Catholic Fire

THE CATHOLIC VOTE Way to go, Catholic Answers! The California-based Catholic apologetics organization has a full-page ad in today’s USA Today to guide Catholics voters in voting Catholic. It lists five key issues, which Catholics should never vote in favor of, including: abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, human cloning, and euthanasia. The ad contains the text of the controversial but successful ‘Voters’ Guide for Serious Catholics,’ the text of which can be seen on the organization’s website, www.catholic.com . I have read this guide and shared it with friends. It is short, concise, and helpful in clarifying what the important issues are. My husband, Bill, and I plan to pass these out in our parish after Sunday Mass. Handing out information to parishioners seems to be much more effective than just leaving it in a rack. When you hand something to others with a friendly smile, they will almost always want to accept it – it is presented as a gift. Now,

Priests for Life Call To Prayer for Our Nation Novena of Weeks leading to Election Day Starting on August 31, 2004, Priests for Life is calling upon all Catholics to offer a special novena of nine weeks of intense prayer for our nation as we prepare to elect our national and local leaders. August 31 is exactly nine weeks before November 2, which is Election Day. A Prayer for our National Elections O God, we acknowledge you today as Lord, not only of individuals, but of nations and governments. We thank you for the privilege of being able to organize ourselves politically and of knowing that political loyalty does not have to mean disloyalty to you. We thank you for your law, which our Founding Fathers acknowledged and recognized as higher than any human law. We thank you for the opportunity that this election year puts before us, to exercise our solemn duty not only to vote,But to influence countless others to vote, And to vote correctly. Lord, we pray that your peo

FEAST OF ST. AUGUSTINE "Late have I loved you, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved you! You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you. In my unloveliness I plunged into the lovely things which you created. You were with me, but I was not with you. Created things kept me from you; yet if they had not been in you they would have not been at all. You called, you shouted, and you broke through my deafness. You flashed, you shone, and you dispelled my blindness. You breathed your fragrance on me; I drew in breath and now I pant for you. I have tasted you, now I hunger and thirst for more. You touched me, and I burned for your peace." ~ from The Confessions of Saint Augustine

FEAST OF THE QUEENSHIP OF MARY "Just as Mary surpassed in grace all others on earth, so also in heaven is her glory unique. If eye has not seen or ear heard or the human heart conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9), who can express what He has prepared for the woman who gave Him birth and who loved Him, as everyone knows, more than anyone else?" ~ St. Bernard of Clairvaux

A Message From St. Bernard of Clairvaux "In dangers, in doubts, in difficulties, think of Mary, call upon Mary. Let not her name depart from your lips, never suffer it to leave your heart. And that you may obtain the assistance of her prayer, neglect not to walk in her footsteps. With her for guide, you shall never go astray; while invoking her, you shall never lose heart; so long as she is in your mind, you are safe from deception; while she holds your hand, you cannot fall; under her protection you have nothing to fear; if she walks before you, you shall not grow weary; if she shows you favor, you shall reach the goal."

TWO QUOTES ON ABORTION & TERRORISM "Now, you think it's a coincidence that on Sept. 11th, 2001, we were struck by terrorists an evil that has at its heart the disregard of innocent human life? We who have for several decades killed not thousands but scores of millions of our own children, in disregard of the principle of innocent human life -- I don't think that's a coincidence, I think that's a warning. I don't think that's a coincidence, I think that's a shot across the bow. "I think that's a way of Providence telling us, "I love you all; I'd like to give you a chance. Wake up! Would you please wake up?" "What distinguishes the terrorist from the ordinary warrior, is that the terrorist will consciously target innocent human life. What is done in the course of an abortion? . . . Someone consciously targets innocent human life. "As I often point out to folks, the evil is the same. And that means, quite fran

Quote of the Day "Love says, 'I sacrifice myself for the good of the other.' Abortion says, 'I sacrifice the other for the good of myself.' Abortion is the opposite of love. The same words are used for both: This is my body." Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life

Quote of the Day "If the Declaration of Independence states our creed, there can be no right to abortion, since it means denying the most fundamental right of all, to human offspring in the womb. But if human beings can decide who is human and who is not, the doctrine of God-given rights is utterly corrupted. Abortion is the unjust taking of a human life and a breach of the fundamental principles of our public moral creed." ~ Alan Keyes, Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois

Quote of the Day "When we, through our educational culture, through the media, through the entertainment culture, give our children the impression that human beings cannot control their passions, we are telling them, in effect, that human beings cannot be trusted with freedom." ~ Alan Keyes, Republican Candidate for the U.S. Senate in Illinois

St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross Edith Stein (1891 – 1942) Edith Stein was born in Germany in 1891 to Jewish parents who were well respected in their community. She grew up practicing her faith, but later abandoned her Jewish roots and turned to atheism. Intellectually gifted, she was a brilliant student and philosopher with an interest in phenomenology. She earned her doctorate at age 25. During her studies, she came in contact with Catholic friends whose beliefs made a deep impression on her. After studying the works of St. Thomas Aquinas and reading the autobiography of St. Teresa of Avila, she converted to Catholicism. Shortly afterwards, she became a teacher at a Catholic girl’s school. At the age of 43, Edith entered a discalced Carmelite monastery and took the name St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. She was arrested by the Nazis and taken as a prisoner to the death camp at Auschwitz, where she died at the age of 51 in August of 1942. Her feast day is August 9.

St. Dominic - A Saint After My Own Heart My husband Bill tells me that there was a tradition in his hometown, which was composed primarily of devoted Catholics who immigrated to this country from the northwestern part of Germany and Holland to southwestern Illinois, for families to name their children the saint whose feast day it was on the day of the child's birth. For example, if you gave birth on the feast day of St. Jean Marie Vianney, your child would be named after him -- John if the child was a boy and Jean, if a girl. I have a friend who once confided that each of our guardian angels has a name and that name is the same name of the saint whose feast day falls on our birthday. For example, if your birthday is August 8th -- the feast of St. Dominic -- then your angel's name is Dominic. I have confirmation from several senior citizens in Bill’s hometown that the first story is indeed true. The parents of my brother - in - law, Felix, wanted to name him Henry, but