Catholic Fire

Today is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, and founder of the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 in the Basque Country of Northern Spain to parents of distinguished families in that area. He was the youngest of 13 children and was called was called Iñigo. At the age of 15, he served as a page in the court of a local nobleman and later embraced a military career and became a valiant soldier. Wounded in battle by a cannonball , which broke one leg and injured the other, he was taken prisoner by the French, who set his leg and eventually allowed him to go home to Loyola. He spent his time recuperating at the home of his brother. Confined to his sick bed , he was given pious books to read, which he grudgingly accepted. To his surprise, he enjoyed them and began to dream of becoming a "knight for Christ", pursuing the ideals of St. Francis and St. Dominic. He eventually promised to devote his life to being a knight for St. Peter if he r...

 (Romereports.com) St. Hildegard of Bingen  is known for many things. But this coming  October 7th ,  she'll also be known as a Doctor of the Catholic Church. FR. ALFREDO SIMON University of Sant Anselmo (Rome) “She didn't just focus on theology and spirituality. She also composed music and wrote quite a bit about medicine. She also wrote theater plays and poetry.” A  Doctor of the Church is someone whose theological teachings remain relevant, regardless of time.  Even though she was a medieval writer, composer and philosopher, perhaps she's mostly known for her religious visions.  They dealt with creation, redemption, God, humanity and the Church. In fact, before going public, a theological committee, approved the authenticity of her visions .  FR. ALFREDO SIMON University of Sant' Anselmo (Rome) “When it was approved by Pope Eugene III, through the mediation of St. Bernard, she was given the green light to share those visions she had kept ins...

Today is the optional memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus, "the man of golden speech", who earned the title of Doctor of the Church for his eloquent sermons. Born at Imola, Italy in 406, St. Peter was baptized, educated, and ordained a deacon by Cornelius, Bishop of Imola. Made Archbishop of Ravenna by miraculous intervention of St. Peter in 433, he rooted out all remaining traces of paganism, as well as a number of abuses among the Christians. In his sermons he strongly urged frequent Communion, saying, “the Body of the Lord should be the daily food of our souls.” He practiced many corporal and spiritual works of mercy, and ruled his flock with diligence and care. He died about the year 450 in his native city of Imola. St. Peter Chrysologus Quotes: "He is The Bread sown in the virgin, leavened in the Flesh, molded in His Passion, baked in the furnace of the Sepulchre, placed in the Churches, and set upon the Altars, which daily supplies Heavenly Food to the fait...

Today's saint of the day is St. Pantaleon, physician and martyr.  St. Pantaleon was born in Nicomedia, near the Black Sea in Asia. He was the son of a rich pagan, Eustorgius of Nicomedia, and a Christian mother, Saint Eubula, who instructed him in the faith, but died while he was still a child. Pantaleon studied medicine with such great success that he was appointed as one of the court physicians to the Emperor Galerius Maximianus. The bad influence of the pagan court caused him to fall away from his Faith. A holy and zealous priest named Hermolaos helped him realize the error of his sinful ways by pointing out the example of his virtuous mother. Pantaleon returned to the Faith once more and imitated Our Lord's charity by distributing his goods among the poor and caring for the poor and the sick without charge. When the Emperor Diocletian began his persecution, Pantaleon was accused of being a Christian. He was given the choice of denying his faith or being put to de...

Today is the memorial of St. Joachim (whose name means Yahweh prepares) and St. Anne (whose name in Hebrew means grace), the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the grandparents of Jesus. Tradition has it they first lived in Galilee and later settled in Jerusalem where the Blessed Virgin Mary was born and raised. Joachim and Anne were a rich and pious couple who had been married for a long time, but found themselves childless. The couple prayed fervently for a child and promised to dedicate their first born to the service of God. An angel appeared to Anne and told her, "The Lord has looked upon thy tears; thou shalt conceive and give birth and the fruit of thy womb shall be blessed by all the world". Joachim also received the same message from the angel. Anne gave birth to a daughter whom she called Miriam (Mary), who was conceived without sin. As a child, Mary was taken to the temple and her parents suffered great sorrow but at the same time joy for fulfilling the v...

Today is the feast day of St. James the Greater. St. James, known as the Greater, in order to distinguish him from the other Apostle St. James, our Lord's cousin, was St. John's brother, and, like him, a fisherman. He was one of the witnesses of the Transfiguration and one of those who slept through most of the Agony in the Garden. He was the first of the apostles to be martyred, being beheaded by King Herod Agrippa I to please the Jewish opponents of Christianity. He was buried in Jerusalem, and nothing more is known about him until the ninth century. At this time we learn of a tradition that the relics of St James were brought to Spain some time after his martyrdom, (perhaps early, perhaps as late as 830), and his shrine at Compostela in Galicia grew in importance until it became the greatest pilgrimage center in western Europe. In every country there are churches of St James and known, well-trodden pilgrim routes. In Paris, the Tour St Jacques marks the start of the ro...

July 24, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Pope asked the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,  to send a message to married couples on his behalf. The occasion was  the Int. Equipes Notre-Dame meeting. This Catholic group was founded by French priest Henri Caffarel in 1939. In the letter, the Pope invites couples to be the shinning  face of the Church. He also reminds them that being married brings the responsibility of setting time aside, to sit down and talk with openness, understanding and mutual respect. One of the main goals of this movement is to strengthen the ties between married couples.

Today, July 24, is the feast day of Saint Sharbel (Charbel) Makhlouf, a Maronite Catholic monk from Lebanon. Sharbel is known for his great piety, and has been called "the hermit of Lebanon" and "the Wonder Worker of the East." Saint Sharbel was born in 1828 in the small mountain village of Beqa-Kafra, Lebanon. His peasant family lived a strong faith, were attentive to the Divine Liturgy, and had a great devotion to the Mother of God. At the age of twenty-three, he left his family to enter the Lebanese-Maronite Monastery, Notre-Dame de Mayfouk. Following studies and perpetual profession at St. Cyprian de Kfifane Monastery, he was ordained in 1859. For the next seven years, Sharbel lived in the mountainous community of Anaya. He then spent the next twenty-three years of his life in complete solitude at Sts. Peter and Paul Hermitage near Anaya. He died there on Christmas Eve, 1898. Sharbel had a reputation for his austerity, penances, obedience, and chasti...

July 23. 2012. (Romereports.com) From his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope said his thoughts and prayers are with the victims of Aurora, Denver, where at least a dozen people were shot to death and more than 50 were wounded during a movie screening. “I share the distress of the families and friends of the victims and the injured, especially the children," said the Pope. "Assuring all of you of my closeness in prayer, I impart my blessing as a pledge of consolation and strength in the risen Lord.” The Pope also said he was praying for the victims of the recent ferry disaster, near Zanzibar where at least 68 people, many of them tourists, died. With the Summer Olympics just a few days away, the Pope said he hopes the competition can bring about true sportsmanship and reconciliation among nations. Benedict XVI “I send greetings to the organizers, athletes and spectators alike, and I pray that, in the spirit of the Olympic Truce, the good will generated b...

Today, July 23, the Church celebrates the feast of St. Bridget   (Birgitta)  of Sweden, who was a widow and T hird Order Franciscan (1303 – 1373). St. Bridget is known for her astonishing revelations documented carefully by her confessors, filling several volumes. Their accounts of her visions of biblical scenes, especially the nativity and the crucifixion, have greatly inspired imagery in Christian art and her devotions have inspired popular piety. It was, however, for her practical works of charity, that she was canonized, and not for her private revelations – which had some very harsh things to say about popes. Bridget was born in Finista in Sweden . From childhood, the Lord granted her special graces, visions and an extraordinary understanding of divine mysteries. At age seven, she had a vision of the crucified Jesus in all the suffering and sorrow of his Passion, which enkindled within her a deep devotion for our Savior. The daughter of a provincial governor a...

Today is the optional memorial of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, the first Capuchin Franciscan to be honored as a Doctor.  St. Lawrence was born at Brindisi, in the kingdom of Naples, Italy, on July 22, 1559 and named Caesar de Rossi. He took the name Lawrence when he became a Capuchin Franciscan at the age of 16. While still a deacon, St. Lawrence of Brindisi became known for his powerful preaching and after his ordination startled the whole of northern Italy with his amazing sermons. Because he could speak Hebrew, he worked for the conversion of the Jews living in Rome. In 1596, he became a high-ranking superior in the order, and five years later was sent to Germany with Blessed Benedict of Urbino. They founded several priories throughout Europe. Lawrence also helped to raise an army to combat the Turks in Hungary, where he won a battle against them by leading the troops into battle with only a crucifix to protect himself. In 1602, St. Lawrence became the master general of...

July 21. 2012. (Romereports.com) July 23 marks ten years since John Paul II led his last World Youth Day meeting. It took place in Toronto back in 2002. Despite his age, the Polish Pope showed inner strength and energy, while encouraging the youth to not fear the pain that life can bring. He also told them to seize the moment by striving to be saints, from a young age. MSGR. RENATO BOCCARDO Former Organizer of Papal Trips (1 February, 2005) “A young man told me he noticed how when John Paul II was young, his message was very powerful and provocative. But still, in old age, being weak, sick and sitting in a chair, his message is just as powerful. It leads me to believe that the power itself comes from his message. It's as if, the Pope can hide behind that message, which holds the same strength and power.” During this World Youth Day, John Paul II called on the youth to build a civilization based on love for the third millennium, by making Christ the cornerstones of their...

The saint of the day for July 20 is St. Margaret of Antioch (275-290), martyr. Margaret of Antioch was a Christian virgin whose tortures and martyrdom became famous in early books of Acts. Her mother died when she was an infant and her father was a pagan priest. She was converted by her nursemaid, who adopted her. At the age of fifteen, she was noticed by the local prefect who was attracted by her beauty and wanted to marry her, but she spurned him and vowed to keep her virginity for Christ. He turned her in to the Roman authorities to be persecuted. In prison she was swallowed by Satan in the form of a dragon, but the cross she was carrying irritated his throat, and he spit her out unharmed. Her persecutors tried to kill her by fire and then by drowning, but each time, she survived, converting the growing crowd of onlookers. Finally, she was beheaded, along with her many converts, by Emperor Diocletian. At the time of her death, she prayed that her persecutors would be pardon...

July 19, 2012. (Romereports.com)  From instability to fear. Christians living in the Middle East have had to deal with several challenges in the aftermath of the Arab Spring. Throughout the years, restrictions have forced  Christians to flee Israel. That continues to be case today. CARD. EDWIN O'BRIEN Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre  “The government there has put severe restrictions on travel, on labor on owning property and the good Christians of the Holy Land, feel themselves limited in so many ways.” American Cardinal Edwin O' Brien is the Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre, which is a lay institution.  With the current instability, Cardinal O'Brien says that helping Christians in Israel is critical, as  more and more feel limited in every day life.  CARD. EDWIN O'BRIEN Grand Master of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre   “To gain great support for the Church and the Christians of the H...

Today we commemorate St. Arsenius the Great.   St.  Arsenius , an Anchorite, was born in 354 at Rome and died in 450 at Troe, in Egypt.  Theodosius the Great, having requested the Emperor Gratian and Pope Damasus to find him in the West a tutor for his son Arcadius, decided on Arsenius, a man well read in Greek literature, a member of a noble Roman family, and said to have been a deacon of the Roman Church. Upon receving the request to become the tutor of young Arcadius, he left and reached Constantinople in 383, and continued as tutor in the imperial family for eleven years, during the last three of which he also had charge of his pupil's brother Honorius.  Coming one day to see his children at their studies, Theodosius found them sitting while Arsenius talked to them standing. This he would not tolerate, and he ordered the teacher to sit while the pupils to stood. Upon his arrival at court, Arsenius had been given a splendid establishment, and probably bec...

July 18, 2012. (Romereports.com)  The Vatican newspaper  L'Osservatore Romano has announced that they are expanding into the United States.  It will be distributed in English by the Catholic publishing company of 'Our Sunday Visitor' based out of Indiana. They are responsible for publishing several periodicals, including the largest national Catholic newspaper, OSV Newsweekly. They will now start distributing  the Vatican newspaper to a US audience beginning in August.  The American publishing group will also be handling the customer service and marketing for the paper's expansion. The news from the pope's residence at the Vatican will now be arriving at the doorsteps of homes across America. 

July 18, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Vatican is looking to organize some of the Church's activities on the internet by buying the web domain “.catholic”.    It will serve as a place for different parishes, dioceses and religious orders to be easily recognized as Catholic institutions on the web. Just like the Catholic Church has to maintain their properties in the physical world, they will now make updates on the websites that carry the name “.Catholic”. These online activities will help to keep the Church's online message up to date. The purchase of the domain doesn't come cheap. The Vatican paid $740,000 to apply for .catholic in four languages. It was previously owned by the corporation Assigned Names and Numbers.

Melinda Gates and her partners, including the British government and the world's largest abortion providers, have launched a $4 billion campaign to push birth control for poor women in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Ms. Gates claims that there is "no controversy" in powerful groups and governments promoting birth control for poor women, but the facts are that contraception IS controversial for a number of reasons.  

The saint of the day for July 18 is Saint Camillus of Lellis, patron of hospitals the sick, and nurses. When St. Camilus was born (in Italy, 1550), his mother was nearly sixty years old. His mother died while he was still a child and his father was an officer in both the Neapolitan and French royal armies, leaving him neglected. While still a youth, he became a soldier in the service of Venice and later of Naples, remaining there until 1574. While Camillus referred to himself as a great sinner, his only vice seemed to be gambling. He gambled away everything he had and to atone for actions, he went to work as a laborer on the new Capuchin buildings in Manfredonia. Here, after a moving exhortation from the Friar, he completed his conversion and begged God for mercy, at the age of twenty-five. Camillus entered the Capuchin novitiate three times, but a nagging leg injury, received while fighting the Turks, each time forced him to give it up. He went to Rome for medical treatment wh...

Bogotá, Colombia, Jul 17, 2012 (CNA/EWTN News).- The testimony of a Colombian man who says he was “miraculously cured” of Parkinson's Disease through the intercession of Blessed John Paul II could allow for the canonization of the Polish pope. According to the newspaper El Tiempo, the case involves Marco Fidel Rojas, the former mayor of the town of Huila, whose testimony has now been sent to the Vatican office heading the sainthood cause for the late pontiff. Recounting his story to the Colombian paper, Fidel remembers experiencing the first symptoms of the disease in December of 2005. After a series of examinations, doctors determined he had suffered a stroke, which led to the development of Parkinson's. Read the full story.

(Romereports.com)  The 46th International World Day of Peace will be celebrated on January 1 of 2013. To mark the occasion, the pope has chosen the theme  “Blessed are the Peacemakers”  for his annual message. In it, he will address the financial crisis, as well as problems in education and politics. The pope will also encourage everyone to take responsibility when it comes to creating peace.  In his message, the pope will recognize the  50th Anniversary of the Second Vatican Council  and the encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, the Vatican document that lays out the importance of human dignity and freedom. It was also the inspiration for the first World Day of Peace back in 1967.  This will be Benedict XVI's eighth message for  the World Day of Peace  during his time as pope.

On July 17, 1794, sixteen Carmelites caught up in the French Revolution were guillotined at the Place du Trône Renversé (now called Place de la Nation), in Paris. When the revolution started in 1789, a group of twenty-one discalced Carmelites lived in a monastery in Compiegne France, founded in 1641. The monastery was ordered closed in 1790 by the Revolutionary gov­ernment, and the nuns were disbanded. Sixteen of the nuns were accused of living in a religious community in 1794. They were arrested on June 22 and imprisoned in a Visitation convent in Compiegne There they openly resumed their religious life. For a full twenty months before their execution, the sisters came together in an act of consecration “whereby each member of the community would join with the others in offering herself daily to God, soul and body in holocaust to restore peace to France and to her Church.” The nuns were not just mere victims of the Revolution overcome by circumstances. Each contemplated her ...

Today is the patronal feast of the Carmelites .   The Order of Carmelites takes its name from Mount Carmel in Israel, which was the first place dedicated to the Blessed Virgin and where a chapel was erected in her honor before her Assumption into heaven. In the Old Testament, Mount Carmel was a holy place sanctified by the memory of Elijah and his followers - who fought for the rights of the true God 900 years before Christ. Christians would interpret Elijah's vision of the cloud rising from the Mediterranean sea as a symbol of the Blessed Virgin Mary whose Son would be the Messiah and Savior (1 Kings 18, 42-45). After the days of Elijah and Elisha other holy hermits lived on Mt. Carmel and led solitary, contemplative lives, praying and fasting. Along with the austere figure of Elijah, they looked for inspiration to the Mother of God. Her Latin title was "Virgo Dei Genitrix", which means "Virgin Mother of God". July 16th is also the feast of th...

Today is the memorial of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, virgin. Known as the "Lily of the Mohawks" and and the “Geneviève of New France,” Kateri was born near the town of Auriesville, New York, in the year 1656, the daughter of a Mohawk warrior and a Catholic Algonquin woman whom he had saved from captivity at the hands of the Iroquois. She was four years old when her parents and younger brother died of smallpox. The disease also attacked Kateri, scarring her face and impairing her eyesight. Kateri was adopted by her two aunts and an uncle. She converted as a teenager. When she was baptized at the age of twenty, she experienced great hostility from her tribe. Although she had to suffer greatly for her Faith, she remained firm in it. To escape persecution and death threats, Kateri joined the new Christian colony of Indians in Canada. Here she lived a life dedicated to prayer, penitential practices, and care for the sick and aged. Every morning, even in bitterest winter, s...

Learn more about the parents of St. Therese of Lisieux here.

Today is the optional memorial of St. Henry. Henry II, successively Duke of Bavaria, King of Germany and Emperor, devoted himself to the spread of religion by rebuilding churches and founding monasteries.  Henry II, son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria, and of Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy, was born in 972. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, he was elected emperor. In 1014, he went to Rome and received the imperial crown at the hands of Pope Benedict VIII. Henry worked hard to establish peace in Europe. However, to defend justice, he had to fight many wars. He was honest in battle and insisted that his armies be honorable too. Henry married a gentle and loving woman named Cunegund (or Kunigunda) around 998. She, too, has been proclaimed a saint. The couple remained childless. Some sources claim the two lived chastely, but there is no proof of this. Emperor Henry was one of the best rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. He promoted needed refor...

St. John was born in Florence, Italy, at the end of the tenth century. He and his father were devastated when John's only brother, Hugh, was murdered. The man who did it was supposed to have been Hugh's friend. Urged on by his father and by his own anger, John began looking for a way to avenge his brother's death. He felt that his personal honor depended on it. One Good Friday, he came face to face with the murderer in a narrow passageway. John drew his sword and started toward the man. Hugh's killer fell to his knees. He crossed his arms on his chest and begged forgiveness for love of Jesus who died on the cross. With a tremendous effort, John dropped his sword. He embraced his enemy and moved on down the road. When he came to a monastery church, he went in and knelt before the crucifix. He asked forgiveness for his sins. Then a miracle happened! Christ on the cross bowed his head. It was as if to tell John that he was pleased with him for forgiving his enemy. Joh...

Today is the feast of St. Benedict of Nursia, the twin brother of  St. Scholastica , the patron of Europe, and the founder of Western monasticism. Biography : Tradition teaches that St. Benedict lived from 480 to 547, though we cannot be sure that these dates are historically accurate. His biographer, St. Gregory the Great, pope from 590 to 604, does not record the dates of his birth and death, though he refers to a  Rule  written by Benedict. Scholars debate the dating of the Rule though they seem to agree that it was written in the second third of the sixth century. Saint Gregory wrote about St. Benedict in his  Second Book of Dialogues , but his account of the life and miracles of Benedict cannot be regarded as a biography in the modern sense of the term. Gregory's purpose in writing Benedict's life was to edify and to inspire, not to seek out the particulars of his daily life. Gregory sought to show that saints of God, particularly St. Benedict, were sti...

Today's saint of the day is  St. Amalberga. St. Amalberga, otherwise Amelia, was born at Brabantrelated, and was in some way related to Pepin of Landen. Whether she was a sister or niece, the Bollandists are not sure. She was married to Witger and became the mother of three saints: Gudila, Reinelda, and Emembertus. The Norman chroniclers speak of her as having been married twice, which seems to be erroneous. Nor are Pharailda and Ermelende admitted by the Bollandists to have been her children. She and her husband ultimately withdrew from the world; he becoming a monk, and she a nun. There is very great confusion in the records of this saint, and of a virgin who came a century after. To add to the difficulty a third St. Amalberga, also a virgin, appears in the twelfth century. The first two are celebrated simultaneously on July 10. She died in 690 and is buried beside her husband at the Lobbes monastery. Her relics have been in Saint Peter's abbey church in Ghent, Belgi...

A concert was held July 5 at the Melbourne Recital Centre to remember Irena Sendler, the Polish Catholic who saved some 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of Warsaw’s ghetto. The concert, titled “Irena’s Song: A Ray of Light through the Darkness,” featured acclaimed Israeli composer and conductor Kobi Oshrat and Israeli vocalist Karin Shifrin. The pair collaborated with the Australian Orchestra Victoria to remember the heroine through music. Read the Full Story.

I just discovered a great new website entitled  "Love Letters from Kansas"  and learned that I am a Resolute Lover. Discover what your heart is trying to tell you. Learn your marriage mindset and see how it fits with your partner's. Find out if you're a Rational Heart, Restless Heart, Resolute Heart, Romantic Heart or Reluctant Heart, and see what it means for your relationship. what type you are by going here. Here is the background scoop on the website Love Letters from Kansas : WICHITA, Kan. - July 9, 2012 - Today, Catholic Charities of Kansas announced the launch of a new public awareness campaign, "Love Letters from Kansas", which is designed to promote healthy marriage and relationship stability across the state. Catholic Charities of Kansas has provided marriage and relationship education through its Marriage for Keeps program to close to 1,100 couples since 2007 and more than 135 individual adults since October 2011. This program features sma...

"The man Jesus of Nazareth is the transparency of God, God dwells in Him fully and, while we always seek other signs, other prodigies, we do not realise that the true sign is Him, God made flesh. He is the greatest miracle of the universe: all the love of God contained in a human heart and a human face".  ~ Pope Benedict XVI in his Sunday homily July 8, 2012

Five years after Pope Benedict issued Summorum Pontificum, his motu proprio permitting priests to offer the extraordinary form of the Mass without first having to obtain permission from their bishops, Cardinal Raymond Burke lamented “resistance to what the Holy Father has asked.” “There's no question that there remains in certain places a resistance to what the Holy Father has asked, and that's sad," said the prefect of the supreme tribunal of the apostolic signatura. “It's sometimes even an expression of disagreement with the Holy Father's discipline and even an expression that this is harmful for the Church.” “There was a stripping away, a changing of the form of the rite that in my judgment was too much,” he added as he commented on the liturgical changes that followed the Second Vatican Council. “You can't take a living reality, the worship of God as God has desired that we worship him, and tamper with it without doing violence and without in some wa...

July 9, 2012. (Romereports.com)  A 3.5 magnitude earthquake rattled the south of Rome Monday afternoon. The epicenter was registered in the 'Castelli Romani' area, which is near 'Castel Gandolfo' where Benedict XVI is enjoying his summer vacation. The earthquake was also felt in Italy's Montecompatri, Colonna and Monte Porzio Catone areas.  No major injuries or damages have been reported.  This relatively small quake follows a series of earthquakes that caused serious damage in Italy's Emila Romagna region.