The Laity, Canonization & Criteria for Martyrdom

Interesting post here (hat tip to AmyWelborn) on, among other things the canonizations and beatifications of the laity under John Paul II. While the perception is that John Paul raised to the altar many lay saints, this post maintains that most of those saints were from the religious life, and that the most of the laity raised to the altar were martyrs.

Further (and this post was based on Benedict XVI's letter to the Congregation for the causes of Saints), Pope Benedict writes about the criteria for martyrdom. Interesting to us, as we carry Msgr. Knox's little treatise on the same subject.

Russell Shaw in last month's Crisis Magazine (available in the archives online):

The principle of shared responsibility is not, as clericalized Catholics suppose, a concealed heresy, but part of the ancient Christian heritage of the Church (bear in mind the Pauline doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ), which was taken up again by Vatican II as part of its project of ressourcement. It needs to be put creatively to work in building healthy relationships within the Catholic community.

He is Risen! Alleluia!

The staff at RequiemPress wishes you a joyous Easter season.

Holy Week

I will not be posting during Holy Week. Requiem Press will be open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (closing at noon on Wed.) and will re-open for business on Easter Tuesday.

Have a prayerful Holy Week!

From Russell Shaw...

This morning on CatholicExchange :

Over lunch a couple of weeks ago after a trip to Rome, I was telling a friend that — as others have remarked — Pope Benedict in person visibly radiates serenity and joy. My friend, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, thought about that for a moment and then said, "I guess that's what you'd expect a Christian to do, isn't it?"

Read the rest here.

Just a reminder...

Our lastest releases: Giving Up Stealing ... for Lent! (and other family stories) and

Cuthbert Mayne: Protomartyr of the Priests from the Seminary at Douay are available for ordering.

Giving Up Stealing will be ready to ship on April 5th (and would make a great present to stick in the spouse's Easter basket). Cuthbert Mayne is shipping now!

Don't wait-order your copies today!

From www.Zenit.org : Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko's, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, in Colombia on March 9, opens Latin America's first congress of ecclesial movements and new communities. Here's an excerpt:

All Christian formation ought to have a missionary element because the Christian vocation is, by its nature, a call to apostolate. Missionary outreach helps baptized persons discover the fullness of their own vocation...

They (Christian missionaries) do not wait for those no longer practicing the faith to return to the Church on their own: They seek them out. They do not hesitate to reach out by taking to the streets and city squares, by entering supermarkets, banks, schools and universities and wherever people can be found. Their missionary zeal carries them "to the ends of the earth." And they grow -- showing that the charisms from which they spring are capable of feeding the Christian life of men and women of all places, cultures and traditions.