Catholic Fire

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: "That all Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ, in order to be able to communicate the strength of His love to every person they meet". His mission intention is: "That the International Eucharistic Congress of Quebec in Canada may lead to an ever greater understanding that the Eucharist is the heart of the Church and the source of evangelisation."

Virgin Most Holy, Mother of the Incarnate Word and our Mother, venerated in the Shrine of Sheshan under the title 'Help of Christians,' the entire Church in China looks to you with devout affection. We come before you today to implore your protection. Look upon the People of God and, with a mother's care, guide them along the paths of truth and love, so that they may always be a leaven of harmonious coexistence among all citizens. When you obediently said 'Yes' in the house of Nazareth, you allowed God's eternal Son to take flesh in your virginal womb and thus to begin in history the work of our redemption. You willingly and generously co-operated in that work, allowing the sword of pain to pierce your soul, until the supreme hour of the Cross, when you kept watch on Calvary, standing beside your Son, Who died that we might live. From that moment, you became, in a new way, the Mother of all those who receive your Son Jesus in faith and choose to follow in His fo...

Church Slowly Moving into the Late 1990s Via Mark Shea.

"These days of preparation that immediately precede the Solemnity of Pentecost stimulate us to renew our hope in the help of the Holy Spirit to advance along the path of ecumenism. We have the certainty that the Lord Jesus never abandons us in our search for unity, because His Spirit is tirelessly at work to support the efforts we make to overcome all forms of division". ~ Pope Benedict XVI

Today Pope Benedict appointed members to the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and the Congregation for the Clergy. Among the appointees are two American archbishops and one cardinal. The Council for Legislative Texts’ main task consists of interpreting the laws of the Church – both the laws concerning the Latin Rite and the common laws of the Eastern Catholic churches. The new appointments are: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples; Lluis Martinez Sistach, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain; Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India; William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Archbishops John Joseph Myers of Newark, U.S.A ., and Raymond Leo Burke of Saint Louis, U.S.A. Read More Congratulations and prayers to both the Archbishops as well as to the others with ...

"Pills or dinner?" was the subject heading of Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards' email alert yesterday. The premise is ridiculous: that due to rising prices of artificial female steroids, i.e., birth control pills, college nyphomaniacs are being forced to choose between illicit sex and eating. Here's what happened. Legislators passed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 to save $40 billion over 5 years. A consequence, according to U.S. News & World Report : A quirk in a new federal law, designed to save taxpayers money on Medicaid reimbursements for drugs, has effectively persuaded pharmaceutical companies to stop selling their products to these [university] pharmacies at deeply discounted rates. (If companies continue to offer such discounts, the law stipulates, they will also receive lower payments from Medicaid.) Shock: the government isn't buying the whining. In response to one request to restore the loophole, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid wro...

Photo: Giuliani in line to receive Holy Communion at Papal Mass (courtesy of AP) Cardinal Egan released a statement today addressing the fact that Rudy Giuliani received Communion at the Papal Mass in New York. This is the first time a Cardinal, let alone a bishop, has addressed a pro-abortion Catholic politician receiving Communion since Archbishop Burke publicly stated that he would deny John Kerry Communion should he present himself in his diocese. The following is a statement issued by Edward Cardinal Egan: “ The Catholic Church clearly teaches that abortion is a grave offense against the will of God. Throughout my years as Archbishop of New York, I have repeated this teaching in sermons, articles, addresses, and interviews without hesitation or compromise of any kind. Thus it was that I had an understanding with Mr. Rudolph Giuliani, when I became Archbishop of New York and he was serving as Mayor of New York, that he was not to receive the Eucharist because of his well-known sup...

Room of Tears is a beautiful video on the Holy Father's acceptance of the papacy in 2005. The new popes all get dressed in a room off the Sistine Chapel before being presented to the world. They often weep as they ponder the responsibility. Thanks be to God for the gift of our dear Papa!

Domini Sumus , the host of this weeks' Catholic Carnival, cleverly asks: "Suffering from Pope withdrawal? Get your B16 supplement in this week's Catholic Carnival in which we remember some of the papal events of the past week." There are some great posts there -- click here to read them.

My heart aches from missing the later part of the Holy Father's visit due to family emergencies as well as the breakdown of my computer -- which didn't work at all for the later part of the visit and then has worked off and on this week for only short spurts of time. I managed to catch glimpses of him on EWTN during this time, but it just wasn't enough for me. Thankfully, I found this concise, well-written, and very enlightening editorial from the National Catholic Register to fill me in on what I missed, to interpret the events for me, and to point out the significance of his visit. Most importantly --this editorial helps me to understand who Pope Benedict really is and what he wants me to do to build the kingdom of Christ in the world. The World Meets Benedict As we launched Pope2008.com, our blogsite covering the papal events; as we put together stories for the Register; as we planned features for our sister publication, Faith & Family magazine, as our own Circle Pre...

As he celebrated Mass for a congregation of over 45,000 people in a Washington baseball stadium, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the virtue of hope-- the subject of his encyclical Spe Salvi-- and the call to repentance and conversion. Greeted by thunderous applause when he arrived at Nationals Park, the Pope presided at a liturgical celebration that featured music drawn from a wide variety of sources, prompting one television commentator to describe the liturgy as "consciously multicultural." In his homily the Pontiff observed that the American people have always valued the virtue of hope, preserving their confidence even in times of trial. That confidence is tested today, he said, as "we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations" of our culture. He exhorted Christians to approach this crisis with a firm reliance on the power of faith. In the Christian understanding, the Pope said, hope is based on the realization that Christ has brought man the...

Papal Address 2 USA - WASHINGTON - 16.04.2008 National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Meeting with the Bishops of the United States 2-Original text Dear Brother Bishops, It gives me great joy to greet you today, at the start of my visit to this country, and I thank Cardinal George for the gracious words he has addressed to me on your behalf. I want to thank all of you, especially the Officers of the Episcopal Conference, for the hard work that has gone into the preparation of this visit. My grateful appreciation goes also to the staff and volunteers of the National Shrine, who have welcomed us here this evening. American Catholics are noted for their loyal devotion to the see of Peter. My pastoral visit here is an opportunity to strengthen further the bonds of communion that unite us. We began by celebrating Evening Prayer in this Basilica dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a shrine of special significance to American Catholics, right in the heart o...

Happy Birthday, dear Holy Father! From The National Catholic Register : The Pope has received a number of birthday greetings. Yesterday, a group sang "Happy Birthday" to him. Today, at the White House, a group of the guests spontaneously launched into "Happy Birthday." Then, at the conclusion of his White House speech, the official singer sang "Happy Birthday" to him before he walked into the White House with the President. I'm sure he'll be receiving many more throughout the day. Stay tuned...we're trying to find out what the President's official gift for the Pope is. Pope Greets Thousands On His Birthday Crowds Scream, Sing 'Happy Birthday' To Pontiff Pope's Birthday At The White House - Deal Hudson, Inside Catholic Today's Papal Events 10:30 a.m. - The Holy Father meets with President Bush and the First Lady on the south lawn of the White House. 5:30 p.m. - Private prayer service and meeting with the 350 bishops of the...

Happy Birthday, dear Papa! We are praying for you for special blessings on your birthday. We love you! Image via Esther.

There have been lots of welcomes to the Holy Father, today. Here are just a few of my favorite posts on the Holy Father's arrival in the USA today: Whsipers in the Loggia: At the Pope's Mission, Might Ain't Right and From the Plane. American Papist: Day 1: Pictures of Pope Benedict's Arrival The Curt Jester: Welcome to America Holy Father Christopher Blosser's blog: Arrival of Benedict XVI at Andrews Air Force Base My thanks to Esther for creating the beautiful image of the Holy Father above.

While enroute to the US, the Holy Father spoke Pope Benedict XVI took the opportunity to respond to the clergy sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Church. Here is what he had to say via CNA: "It is a great suffering for the Church in the United States and for the Church in general and for me personally that this could happen," Benedict said. "It is difficult for me to understand how it was possible that priests betray in this way their mission ... to these children." "I am deeply ashamed and we will do what is possible so this cannot happen again in the future," the pope said. Benedict XVI also said he was determined to prevent pedophiles from becoming priests in the Roman Catholic Church. "We will absolutely exclude pedophiles from the sacred ministry," Benedict said in English. "It is more important to have good priests than many priests. We will do everything possible to heal this wound." Pedophilia is "absolutely incompatible...

* Vatican Website: Apostolic Journey to the United States of America and visit to the United Nations Organization Headquarters (April 15-21, 2008) *EWTN: Pope's Visit to the U.S. - live coverage via radio and TV Raymond Arroyo will be joined in live coverage and commentary of the Pope’s trip by Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor and author; Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal columnist, author and speechwriter for President Reagan; and Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. *The USCCB's Christ Our Hope site Resource Guides for Teachers, Catechists and Youth Ministers here. * OSV 's papal visit page is here. They've nicely rounded up a number of related sites and blogs here . And, OSV's own live blogging will happen here . *National Catholic Register 's Pope 2008.com is here . EWTN also offers links to other resources at the bottom of this page. In addition to the live shows, EWTN’s continuing coverage will include three specials. Get the details he...

The Holy Father's first visit to the U.S. is just days away. He released a video message today saying he is coming to share the message of hope in Christ with us. For his full length message, go here.

Gerald Augustinus has a Pope Poll going on. Be sure to stop by and vote. He tells us: Not that it's a popularity contest, but let's see how you 'grade' the papacy of Benedict XVI.

VATICAN CITY, 1 APR 2008 ( VIS ) - Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for April is: "That Christians, even in the difficult and complex situations of present-day society, may not tire of proclaiming with their lives that Christ's resurrection is the source of peace and of hope". His mission intention is: "That the future priests of the young Churches may be constantly more formed culturally and spiritually to evangelise their nations and the whole world".