Catholic Fire

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. (Joel 2: 12-13) It's that time of year again -- the time of both internal and external recollection that we are setting out on a journey. On Ash Wednesday, the ashes placed on our forehead invite us to begin a new journey of repentance. They invite us to turn back to God and to receive new life. Once again, we are called to let God penetrate deeper into our lives, for indeed, turning back to Him with our whole hearts is a submission to His holy will. Lent is a time when we permit God to purify our hearts allow Him to unite our wills with His. Lent is a time of interior spring cleaning and obtaining new strength and great graces from God. This is the time of year to take a good look inside of ourse...

Please join me and other Catholic bloggers at RAnn’s Place for Sunday Snippets , where we share posts from the previous week. Here are my posts from this past week: St. Peter Damian: Monk, Bishop, Cardinal, Reformer, and Doctor of the Church Seven Quick Takes St. Conrad of Piacenza, Holy Hermit and Healer Ash Wednesday Seven Holy Founders of the Order of Servites Book Review: From the Hub to the Heart St. Gilbert of Sempringham: Man of Charity, Humility, and Piety What are you doing for Lent? Lenten Activities 2015

1. Ash Wednesday -- I went to Mass this Wednesday and got my ashes, despite the fact that I had been ill with chronic pain for two days. My husband took this picture of me, which I am offering up for the souls in purgatory, as Mother Teresa did.She made a contract with heaven that every time her photo was taken a soul would be released from purgatory. I am sure that purgatory will be empty after I publish this photo. ;-) 2. Lent -- That beautiful season of renewal is here again.  Need ideas for Lent? Check out my Lenten activities for 2015. 3. New Book -- I just have started writing a new book this Lent. It is very rough at this point in time, but I feel called by the Holy Spirit to write it. "This would make a great Lenten read or a gift for a recently converted Catholic, a seminarian or religious postulant, or anyone seeking to grow in their knowledge of the saints and a life of virtue." ~ Erika Marie at Simple Mama  in her review of Seven Saints f...

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. (Joel 2: 12-13) It's that time of year again -- the time of both internal and external recollection that we are setting out on a journey. On Ash Wednesday, the ashes placed on our forehead invite us to begin a new journey of repentance. They invite us to turn back to God and to receive new life. Once again, we are called to let God penetrate deeper into our lives, for indeed, turning back to Him with our whole hearts is a submission to His holy will. Lent is a time when we permit God to purify our hearts allow Him to unite our wills with His. Lent is a time of interior spring cleaning and obtaining new strength and great graces from God. This is the time of year to take a good look inside of ours...

WHAT IS LENT? "Lent is a retreat that the Church gives us in order to re-focus on what should be first in our lives. The purpose of Jesus' life was to glorify the Father and save the world. ..Lent is not first a time of giving up but a time to re-choose to be the victim of Christ, the Lamb. It is a time to live the Beatitudes.” - Fr. Marie-Dominique Philippe, OP Lent is a 40-day period of preparation for Easter Sunday and one of the major liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church. Signifying the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert after His baptism, it is a penitential season marked by prayer, fasting and abstinence, and almsgiving. Lent is not necessarily about “giving something up” for 40 days only to return to it on day 41 or afterward, but is a period of ongoing conversion so that we may draw closer to Jesus. When we repent for our sins and then make a permanent--rather than temporary--change in our lifestyle, a spiritual transformation can take place. At ...

February 13, 2013. (Romereports) “I thank you all for the love and prayers that have accompanied me. Thank you," said the Pope. "In these difficult days, I've felt almost physically, the power of prayer that comes through the love for the Church and your personal prayers. Continue to pray for me, for the Church and the future Pope. The Lord will guide.” Looking calm and serene, Benedict XVI led his first public appearance, after announcing his resignation. Before a full crowd, he once again said he made the decision with complete liberty.  He echoed Monday's statement by saying that he  does not have the strength to carry out the office. Then he continued with his weekly catechesis, on  Ash Wednesday. He talked about the temptation Jesus experienced when He was in the desert. In today's modern world, said the Pope, the temptation is to push faith aside and seek false solutions. BENEDICT XVI “While the Lord continues to raise up examples of radical co...

It's that time of year again -- the time of both internal and external recollection that we are setting out on a journey. On Ash Wednesday , the ashes placed on our forehead invite us to begin a new journey of repentance. They invite us to turn back to God and to receive new life. Once again, we are called to let God penetrate deeper into our lives, for indeed, turning back to Him with our whole hearts is a submission to His holy will. Lent is a time when we permit God to purify our hearts allow Him to unite our wills with His. Lent because it is a time of interior spring cleaning and obtaining new strength and great graces from God. This is the time of year to take a good look inside of ourselves and take inventory. What bad habit or sin can I work on permanently eliminating in my life? What sin am I really attached to that I can work on removing – not just during this Lenten season, but permanently? Is this sin really that necessary for my survival in this world? What virt...

May Lent, a time marked by the frequent listening of the Word of God and intense prayer be a stimulus for conversion and true love toward our bothers, especially the poor and those in need.This was the reflection offered by Benedict XVI during the Eucharist that opened Lent with the rite of the blessing and the distribution of the Ashes after the penitential procession from the church of St. Anselm to the Basilica of Saint Sabina (Aventino).During the homily the Pope traced out the features of Lent in reference to the Pauline year, the bi-millennia anniversary of St. Paul's birth. LENT, A TIME FOR MORE INTENSE PRAYER AND PENANCE

Lenten Posts from Catholic Fire : Ash Wednesday -- Into the Desert Ash Wednesday: Entering into Intimacy With God 40 Days for Life begins on Ash Wednesday Lenten Reading 2009 Favorite Quotes for Lent Lenten Ideas 2009 Adrienne's Catholic Corner post "Ash Wednesday" contains some great links for Lent. Jimmy Akin shares his comprehensive list of Lenten links in every category imaginable in his "Welcome to Lent" post. In My Daily Domestic Diigolet 02/25/2009 , Elena at My Domestic Church shares several great posts for Lent. The Anchoress is compiling her own list of Lenten links. (Check the bottom of the post.) A must read is Marcel at Aggie Catholics' mega-post "Lent 2009". If you have a Lenten post, feel free to share the link in the comment box below.

What the Church Says Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1438: “The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church’s penitential practice. Fridays, Lent and Year Round Canon 1250: “All Fridays through the year and the time of Lent are penitential days and times throughout the entire Church.” U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Penitential Practices for Today’s Catholics: “Fridays During Lent — In the United States, the tradition of abstaining from meat on each Friday during Lent is maintained. “Fridays Throughout the Year — In memory of Christ’s suffering and death, the Church prescribes making each Friday throughout the year a penitential day. All of us are urged to prepare appropriately for that weekly Easter that comes with each Sunday.” Ash Wednesday, Good Friday Canon 1251: “Abstinence from eating meat or another food according to the prescriptions of the conference o...

40 Days for Life begins tomorrow, on Ash Wednesday. There are 135 cities that will be participating from February 25 - April 5. Most are in the United States, five are in Canada, two are in Northern Ireland and one is in Australia. In addition, there are similar prayer campaigns going on in Central and South America. The campaign for human life involves: prayer, fasting, and a peaceful presence at abortion mills. To learn more, visit the 40 Days for Life website . This is a wonderful project to take part in this Lent!

"Lent is the time for entering into oneself. It is the period of the particular intimacy with God in the secrecy of one’s own heart and conscience… Lent is essentially an invitation to conversion." "Let ourselves be reconciled with God, for He has done so much for this reconciliation." ~ Pope John Paul II Lent begins today on Ash Wednesday. Lent is a time when we are called as Catholics to a deeper conversion and cleansing of our hearts. It is a time where we are called to give ourselves totally to God and to remove any obstacles that prevent Him from drawing nearer to us. Lent reminds me of the spring-cleaning that I do each year. Each spring, I clean my house thoroughly and throw out or give away the items in my home that I no longer use. I rid my house of the clutter and make room for the necessary items or create new space so I can move about more freely without stumbling over things. It is certainly not an easy task because I am a packrat and sentimentally atta...