MISSION STATEMENT
We the Catholic faithful of the Diocese of Scranton,
in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, are called
through baptism to share in the mission which Jesus
Christ has entrusted to the One, Holy, Catholic and
Apostolic Church. Priests, deacons, religious and laity,
under the leadership of our Bishop, cooperate to
proclaim the Gospel in accordance with the teaching of
the Church, to celebrate the sacraments, especially the
Eucharist, for the salvation of all, and to witness by
grace to the Kingdom of God so as to promote a culture
of life, justice and peace.
Subscribe
to News Briefing |
This Issue:
|
| Parishes
To Mark Beginning of Lent |
| Lent
Regulations |
| Faithful
Asked To Participate in Operation Rice Bowl |
| Strategic
Planning for Catholic Schools Underway |
| Rite
of Election To Be Celebrated March 5 |
| VIRTUS
Updates Online |
Parishes To Mark Beginning of Lent |
Ash Wednesday,
March 1, will mark the start of the solemn
40-day season of Lent for Catholics. Parishes
throughout the Diocese will distribute ashes to
remind individuals of their mortality.
At St. Peter’s
Cathedral, ashes will be distributed during the
6:30 a.m., 8 a.m., 11 a.m., 12:10 p.m. and 5
p.m. Masses. Bishop Joseph F. Martino will be
the principal celebrant of the 12:10 p.m. Mass.
CTV: Catholic
Television will begin its annual presentation of
the televised Daily Lenten Masses from St.
Peter’s Cathedral. The Masses will also air on
WSWB-TV.
On Ash Wednesday,
both the 8 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. Masses from the
Cathedral will be carried live by CTV. The 8
a.m. liturgy will be rebroadcast on WSWB at 2
p.m., and the 12:10 Mass will air again on CTV
at 7 p.m.
Thereafter, the 8
a.m. weekday Mass will be broadcast live by CTV.
These Lenten Masses will be rebroadcast at 12:10
p.m. and 7 p.m. each weekday on CTV, until the
Wednesday of Holy Week, April 12. In addition to
the broadcasts on CTV, the Lenten Mass will also
be carried on WSWB weekdays at 2 p.m. throughout
the Lenten season.
These Masses will
be interpreted for the deaf and hard of hearing
by Sister Mary Beth Makuch, SS.C.M., Diocesan
director of Ministry with the Deaf and Persons
with Disabilities.
Additional local
programming is also scheduled for the Lenten
season on CTV at 8:30 a.m., following the Lenten
Mass. The schedule includes “Family Unity with
George Weigel” on Mondays, “Our Community”
on Tuesdays, “Christopher Close Up” on
Wednesdays, “The World of St. Paul” on
Thursdays, and “The Teaching of Christ with
Bishop Weurl”on Fridays. |
Lent Regulations |
James B. Earley,
chancellor of the Diocese of Scranton, asks the
faithful to be aware of Diocesan Statute No. 41,
which addresses the penitential aspect of Lent:
“The season of
Lent is penitential in nature and during Lent
penance should be not only internal and
individual, but also external and social (Sacrosanctum
Concilium, No. 5, 109). Pastors are
seriously obliged to avoid scheduling activities
in the parishes which in any way could possibly
detract from the external and social penance
required by Lent.”
Ash Wednesday,
March 1, and Good Friday, April 14, are days of
fast and abstinence. The Fridays of Lent are
days of abstinence.
All of the
faithful who have reached the age of 14 are
obliged by the law of abstinence. On a day of
abstinence no meat may be eaten by anyone
obliged by this law.
All of the
faithful from the age of 18 to the beginning of
their 60th year are obliged by the law of fast.
On a day of fast, those obliged by this law may
eat only one full meal and two partial meals
unless dispensed or excused.
|
Faithful Asked To Participate in Operation Rice
Bowl |
As Catholics
enter the Lenten season, they are encouraged to
consider the less fortunate throughout the
world.
One means to do
that is through Operation Rice Bowl, Catholic
Relief Services’ Lenten program, which is now
in its 31st year. The program was begun in 1975
by the Diocese of Allentown as a response to a
drought in Africa.
During Lent,
Operation Rice Bowl participants pledge to pray,
fast in solidarity with those who hunger, learn
about the global community and the challenges of
poverty overseas, and give sacrificial
contributions to those in need.
On each Friday in
Lent, families are encouraged to prepare a
simple meal and donate the money saved to
Operation Rice Bowl. Operation Rice Bowl runs
through Holy Saturday, which is April 15 this
year.
Twenty-five
percent of the funds raised stay in the local
diocese for use in projects that help alleviate
poverty and hunger, while 75 percent goes to CRS
projects abroad. Catholic Relief Services is the
international humanitarian relief and
development agency of the U.S. Catholic
community. The agency provides assistance to
people in 99 countries and territories on the
basis of need.
Last year, the
Diocese of Scranton contributed $71,368 to
Catholic Relief Services from the Operation Rice
Bowl program. That was the 11th highest amount
among the dioceses in the country.
For more
information on Operation Rice Bowl, visit the
website www.crs.org/orb or call 410-951-7245. |
Strategic Planning for Catholic Schools Underway |
The strategic
planning process begun last fall is continuing
its evaluation of all Diocesan secondary and
elementary schools.
Advisory
committees in each school are reviewing the
components of the educational process in their
respective schools. These aspects include
Catholic identity, enrollment, facility,
finances and demographics, among others.
In turn, Meitler
Consultants will analyze the data and provide
attainable recommendations to Bishop Joseph F.
Martino and Diocesan consultants. The results of
their deliberations will be announced as
decisions are finalized.
The focus of the
strategic planning process is to strengthen and
preserve the legacy of Catholic education in the
Diocese so that parents and students are assured
of an affordable education, one committed to the
Gospel, where learning and teaching occur in
well-equipped facilities, ensuring academically
prepared students. |
Rite of Election To Be Celebrated March 5 |
More than 250
individuals will be joining the Roman Catholic
Church this year through the Rite of Christian
Initiation for Adults and Children.
The Rite of
Election, at which these men, women and children
will reaffirm their intention to join the
Catholic Church, will take place on Sunday,
March 5, at 3:30 p.m. at the Byron Center on the
campus of The University of Scranton. All of the
faithful are invited to attend the ceremony.
The participants
in the Rite of Election have been involved in a
year-long journey of preparation in their
parishes. Their instruction involved learning
the basics of the Catholic faith and preparing
themselves to receive the Sacraments of
Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation and Holy
Communion).
The participants
on March 5 will be presented to Bishop Joseph F.
Martino. He will ask those assembled to affirm
that the catechumens and candidates have been
faithful to prayer, study and living the tenets
of the Catholic faith during the past year. The
ceremony will be witnessed by families,
sponsors, pastors and parishioners who have been
supporting the catechumens and candidates
throughout their period of preparation.
The initiation
process will reach its culmination when the
catechumens and candidates receive the
sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy
Communion in their respective parishes at the
Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 15. |
VIRTUS Updates Online |
As a courtesy to
all users of VIRTUS online, the system provides
monthly continuing education updates. As a
notification procedure for those updates, the
first week of each month an e-mail reminder will
come to the user’s inbox for the chosen e-mail
address, alerting them to the fact that there is
a new bulletin to be read.
As this is a
courtesy to all VIRTUS online users throughout
the country, the system is not always accurate.
If a user recognizes that they have not received
an e-mail notification, they can follow the
instructions below:
* Go to the VIRTUS website, www.virtusonline.org
* Enter your user ID and password
* Proceed to the “My Training” tab within
the system
* On the left hand side of the screen, there
will be a link entitled “Complete Training
Report.” This will open a screen that will
display any unread bulletins and the user will
be able to proceed from that point to read any
current or past bulletins.
|
|
