Lent is nearly upon us; Make your plans now; Assemble your Sackcloth and Ashes Garb

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Wednesday, February 25 is Ash Wednesday; Easter is on April 12. Much earlier than last year when they were the earliest they have been in a long time. So, Lent starts in two weeks!

And it is not too early to begin planning your Lentan purgations and mortifications. The Newman Center of Texas A&M University (Baptist Bible Belt Bailiwick, to be sure) in College Station has a wonderful blog entry with a Lentan FAQ and all kinds of information that you should peruse HERE

Speaking of Newman Centers. . . .

Inasmuch as few Catholic Colleges and Universities have received a mandatum from their bishops indicating that their theology professors teach in accordance with the Magisterium of the Church, those seeking a place to go to college might very well consider some of the public and private institutions that are known for their wonderful Newman Centers and schools who have branches of the Fellowship of Catholic University Students.

As an aside, priests don't need a mandatum from their bishop. It is assumed that they are orthodox. Well, we all know about "assumptions."

If you or your child are not going to be getting an orthodox education, you might gain more value by going to a school where your time spent outside of the classroom and the library (do they still have libraries these days?) might be best spent being with fellow Catholics engaged in deepening their faith on their own at Mass, in prayer, in study and in fellowship.

Here is a list of some of the best of those organizations:

Outstanding Newman Ctrs				Fellowship of Catholic Univ.
				Students
Briar Cliff College, Sioux City, IA
Chatham College, Pittsburgh (Oratory)				Iowa
Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh				Loras College, Dubuque
Georgia Tech University
Illinois State University, Normal				Kansas
Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL				Benedictine College, Atchison
Kansas State University				Kansas U St. Lawrence Center
Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT
Southern Missouri State, Springfield, MO				Maryland
*Texas A&M U, College Stn, TX				U. S. Naval Academy, Annapolis
				U of Maryland, College Park
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
*U of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana				Massachusetts
*University of Maryland, College Park				U of Massachusetts, Amherst
University of Minnesota, Duluth				Missouri
University of Missouri, Rolla				U of Missouri - Kansas City
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
University of South Dakota, Vermillion				Montana
University of Texas, Austin				Montana State U, Bozeman
*Top Notch!				Nebraska
				Hastings College, Hastings
Fellowship of Catholic Univ. Students				Nebraska Wesleyan U, Lincoln
(FOCUS)				*University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Colorado				University of Nebraska at Omaha
Colorado School of Mines, Golden
Colorado State University, Fort Collins				New Jersey
U. S. Air Force Academy, Col. Springs				Seton Hall U, South Orange
University of Colorado, Boulder
University of Denver, Denver				North Dakota
University of Northern Colorado, Greeley				North Dakota State U, Fargo
				U of North Dakota, Grand Forks
Florida
University of North Florida, Jacksonville				Pennsylvania
				U of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh
Illinois
Bradley University, Peoria				Virginia
Illinois State University, Normal				George Mason U, Fairfax
Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Western Illinois University, Macomb