The Lenten Carbon Fast Is Back - With A New Name!

It keeps coming up like a bad penny, usually on the Sunday before Ash Wednesday.  This time, though, there's a bit of a name-change.  It's now the (drum roll and trumpets, please!)

Lenten Caring for Creation Calendar

This appeared in my parish's bulletin today - on green paper of course (must stay on that green theme!).  They even have the audacity to glom off the "Year of Faith" designation for 2013.  Some of the usual politically correct drivel includes:

• (Feb 18) Running clothes washer on "cold/cold" settings (in other words, don't worry about getting clothes clean and disinfected)
• (Feb 21) Skip the "energy intensive" dry cycle with your dishwasher (but be prepared to share more germs since the dry cycle is the real sterilizer)
• (March 7) check your car's tire pressure (a pearl of wisdom borrowed from Obama himself)

Of course, peppered throughout this thing (March 12, 21, 24) are solicitation to glom onto environmentalism with a faux-katholyc veneer via the "katholyc climate covenant", etc. 

It's bad enough that this bulletin insert was itself an abysmal waste of paper, green paper dye and ink.  What's even worse is that it couches an anti-life philosophy in "catholic-sounding" language.

I would suggest that one and all do some reading on Agenda 21, for this "Caring for Creation Calendar" is not much more than a segue into acceptance of this new-age, progressive attempt by the United Nations to seize control of our very lives.  Please see:

• Democrats Against Agenda 21
• Wikipedia article
• Green Agenda

There are many other, of course.  I myself have written quite a bit about global warming, citing many excellent sources in so doing.  In particular, I point you to this expose done by Michael Voris; please watch the video.  It is worth the investment in time.

Getting back to Lent that is starting on Ash Wednesday, forget the "caring for creation" tripe.  Focus on real healing and restoration.  Go to Mass more frequently.  Go to Confession (many parishes are offering additional Confession times).  Attend the Stations of the Cross.  Participate in your local 40 Days for Life efforts.  And yes, educate yourselves on Agenda 21 and the other nefarious aspects of the progressive agenda and then alert others to them.  The "caring for creation" stuff is actually quite insidious.

If A Squggly Light Bulb Breaks...

We're seeing them in all the stores now - the squiggly light bulbs that are supposed to be so "earth-friendly".  Heck, we were even asked to make them part of the "lenten carbon fast"!  Never mind that they're filled with mercury - the poisonous substance.

Light bulbs break from time to time.  When the incandescent bulbs break, no big deal.  When these squggly things break, because of the mercury, it's a big deal! 

Watch this little tongue-in-cheek clip for instructions - and insight into the "carbon-footprint" envirowhacko mentality and its resulting havoc.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.

Tomorrow - Earth Hour!

Let It Blaze!!

What is that, you ask?  Why, it's the time, designated by envirowhackos and "climate change" dupes everywhere, when we are asked to turn off every light in our homes - 8:30pm, to be precise, in your respective time zone.  Go to the "earth hour" website to learn how they are brainwashed think.  Hey, it's even an item on the "lenten carbon fast" calendar!

Well, guess what I'll be doing?  I will be turning ON every light in my home!  Who will join me in this simple gesture to stand up to "climate change" hoaxsters?

And I Thought The Carbon Fast Was Disgraceful!

Perhaps it still is for the Catholics.  After all this nonsense is occurring in the Episcopalean Church.  An Episcopal priest, for Lent, wants to adopt Islamic practices "to gain a deeper understandng of the faith".

I have to hand it to the Episcopal bishop there.  He put the priest on notice that if the nonsense continues, there will be a defrocking.  Now I might add that this priest was Roman Catholic, but didn't appreicate our "conservative viewpoints".  Hmmm... I wonder what he thinks Islamic viewpoints are.

Vortex On "Climate Change" Bastardization Of Lent

Michael Voris asks some very good questions of the "climate change" drones who prowl the halls of the USCCB building.  Click here if you can't see embedded video.



The Catholic Investigative Agency episode to which he refers can be found here.  If you haven't watched it yet, please do so.  It's an hour long, but worth every minute.

Is That A Carbon Footprint On Your Forehead??

There appears to be a renewed attempt to substitute adherence to environmentalism for authentic Lenten practices.  As noted last week, Blessed Sacrament in Chevy Chase has pulled the "lenten carbon fast" out of the mothballs and is foisting it on their unsuspecting parishioners (causing the death of many trees with all that paper used, I might add).

We now see from Catholic News Services that the so-called "Catholic Coalition On Climate Change" wants us to do things like "give up disposable paper products such as napkins and paper towels"  We should be grateful that they didn't include toilet paper in that litany.  Of course the incandescent light bulb has to go; that seems to be a common one.  Why?  Well, as their Dan Misleh says, "Lent is the perfect time to examine our lifestyles," he added. Even giving up a food item like chocolate or ice cream "reminds us that we do need to live more within our means, more in touch with people who don't have any of these things."  That's not why we sacrifice things.  We do so to remind ourselves that these things are fleeting and that we must prepare ourselves for eternal life.  Oh, by the way - they plan to send "Catholic Climate Ambassadors" to brainwash "educate" us on their enlightened thinking.


CARBON FOOTPRINT ALERT!

 Now I have a question.  With all this talk of "reducing carbon footprints", what do these earth-worshippers think of the Ash Wednesday liturgical practice of burning palm leaves and applying them to the foreheads of penitants?  I can imagine that some are in a tizzy that those palm leaves weren't put in a compost pile, but instead were burned (polluting the air and corroding the ozone layer, to boot) and that this is done world-wide.  Will we soon hear from them clarion calls to reject even more tradition, one that again recalls to us our mortality, to worship Gaia and Mother Earth?

Forget all this environmentalism.  Let this Lent for you be a true time of repentance and renewal.  One of the most useful things to come out of the Archdiocese of Washington in recent years has been Cardinal Wuerl's "The Light Is On For You" program.  It is an effort to get Catholics to resort to the Sacrament of Confession; and it appears to be working.  Prior to that, when I went to Confession, I could just walk straight from the church doors into a confessional.  Now I have to wait in lines of 8-10 people.  I'm not complaining!  This is a good, healthy sign that people are taking their spiritual welfare seriously.  So go to Confession - regularly.  Get to daily Mass.

I'd also suggest prayer at the abortion centers, to ask God's mercy on our nation and to perhaps reach out to troubled women.  Today was the start of the 40 Days for Life, a campaign of prayer and outreach that is now international in scope.  To learn more of this program and to find a location near you, visit that website and click on the locations tab.  Right off the bat I can tell you that there are campaigns in Silver Spring, Germantown, College Park, Northwest DC, Fairfax, Severna Park.

Lenten Carbon Fast - It's BAAAACK!

A perverse form of "lenten mortification" has returned to insult the intelligence of reasonable people.  Yes, "Earthministry.org" has snookered at least one Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Washington into glommng onto the nonsensical farce called the "Lenten Carbon Fast" - Blessed Sacrament in the Chevy Chase area, to be precise.

Here's this year's "calendar" for your reading (dis)pleasure.  We start off Ash Wednesday by unscrewing our light bulbs (why don't they just suggest we not turn the lights on?).  Oh, things get even more profounds as we continue.  On March 20th, we are instructed to "Go for a walk.  Get wet.  Dig the earth."  Wow!  Can ya (wait for this!) dig this?  Cool!  Groovy, man!  We can tell this mess was compiled by now-aged 1960-style hippies who never quite grew up!

On April 3rd, we are served the obligatory "environmental guilt trip".  That is, we're supposed to "think prayerully" how we, the "richest nation", are consuming 80% of the world's resources.  Not mentioned, of course, is that the US is actually developing the bulk of the resources.  On April 6th, we're urged to watch some environmentalist propaganda; we're given a list of movies from which to select.  Of course, Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth is included.  Hey - if we're going to "think prayerfully" on something, how about the "inconvenient truth" that 3500 babies are being murdered every day in this country?  Now that is something for which the US should be ashamed - including Al Gore, a big proponent of baby-murder.

On March 26th, they're going to celebrate Earth Hour!  What is that?  Why, they're "taking action on climate change" by (now wait for this lovely suggestion!) turning off your lights for one hour at 8:30pm local time.  Well, guess what?  I'll have every light in my home blazing during that hour!  We can call this "Light Up The Night!"

By the way - did you notice all the crass, profit-centered commercials, masquerading as "climate-friendly suggestions" (shal we say)?   In addition to their own "shameless self-plug" on April 15th, we see on April 13th a number of seed and gardening suppliers suggested to us.  On March 23rd, we're urged to "reward ourselves for all our efforts so far - with chocolate!"  Then they plug "theochocolate".  Hey - I love chocolate as much as anyone else does - but can't they be honest about these promotions?  Sheesh!

Enough of this envirowhacko profanation and exploitation of Lent!  Here are some time-honored suggestions.

• If you're not attending daily Mass, try to get there a few times a week
• Make a good confession (mandatory if you're in mortal sin)
• Attend Stations of the Cross
• Pray at an abortion mill where babies are dying.  For locations close to you, consult http://www.40daysforlife.com/ and search for a local presence there.
• Contribute money to a pro-lfe charity that actually will save babies.  Some suggestions are on the right side-bar

The underpinnings to this "environmentalism" and "climate change" hysteria, being deliberately contrived, are really quite ominous.  I encourage you to watch an expose of this sham as produced by RealCatholicTV.  I link to it here.  In addition, please put the words "climate change" and "environmentalism" in this blog's search box.  Read the postings; look at the linked material.  I'll also leave you with one more; put the words "James Lee" in the search box.  You might recall that he was the perpetrator in the police stand-off last September in Silver Spring.  Look closely and see how he was impacted by the inherently anti-life underpinnings of the same philosphy that created the Lenten Carbon Fast.

How Well Do You Know Your Local Eco-Whacko Pabulum?

(Thanks to Acts of the Apostacy for this)

Well, boys and girls, forget about the Baltimore Catechsim!  I remember when I started school, our days would start by Sister calling upon us to answer those questions - such as "Where is God?"  That's now deemed to be "irrelevant".

From the National Catholyc Distorter, we are now encouraged to ponder deeper, more "relevant" matters.  So now I link to (drum roll, please!)...

THE BIOREGIONAL QUIZ!!!

Ponder such great matters, as:

1. When was the last great fire in your region?
2. What kind of food was usually consumed by the ancient cultures in your region?
3. When is the rut of deer and when are the fawns born?
4. Which species of your region are already extinct?

Warning!  If you flunk this, you'll have to do the Lenten Carbon Fast!

The priorities that these people have!

Anti-Life Underpinnings Of Environmentalism

First, thanks to Breitbart.tv for the heads-up on this.

If you want graphic (and I DO mean graphic!) evidence that the Culture of Death is behind the latest environmental and "going green" fad, then continue.

10:10 is some nutso campaign to cut carbon emissions by 10% per year.  Go to their website to see their "lofty" goals.  Then, if you have the stomach for it, watch the video below that depicts non-believers in their strange dogma being blown up into bloody puddles.  I'm not kidding!  This is barbarism beyond words.  They even show this happening to children.  Again, I warn you, THIS IS GRAPHIC, but it shows just how cheaply they value people's lives.  (Click here if you can't see embedded video)



It's far-fetched, you say?  Remember James Lee (see my first, second and third posts on him) and the situation at the Discovery Channel building last week?  How about Earth Liberation Front - or the Unabomber?  Anything that puts human welfare on a par, or even below, anything else in creation is deadly.  It is we, mankind, who are created in God's image and likeness. 

Let's remember this when we read about "environmental justice committees" in our parishes, or the next time they try to foist a "lenten carbon fast" (put the phrase "lenten carbon fast" in the search box to see relevant posts) down our throats.

Caution! Your Home Is A Slimy, Oily Mess!!!

At least it is, if you are not "recycling"!  Thus sayeth Msgr Paul Dudziak of St. Rose of Lima Church in Gaithersburg, MD.  He said, and I quote, "every home that is not recycling is like its own BP oil spill, trashing the earth."  And when was this inspired oracle delivered to the adoring throngs?  On Pentecost Sunday!  So the environmentalists hijack not only Lent (with their "lenten carbon fast") but now they exploit a major Church solemnity for their own ideological ends.

I thank my colleague at "A Washington DC Catholic" for alerting me to this, and suggest that you read his post.  (Also read his post from today; the Archdocesan Environmental Committee apparently wants us to "repent" for the Gulf oil spill.)  He stated that while he had the audio of the homily, he was unable to post it.  I communicated to him that I was able to do so.  He sent the file to me and I now make it available to you at this link.  Note: the "oil spill" gaffe occurs right at the beginning of the clip.  Msgr Dudziak goes on to lament violence, as well.  However, he focuses primarily on military activity (forgetting that not all force is violence), but of course is typically silent on the violence done in the first environment that humans know: the violence of abortion committed in what should be the safest environment, that of a mother's womb.

Some of you might recall that this blog was inaugurated last September.  One of my first posts had to do with my own visit to St. Rose.  I urge you to revisit that post.  That will make it easier to conceive how progressive propaganda thinly disguised as a homily can proceed from that place.

Archdiocese of Washington Catholics Chant "Global Warming" Mantra

Numerous posts on this blog have debunked the junk science known as "climate change".  I need not repeat all that on this blog.  That being said, I am saddened, though not surprised, to see the Catholic Standard jump on the politically correct twin bandwagons called "immigration reform" and "climate change".

I reported earlier on the "environmental events" scheduled for the ADW.  One of them has since occurred: the May 1st conference on "Faith, Environment etc".  An account of the event is on page 10 of the May 6th edition; at this time, there is no online version.  William Dinges of Catholic University of America apparently waxed hysterical about the "speed and scope of human destruction on Earth...unprecedented."  (Note: the capital E in "Earth" was in the article; I never would have done that of my own volition.)  He then criticized "faith communities" for their "delayed reaction to the crisis" and failure to "read signs of the times."  He also opined that if we "don't act responsibly,..our children will inheret the ruins."

Hope for Those Who Have Broken - The Lenten Carbon Fast

PARODY ALERT!    PARODY ALERT!   PARODY ALERT!

For those of you who have already broken the Lenten Carbon Fast, there's hope!  You can confess your sins against Mother Earth to (drum roll, please!)

FATHER LEFTY GOODVIBES!

Observe a sample of Father's wonderful work!

(Father Goodvibes sits in his confessional.  A rather distraught woman enters..)

Woman: Bless me, Father, for I have sinnned.

Father: My daughter, so that I can have perspective in giving spiritual advice, tell me a bit of your background.

Woman: Well, I left my husband and three small children.  You see, I determined that I'm gay, and have moved in with my girlfriend, whom I met at our monthly wiccan-activists meeting.  I'm also studying to be ordained a priestess.  I also spend Saturday mornings at the local women's health center to combat those rigtht-wing extremists who want to deny women their right to choose.

Father: Why, that's wonderful, my daughter!

Woman: But what brings me here is this.  I've (sob!) broken the lenten carbon fast!  I let my car idle while I checked my mail box, emitting green house gases.  I have not properly recycled my garbage.  I have not converted my lamps to those squigly, mercury-filled bulbs.  I've wasted hot water in my daily showers.  I have not let my dishwasher breathe!

Father: Why, that's terrible, my daughter!

Woman: Oh, Father, I am so ashamed!  I have put Mother Earth in the emergency room! (starts to cry unconsolablely)

Father: You must make amends!  For your penance, you must sit through ten showings of Al Gore's movie "Inconvenient Truth" and buy at least three carbon offsets.  Now go out to the parish compost pile, breathe in the fragrance of recycling.  Now go, and be at peace as you become one with the Earth.

Woman: Thank you, Father!

Minutes later, we see that this woman has joined other penitents circled around the parish compost pile.  They are holding hands, singing "Polar bears drownin', Lord!  Kum-bye-yaaaah!"

Thus ends our parody!  At least, I hope it's a parody.  I fear, though, these days, the above scenario may, in some confessionals, resemble fact more than fiction!  During this time of Lent, I would urge the use of the Sacrament of Confession to truly put yourselves aright with God and His Church, as has been done for hundreds of years.

Global Warming Hoax Spurs Murder-Suicide

An Argentine couple, who apparently were hoodwinked by the global warming hysteria, were so distraught that they sought to end their own lives and those of their two children.  This account from the Daily News states that neighbors noticed a stench from their home.  Authorities found the couple dead, as well as a two-year old boy.  Miraculously, a seven-month old girl survived the bullet wound to her chest.  A note left on the table expressed the couple's anger at the government for "not responding to the environmental crisis."

This "global warming" and "climate change" hoax, this hysteria, has now gone so far that people are taking leave of their senses and committing acts of despair and violence.  It is my contention that all the players in this mess, from Al Gore on down to the Archdiocese's Environmental Outreach Committee, have blood on their hands for disregarding reason and perpetuating this scam.  So yes, my friend from IPL!  The "lenten carbon fast" is indeed crap!  If you don't like the terminology, know that I prefer accuracy to prissy delicacy.

More on Origins of "Carbon Fast" Schtick

The blog "What Does the Prayer Really Say?", in their own posting about the lenten carbon fast, linked to my original posting with the comment by the IPL person.  Some of the comments on that blog doubted the responsibility of the Archdiocese of Washington for its part in this nonsense. 

You might have noticed on that blog that I had my own doubts.  However, subsequent circumstances removed those doubts, and I'll now explain them.  Immediately after I published that post, I sent an email to the ADW webmaster to inquire into the matter, seriously thinking that their name was misappropriated.  I instructed my email handler to return to me a "read receipt" when the email was read at the other end.  I sent that email in the evening, and thus was surprised to receive back, within the hour, my read receipt.  The very next morning, at 8:15am, I was notified of the comment from the IPL person.  I could be wrong, but I believe the timing of these two events is too coincidental.  Could it be that the thing was read, certain ADW parties were notified, who then put in a request that the comment be submitted to me?  If that's true, that indicates very close working relations between the ADW and this IPL group.  Even if that's far-fetched, we've seen no repudiation of this "carbon fast" on the ADW website.

Enough of that.  There's another group that has their fingerprints all over this (and all over this as manifested in other dioceses in the US and England).  It's called Catholic Climate Covenant.  Click on that, and the very first thing you see is the accusatory question, "Who's Under YOUR Carbon Footprint?" (emphasis mine).  My!  Aren't we just a bunch of callous slobs!  Well, we must be!  Why?  Because...because..well, they say so!  That's why!  And don't you forget it!

Now watch that movie!  It's hillarious!  According to this sorry excuse of an educational flick, if we drive our cars and run our hot water faucets, we create electrical storms and cause draughts and joblessness!  It's more swallowing of the junk science.  It does mention that we Catholics have the obligation to care for the least among us who have no voice - hold that thought!

Go and see who the coalition members are.  It's the usual gang of suspects: Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services, Leadership Council of Women Religious and - at the top of the list - the USCCB's Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development.  That's headed by - John Carr!  We've heard that name before now, haven't we?

Again, he has also been linked with the Center for Community Change, that has helped fund abortion-promoting organizations.  How is that helping to care for the least among us who have no voice, namely, the unborn who are slaughtered vis-a-vis abortion, to the tune of 4,000 daily?

Regarding the Real Catholic vidoe in the post below regarding the "social justice" scam, this is a prime example of which Voris was speaking.

Archbishop's Appeal

We had the in-pew collection this past weekend.  Many, including myself, did not contribute, as we wonder just where such contributions would be going.  I would, though, like to suggest some cost-cutting measures for the Archdiocese.  By the way - I know, for a fact, that some in the ADW offices are reading this blog.  By all means, please continue.  I hope you heed some of these suggestions.

1. Get rid of the Environmental Outreach Committee.  In glomming onto this "lenten carbon fast" silliness, they have made utter fools of themselves and their supervisors.  As my friend at Les Femmes said, they should be ashamed of themselves for all the paper wasted (trees killed!  oh, my!) to print those calendars.
2. Cut off immediately contributions/assessments paid to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  I've already enumerated the many reasons why that cartel should be junked.
3. Readers of this blog!  Please use the comments section to submit your own cost-cutting suggestions.  Again, please be advised that comments not respectful of the Church and of Rome are subject to rejection.

During this in-pew collection, Catholics were presented with the option of making a pledge.  Here's a dirty little secret from business law that most people don't know.  Pledges made to a not-for-profit entity, such as a church, are legally binding upon the one making the pledge!  Now it so happens that very few charities actually enforce these pledges, as that would have a chilling effect on people making future pledges.  The fact is, though, the charity does have the option of legally enforcing the pledge.

Beyond that, though, I know many area Catholics are simply frosted at seeing their parish schools close without so much as being asked for their opinions (and no, some little committee who meets privately does NOT constitute parishioner input!).  We know just from reading the Standard that there has been a spate of that lately.  One friend of mine suggested that they might be willing to make such a pledge IF the chancery will pledge not to close one more school or church, nor to engage in any of those "consolidations".  Is the Archdiocese of Washington game?

It's Ash Wednesday! Are Your Light Bulbs Unscrewed?

As you can see from the first comment to the "carbon fast" post, many people are confused about the meaning of Lent - or they're simply glomming onto the "Lent" word to push their own agendas.  We are to turn from our personal sin and take seriously one of the first questions in the Baltimore Catechism.  "Why did God make me?"  "God made me to know, love and serve Him in this world, and be happy forever with Him in the next."  That is how our lives are to be ordered.  Sadly, such is not the case.

Our primary duty is to see to our eternal salvation, and the salvation of those around us.  That means we preach and practice, among other things, respect for God's laws regarding marriage as a life-long union of one man and one woman.  We preach and practice that sexual relations only occur between two married people as discussed in the previous sentence, and that every such act be open to new life.  Contraception, in all its disgusting and perverted forms, is shunned as the poison that it is.  Under no circumstances is the life of an innocent person to be taken; that means no abortion and no euthanasia whatsover.  We follow the Church's teachings regarding the sacraments, and their worthy and frequent reception. 

Anyone who deviates from these, either in thought, word or deed must repent of these via the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  We offer prayers and sacrifices in reparation for our own sins and those of others.  THAT is Lent: NOT unscrewing light bulbs or starting compost piles in the back yard or letting our dishwashers "breathe".  To my IPL reader: the ideas may in and of themselves be economically useful, but when they are 1) put on the same level as the Stations of the Cross, the Mass, etc and 2) based on junk science, they become CRAP in that context.  Follow them if you will, but let no one be deluded into thinking that they will suffice as Lenten practices. 

Let me now adress that last sentence on the calendar, about serving God by "pursuing a more sustainable way of life."  The emphasis is completely wrong.  We serve God by obeying His Commands and by obeying His Church, not by jumping onto politically-correct bandwagons.  See below for Real Catholic TV's take.



By the way - in regards to the question in the title, light bulbs can be unscrewed in more ways than one!

From the "Enviro-Whacko Department" - Lenten Carbon Fast!

Yes, indeed!  This is designed to coincide with Lent.  This nonsense can be found here.  (Note - Should this embarrassment mysteriously "disappear", please notify via "comments" and I'll post it on the old website).  Let's look at some of these precious gems of wisdom.  The source of this stuff?  Appearances can be deceiving; I'll discuss that at the bottom.

On Friday Feb 19, it is suggested that we go meat-free.  Well, actually, that's not a suggestion, as the Church fast rules stipulate that we abstain from meat on Lenten Fridays.  Posting that in this context obfuscates this morally-binding Church precept, especially since there's no mention of that on subsequent Fridays.

Look at March 1st!  Here's yet another piece of evidence that these folks have swallowed the climate change koolaid.  If you're in the air travel industry, I won't blame you if you have an ecological bone to pick with the originators of this, since they advocate that we not fly to our destinations (do they live up to that themselves?).  On March 10th, we see that the USCCB types took a page out of the playbook of the Messiah Most Miserable and suggest that we keep our tire pressures set so as to conserve fuel, blah blah blah.  On March 31st, we're encouraged to replace incandescent bulbs with CFL's - you know, the things that are filled with toxic mercury! 

From where did this crap originate?  Some of the culprits are obvious.  One is the Interfaith Power and Light, billing itself as "a religious response to global warming".  It's based in San Francisco; that should tell you a lot.  It links to the United Nations Environmental Sabbath Service; here's an example of its lovely prayers to whatever.

That was the national group.  The Greater Washington IPL uses the website greenmychurch.com.  Right on the front page we see a problem, and that problem is called the Washington Ethical Society.  Click on that page and they'll tell you up front that they are humanists  In a previous post, I link to the Humanist Manifesto; read that link and you'll see why humanism is so dangerous to the eternal salvation of those who embrace it.

Did you notice anything interesting as you looked at that calendar?  The home page for that thing is the website of the Leadership Council of Women Religious.  Go to the "mission statement" and look at the picture.  What are those things draped over the shoulders and why does it look like the woman to the right is wearing a chasibule?  Go to the "history" page and scroll to 1979.  It sure sounds like Sr. Theresa Kane is giving what-for to Pope John Paul II, saying that she "sensed the need of some women to articulate their growing concern about being included in all ministries within the church."  Yep!  She was bucking for the ordination of women.

The name "Archdiocese of Washington" and its "Environmental Outreach Committee" are prominently printed at the top right-hand side of this thing.  I went to the archdiocesan web site and searched "Lenten Carbon Fast".  It does not appear in the ADW website.  Moreover, the url clearly indicates that the Leadership Council of Women Religious has it on theirs.  Is it ever-so-slightly possible that the LCWR is using the ADW name in an unauthorized manner?

Whoever authored this nonsense is only succeeding in trivializing Lent as a time of authentic spiritual renewal.  Lent is a time of turning to God and engaging in truly beneifical practices such as increased use of the Sacrament of Penance (see our "Light Is On" post), engaging in prayer.  If you truly are looking for sacrifice that fulfills just about all the Works of Mercy (both spiritual and corporal), I can think of none better than to go out and pray the Rosary in fron of your local abortion mill.  To the right is a link to Lifeguard, where you'll find helpful hints and locations where there is already an effort that you can join.