tainted with suspicion and some regret as the years go by. Does God notice what we do and allow us to feel good about it or, like the father in the story show no indication of His love despite our daily attempts at faithful service? The apparent silence of God about so many things that perplex and annoy us can result in our spiritual life becoming a routine of ritual engagements rather than a filial relationship with a Father who loves us and has given us everything When fervour and joy are absent from our service, as in the example of the elder son, we all too easily fall into the state of detached formality. This in turn can deprive us of charity towards others and a heightened sense of awareness of their faults in comparison to our own imagined virtue.
Seeing his younger sibling return from fruitless dissipation and yet welcomed unreservedly, the elder son perceived the mercy and compassion shown to him as injustice, and the celebration of his conversion as a waste of time and effort. Our own version of this attitude might be rash judgement of those who appear foolish or sense of superiority over the weak disposition of others. If this is so, it makes our own conversion less likely. A devout soul can, by dwelling too much with disgust on the wrongs of others, lose the power to see where he himself has gone wrong and is too convinced of his own sense of grievance to be aware of his distance from charity and humility. We who clothe ourselves with the mantle of religion have to be on our guard that it is not a pretext for self-righteousness in any of its forms.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen Cause Moves Ahead

Despite some bumps in the road over the past year the cause for canonization of Archbishop Sheen is advancing to the next step. Bishop Jenky will be presenting the completed "Positio" to Pope Benedict next month and once this is completed the investigation into a possible miracle will be possible. See the full story here. Archbishop Fulton Sheen Cause Moves Ahead

SNAP Psychiatrist Sentenced for Child Porn Possession

Anybody seen this story in the NYT? SNAP Psychiatrist Sentenced for Child Porn Possession

New Prison Ministry Program in Malta

The interaction of the American and Maltese Associations of the Order of Malta has led to the development of a new prison ministry program on Malta. From the SMOM website in Rome,

The Maltese Assocation of the Order of Malta has initiated a Prison Ministry Project aimed at providing a visiting service to inmates of foreign nationality at the Young Offenders Unit Rehabilitation Service in Corradino, Malta. The inmates, all aged between twenty and twenty-five years old, have come to Malta from across the globe and are mostly in prison pending their court cases being heard and judgements issued. In this capacity they can be held for a lengthly period of time and, without family in Malta, lack any form of humanitarian contact with the outside world. The Prison Ministry Project will reach out to those inmates who will best benefit from the individual guidance, companionship and friendship that this project provides.

In preparation for the first visit the Maltese Association’s team took care to specially select volunteers who would best interact with each individual inmate. Following this first meeting inmates and volunteers will come together every fortnight to continue the development of this new social activity. Afterwards, it was agreed that the project would be both a beneficial and valuable ministry, and that it’s developement will become an important part of the Maltese Association’s activities.

This project came about as a result of interaction between the Maltese Association and the Order of Malta’s American Association, which has been running a regular prison ministry since 2006. The American Association’s prison ministry began as a small local venture and now its activities reach inmates across the United States.