Catholic Fire

Today is the memorial of St. Andrew, apostle and martyr. St. Andrew , son of Jonah, was born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was a disciple of John the Baptist and became one of the first to follow Jesus, to whom he brought his brother, Simon Peter. Both were fishermen and at the beginning of Our Lord's public life occupied the same house at Capharnaum. As one of the twelve apostles , Andrew was very close to Our Lord during His public life; he was present at the Last Supper; beheld the risen Lord; witnessed the Ascension; shared in the graces and gifts of the first Pentecost, and helped, amid threats and persecution, to establish the Faith in Palestine. He was crucified by order of the Roman Governor at Patras in southern Greece on a cross which was in the form of an "X". This type of cross has long been known as "St. Andrew's cross." He was martyred during the reign of Nero, on November 30, 60 A.D. St. Andrew's relics were transferred from Pat...

Pope Benedict XVI welcomed the season of Advent during the Angelus prayer on Sunday, remarking on the nature of “expectation” and calling it a “profoundly human” experience. His message via VIS: The Pope remarked on the dual nature of the period of Advent, which "looks both to the first coming of the Son of God, when He was born of the Virgin Mary, and to His glorious return, when He will come 'to judge the living and the dead'". He described this "expectation" as a "profoundly human aspect in which the faith becomes, so to say, a single thing with our flesh and our heart. "Expectation and awaiting represent a dimension that touches our entire individual, family and social existence", he added. "Expectation is present in many situations, from the smallest and most insignificant to the most important". These include "a couple expecting a child; awaiting a relative or friend who comes to visit us from far way; ... the expect...

Today we celebrate two Discalced Carmelites,  Blessed Denis of the Nativity and Blessed Redemptorus of the Cross. Blessed Denis was born in 1600 in Honfleur, France. He became a sailor at the age of twelve. Later on, he became the pilot in chief and cartographer of the courts of Portugal and France. In 1635, while he was in Goa, India, he took on the habit of a Discalced Carmelite Monk. Blessed Redemptorus of the Cross was born in Portugal at the end of the 16th century. He became a soldier but later took on the habit of the Discalced Carmelites in 1615. Together, Denis and Redemptorus set out on mission to the king of Achin in the Malay archipelago. While on their way, they and their party were ambushed and tortured to death by Muslims on November 29, 1638. They were beatified by Pope Leo XIII in 1900.

Reflections on the Sacred Liturgy: 1st Sunday of Advent - Podcasts & Other Resources

"The embryo in the maternal womb" is not "a pile of organic material," but a "new living being, dynamic and wonderfully ordered, a new and unique individual of the human species," "so it was for Jesus in Mary's womb, so was for each of us in our mother's womb." With these words, Pope Benedict XVI once again stressed the duty to preserve "nascent life," which is, he said, "most fragile, most threatened by adults, by selfishness and the willful darkening of consciences." The Holy Father was speaking during the solemn celebration on Saturday evening of First Vespers of the First Sunday of Advent in St. Peter's Basilica, as part of an unprecedented worldwide vigil for unborn life.

The liturgical season of Advent begins on the first Sunday in Advent, opening a new year in our Church's Calendar. The word Advent is from the Latin adventus, which means "coming" and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the birth of Christ. During Advent, we are called upon to: 1) prepare ourselves to worthily to celebrate the anniversary of the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love, 2) make our souls fitting abodes for the Redeemer coming in Holy Communion and through grace 3) make ourselves ready for His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world. Advent is a season of waiting, a season filled with hope. Here are twelve tips that will help you and your family keep this season holy: 1...

Today, November 27, is the Feast of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Devotion to and wearing of the Miraculous Medal is second to the Rosary in popularity among traditional Catholic devotions. History In 1830, the Blessed Virgin Mary revealed the design of the Miraculous Medal to St. Catherine Laboure in an apparition. In Paris, on June 6, 1830, the Lord appeared to the young (age 24) Daughter of Charity novice Catherine at Mass, and again on the nights of July 18-19 when she was summoned to the chapel by a beautiful "child clothed in white" to converse with the Virgin Mary. Catherine was told prophecies and charged with "a mission" that manifested itself on November 27 in an early morning (5:30am) appearance of the Blessed Virgin who was "clothed in white" standing on a globe and "a serpent." Rays of light issued forth from rings on her fingers and Catherine was told to commission a medal of what she was seeing. Then, turning the letter...

Benedict XVI received various superior generals of the main religious orders who have gathered in Rome to discuss the challenges of religious life in the West. The Pope said that despite the declining number of priests, the Church will never cease to have consecrated people because this life has its origin in God.

Check it out here. H/T: Fr. Philip Powell, OP

Freedom of speech is a great thing. Unfortunately, it comes at a price: When citizens are free to say what they want, they'll sometimes use that freedom to say some pretty silly things. And that's the case with the 12 claims we're about to cover. Some of them are made over and over, others are rare (though worth addressing). Either way, while the proponents of these errors are free to promote them, we as Catholics have a duty to respond. Hopefully, this will help you do just that. 1. "There's no such thing as absolute truth. What's true for you may not be true for me." Read the rest of the story.

The saint of the day is Blessed Santiago Alberione. Santiago Alberione was born on April 4, 1884, the fourth of six children in a devout working class family in San Lorenzo di Fossano, Cuneo, Italy. From a young age, he felt God calling him. On the first day of elementary school, when the teacher asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up, he responded, “I want to be a priest.” While a seminarian in Alba, during the night of 31 December 1900 to 1 January 1901, he prayed for four hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He saw a light shine forth from the Host, and from that moment, he had an unusually powerful certainty that God was calling him to do something for the people of the new century. He was ordained on 29 June 1907 and was assigned to a parish in Narzole. He served as spiritual director for youth and altar servers in the Alba seminary on 1 October 1908 and in September 1913 he became director of the weekly publication Gazzetta d'Alba. He founded the Societ...

Related Posts: A Thanksgiving to Remember Happy Thanksgiving!

by Jean M. Heimann It was Thanksgiving, 1997 – just four months after my father’s death. Mom was now living alone in a room by herself at the nursing home. She had been despondent after my dad’s death and we were all concerned about her. For more than 50 years, mom and dad had spent every holiday together, with the exception of the first two years of their marriage. World War II had begun and dad enlisted in the U.S. Army where he was stationed in Northern Africa and Italy. When he returned home, he met his first born daughter, who was already eighteen months old. My parents had four more children and made each Thanksgiving special for the family by both sharing in the preparation of the food. Dad was always up early in the morning, putting the turkey in the oven and preparing his “secret” dressing. Mom stayed up the entire night before making her delicious thick, deliciously rich lime Jell-O dessert (with pineapple, mini-marshmallows, real whipped cream, cool whip, mayonna...

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm thanking God today for my faith, my family, my friends and  for all my loyal readers. A Thanksgiving Prayer Oh, God, when I have food, help me to remember the hungry; When I have work, help me to remember the jobless; When I am without pain, help me to remember those who suffer; And, remembering, help me to destroy my complacency and bestir my compassion. Make me concerned enough to help, by word and deed, those who cry out for what we take for granted. ~ Samuel F. Pugh "For I was hungry and you gave Me food. I was thirsty and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed Me..." ~ Matthew 25: 35

"American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino said in court Monday she had an abortion around the same time as her suicide attempt three months ago, entertainment news website RadarOnline reported. Barrino was appearing at Mecklenburg County Court, N.C. at her ex-lover Antwaun Cook's divorce proceedings from his wife Paula Cook. The 26-year-old singer said she had gotten pregnant by Antwaun Cook and had chosen to terminate the pregnancy. On August 9, she was admitted to Mercy South Hospital in Pineville, N.C. after swallowing a bottle of Aspirin and a sleep aid in a suicide attempt. Read the full story. This is another tragic example of the strong link between abortion and suicide. Studies have shown that there is strong evidence that abortion dramatically increases the risk of suicide. For full information on the abortion-suicide connection, go here  and here. Image Source Related Posts : Vatican Preparing new document on the effects of abortion Response to a Re...

Pope Benedict XVI offered St. Catherine of Siena as a model for the faithful, at his regular weekly public audience on November 24. Speaking to about 7,000 people in the Paul VI auditorium, the Pontiff noted that St. Catherine (1347- 1380)—who is now revered as a Doctor of the Church and co-patron of Europe—developed a wide reputation for sanctity very early in her life. Many people sought her advice, and “she became intensely active in the spiritual counseling of many categories of peoples: nobles, politicians, artists, common people, consecrated persons, ecclesiastics, and even Pope Gregory XI.” St. Catherine was not afraid to identify abuses in the Church and call for reform. But the Pope observed that “though aware of the human failings of the clergy, she always had the greatest reverence for them, because through the Sacraments and the Word they dispense the salvific power of the Blood of Christ.” The great saint also had the “gift of tears,” indicating an unusual sensitivi...

The highly-anticipated book based on a rare interview with the Pope is about to make it to a bookstore near you. "Light of the World" was written by German journalist Peter Seewald, who conducted the interview in six one-hour sessions last summer.

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, priest and martyr, and companions, martyrs. There are 117 martyrs in this group and although they died at different times, they were all canonized by Pope John Paul II on June 19, 1988. Of the group, 96 were Vietnamese, 11 were Spaniards, and 10 were French. There were 8 bishops, 50 priests and 59 lay Catholics in the group. Of the priests, 11 were Dominicans, 10 belonged to the Paris Mission Society, and the rest were diocesan priests plus one seminarian. Certain individual martyrs were mentioned by name in the process of canonization: Andrew Dung-Lac, a diocesan priest; Thomas Tran-Van-Thien, a seminarian; Emmanuel Le-Van-Pung, father of a family; the Dominican bishops Jerome Hermosilla and Valentine Berrio-Ochoa; and John Theophane Venard. ~Excerpted from Saints of the Roman Calendar by Enzo Lodi St. Andrew Dung-Lac's name was originally Dung An Trân, and he was born about 1795 in a poor and pagan family in...

Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Miguel Augustin Pro, priest and martyr. Miguel Agustin Pro was born January 13, 1891, in Mexico. From his childhood, he was known for his high spirits and happy personality. The son of an affluent mining engineer and a pious and charitable mother, Miguel had a special affinity for the working classes. At 20, he became a Jesuit novice and shortly afterwards was exiled due to the Mexican revolution. He traveled to the United States, Spain, Nicaragua and Belgium, where he was ordained in 1925. Father Pro suffered greatly from a severe stomach disorder. When his health did not improve after several surgeries, his superiors permitted him to return to Mexico in 1926. At this time, the revolutionary government in Mexico had banned all religious practice. The churches were closed and priests were in hiding. The government was particularly focused on finding and persecuting priests. Father Pro became a great master of disguise and spen...

on the  Senses of Scripture. Check out Mark Shea's book on the subject here.    

This woman is just one of nearly 100,000 patients being helped by DREAM. She endured the negative effects of HIV for four years, before she found the Drug Resource Enhancement against AIDS and Malnutrition program launched by the Catholic organization, the Community of Sant' Egidio.

By Jennifer Brinker ROME — What would a consistory be without a moment of thanksgiving to God for the blessings Cardinal Raymond Burke has received? That's exactly what the new cardinal did with more than 500 family and friends at a Mass of thanksgiving Nov. 22, the feast of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr, at the Pontifical North American College. Read the full story  and view the wonderful images. Thanks be to God for our new cardinals! Thank you, Lord, especially for Cardinal Raymond Burke.

Pope Benedict welcomed the newest cardinals Nov. 20 with a call to service and sacrifice, even if it means spilling their blood. Two Americans, Donald W. Wuerl and Raymond L. Burke, are among the 24 new cardinals the Pope "created" on Nov. 20. Others come from a variety of countries, from Ecuador to Zambia, while 10 are Italians. Full Story God calls us to be with Jesus and Mary: "do not ask Jesus to come down from the cross, but stay with him. " With this, the Pope addressed the 24 new cardinals created on Saturday, who concelebrated Mass with him Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica, on the Solemnity of Christ the King. Pope Benedict XVI gave the new cardinals the rings of their office, sealing their marriage pact with the Church, on which is a depiction of the crucifixion of Christ. The Holy Father said in his homily our first service is faith, believing that Jesus is God, who is the King because he has reached this point, because he loved us to the ...

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr . St. Cecilia is one of the most famous and most venerated of Roman martyrs. It is believed that St. Cecilia was born in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D., although the dates of her birth and martyrdom are unknown. Tradition tells us that Cecilia was a Roman girl of a patrician family who had been brought up as a Christian. She fasted often and wore a coarse garment beneath her rich clothing. Although she had consecrated her virginity to God, her father betrothed her to a young pagan named Valerian. When the wedding day arrived, Cecilia sat apart from her guests, repeating psalms and praying. After the ceremony, when the guests had departed and she was alone with her husband, Cecilia made known her great desire to remain a virgin, saying that she already had a lover, an angel of God who was very jealous. Valerian, shaken by fear, anger, and suspicion, said to her: “Show me this angel. If he is of God, I shall r...

Do you ever get angry?

Today is the optional memorial of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. Saint Rose was born on August 29, 1769 at Grenoble, France to a family of wealth and political connections. When she was eight years old, she heard a Jesuit missionary speak of his missionary work in America, which sparked a strong desire within her to evangelize. She was educated at home until she was 12 years old, when she was sent to the convent of the Visitation nuns in Grenoble to continue her studies. She joined them when she was 19 without the permission or knowledge of her family. Her convent closed quite abruptly during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. She spent the next ten years living as a laywoman, but continued to live as if she were still with her Order. She established a school for poor children, cared for the sick and hid priests from the Revolutionaries. When the Reign of Terror ended, she reclaimed her convent and attempted to reestablish it with a small group of sisters. However, most w...

In his general audience, the Pope sent a plea to Pakistan to release a Christian woman who has been condemned to death for blasphemy.

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, religious. In her short life Elizabeth showed such great love for the poor and suffering that she has become the patroness of Catholic charities and of the Secular Franciscan Order. Born in Bratislava in 1207, Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary was betrothed at the age of four to Prince Ludwig of Thuringia (in central Germany) and sent to live at his father's court. They were married when she was fourteen and he was twenty - one. She loved him deeply and bore him three children. In addition to caring for her children, Elizabeth was devoted to the poor, the sick, and the aged. Seeking to become one with the poor, she wore simple clothing. Daily she would take bread to hundreds of the poorest in the land, who came to her gate. She grew in piety under the spiritual direction of a Franciscan Friar. Once when she was taking food to the poor and sick, Prince Ludwig stopped her and looked...

Vatican Television Center has a new truck equipped to produce high definition programmes. The new facility, called an OB Van, was presented this morning at the Holy See Press Office. Father Federico Lombardi, director of Vatican Television Center, said the development was necessary so that Vatican television remains in keeping with advances in tele-visual communications, allowing it to continue the diffusion of the Pope's image and his messages worldwide. Once the new mobile technology is in place, Father Lombardi said all Vatican television productions will be in high definition.

One of the most solemn ceremonies of the year is when the Pope proclaims new saints, who serve as shining life examples for Catholics worldwide. In order to declare someone a saint, the Church launches an intense investigation that can take years. During this time, the postulator examines whether or not the candidate really lived like a hero of Christian virtue.

In the midst of World War II, a plane flies over the neutral state of Vatican City. It then goes on to drop five bombs on the world's smallest state, causing severe damage to the water tank near the railway station, as well as the offices of the governorate and the Vatican mosaic workshop.

The U.S. bishops have elected Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of New York as president of the U.S. bishops' conference. The move was unprecedented, as the bishops traditionally choose the previous vice president to serve as head of the conference. Full Story

St. Margaret of Scotland, Patroness of Mothers St. Margaret of Scotland was not a Scot , but was born about 1045 in Hungary of Anglo-Saxon and Hungarian parents. Her family was in exile at that time due to the Danish invasion of England. Margaret's grandfather was King Edmund Ironside of England and her father was Edward the Exile, the heir to the throne of Scotland. Margaret was the oldest of three children born to Edward and Agatha. She was educated by her mother and was well grounded in the scriptures and liturgy. She was about 12 when the family returned to England and was educated under the influence of the Benedictines. She learned French, ecclesiastical embroidery, and began to read works of theology: St. Augustine and St. John Cassian greatly influenced her spiritual development. While fleeing the invading army of William the Conqueror in 1066, her family's ship wrecked on the Scottish coast. They were assisted by King Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland, whom Marg...

In comments today from Los Angeles, Grammy Award winning Christian singer Rebecca St. James is speaking out strongly in support of Pope Benedict XVI's unprecedented call this week for worldwide prayer against abortion. An outspoken voice for pro life, the Australian born singer, now living in the U.S, has dedicated a large portion of her time this year to a series of special appearances and support events for Crisis Pregnancy Centers throughout America. St. James 2009 starring role in the film, Sarah's Choice, impacted audiences with her moving portrayal of a young career woman pregnant outside of marriage and faced with the decision of the life of her baby. Since its release, the movie has been used by CPC Center's nationally in their pro life messaging to young women facing the real life issues presented in Sarah's Choice. Of the Pope's worldwide call to prayer for the unborn on November 27th, Ms. St. James believes it's an urgent mandate for life that cro...

“Once political leaders and health care experts decided to use government subsidized insurance as the vehicle for providing more universal health care, it was our moral obligation as teachers of the faith to judge whether the means passed moral muster, whether or not the proposed legislation used public funds to kill those living in their mother’s womb. Consistently, and ever more insistently since the sin and crime of abortion was legalized in the United States, our voice has been that of the bishops of the Catholic Church ever since the first Christians condemned the abortion practices of the ancient Romans. The act is immoral; and the laws that have permitted now fifty million children of our country to be killed in their mother’s womb are also immoral and unjust; they are destroying our society.” “The voice of Christ speaks always from a consistent concern for the gift of human life, a concern that judges the full continuum of technological manipulation of life, from the use of a...

Notice that the term used is "health care", not "death care" and refers to the "dignity of man", not the death of man. VATICAN CITY, 15 NOV 2010 ( VIS ) - A press conference was held this morning in the Holy See Press Office to present the twenty-fifth international conference promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care. The conference is due to take place on 18 and 19 November and its theme this year is: "Towards egalitarian and human healthcare in the light of 'Caritas in veritate'". Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski and Msgr. Jean-Marie Mpendawatu, respectively president and under secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care; Fr. Maurizio Faggioni O.F.M., professor of bioethics at the "Academia Alfonisana" in Rome; Mario Benotti, director general of RAI International, and Domenico Arduini, professor of gynaecology and obstetrics and director of t...

Today the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Albert the Grea t, "the light of Germany", named "Doctor Universalis" because of his vast knowledge and writings. Albert was born in Lauingen on the Danube, near Ulm, Germany in 1206. As a young man, he studied at the University of Padua and there he met Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican who made the rounds of the universities of Europe, drawing the best young men of the universities into the Dominicans. At age 16, Albert entered the Dominican Order. After several teaching assignments in his order, he came in 1241 to the University of Paris, where he lectured in theology. While teaching in Paris, he was assigned by his order in 1248 to set up a house of studies for the order in Cologne. In Paris, he had gathered around him a small band of budding theologians, the chief of whom was Thomas Aquinas , who accompanied him to Cologne and became his greatest pupil. This young religious, already well - tra...

Pope Benedict XVI has issued a lofty and impassioned plea for everyone in the Church to rediscover the Bible and to grow in “an ever greater love of the Word of God.” “We must never forget that all authentic and living Christian spirituality is based on the Word of God proclaimed, accepted, celebrated and meditated upon in the Church. The Pope’s new apostolic exhortation, “Verbum Domini” (The Word of the Lord) , issued Nov. 11, is a book-length response to a special 2008 Synod for Bishops on the Bible and the life of the Church. In this document, the Pope offers a rich theological reflection on the meaning of the Word of God becoming flesh and the meaning of the Scriptures as the Word of God. Full Story