Should the U.S. bishops re-institute meatless Fridays year-round?

I have been looking for video about this suggestion by Cardinal Dolan, since I read about it earlier this week:



And here is a clip from a Catholic radio program where Cardinal Dolan discussed this idea further:



Personally, I think that this is a great idea, as Friday abstinence from meat would be a year-round witness to the wider culture. Also, I think it would be easier to remember to abstain from meat every Friday for the whole year, than the current system where we have to abstain only on the Fridays of Lent (and Ash Wednesday of course).

Finally, if anyone would like to see the full video of Cardinal Dolan's opening speech at the U.S. bishops' fall assembly, here it is:



(Thanks to Whispers in the Loggia, where I found the audio clip and the second video.)

Fr. Barron: What Are the Practices of Lent?

I probably should have posted this video earlier in Lent, but better late than never. In this video, Fr. Barron talks about the major practices of Lent -- prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. He also discusses the ashes which are given on Ash Wednesday.



Click here to find more videos on Lent.

Pope Benedict explains Lent

Archbishop Dolan on Ash Wednesday

Here is a video that I found, via American Papist, of New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan giving a brief summary of Lent and Ash Wednesday. I'm not crazy about the "constantly switching camera angles for no apparent reason" style of filmmaking that was used here, but nevertheless, here is the video:

Ash Wednesday Humor

Here is a video to lighten the mood a bit on this Ash Wednesday:

Lent is Coming!

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of Lent:



Also, please check out Aggie Catholics' mega-post on Lent, which will answer all of your questions about Lent, and then some. Jimmy Akin also just put up his Annual Lent Fight post, which takes a detailed look at thorny questions like the exact duration of Lent, and whether or not Sundays count as part of Lent.