Catholic Fire

Jean M. Heimann, Aug. 8, 1949-Feb. 21, 2021 The founder of this blog, Jean M. Heimann, has gone on to her eternal reward. After suffering rapidly declining health following the death of her beloved husband, Jean died on Sunday, February 21, 2021, at the age of seventy-one years. Of your charity, please pray for the repose of her soul. Those who have appreciated the work Jean put into this blog for many years, those who have appreciated her books, as well as those who knew Jean are invited to leave a tribute on this memorial site . There you can also find details of her funeral, scheduled for Friday, 26 February 2021, in Wichita, Kansas. This blog will remain online as a lasting memorial to Jean. Those who have enjoyed the inspiration and information provided here may also like to read Jean's books (click title headings for link to Amazon): Seven Saints for Seven Virtues To live a virtuous life might seem like a daunting task, but we are fortunate to have examples to follow— the sa...

1. Believe is one Christmas movie I am looking forward to viewing this year . It opens in theaters on Dec. 2. Here is a review from  Variety , Here is a brief synopsis from the website. For years, the small town of Grundy, Va. has relied on the Peyton family to provide the highlight of the year—the annual Christmas pageant. When Matthew Peyton (Ryan O’Quinn) inherits the family business, the responsibility of the Christmas pageant also falls on his shoulders. But as financial hardships fall on the town, Matthew finds himself overwhelmed. As his business profits plummet and his workers begin to strike, Matthew is forced to make a decision between selling the family business and cancelling the beloved pageant or sticking out hardships despite his rapidly declining popularity in the community. Through chance events, Matthew meets Clarence (Issac Ryan Brown), a boy who believes in miracles, and his mother Sharon (Danielle Nicolet). His newfound friends impact Matthew’s life in a ...

Today, Melanie Jean Juneau hosts the blog tour for my new book, Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir at Association of Catholic Women Bloggers and Joy of Nine9 . She is a top notch writer and blogger, so be sure to read her review! Here are the remaining stops on the Blog Tour and Book Giveaway for Learning to Love with the Saints: Monday, May 23--Virginia Lieto, Review, Virginia Lieto  Book Giveaway! Tuesday, May 24 -- Tony Agnesi, Review, Finding God’s Grace in Everyday Life 

1.  The most important item on my Quick Takes List is this (drum roll): Coming May 13, on the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, my new book, Learning to Love With the Saints a Spiritual Memoir.   Stay tuned for my Book Blog Tour which runs from May 13 - 23. 2. The second most important item on my agenda is a garage sale this coming week. I have a variety of items that I am getting ready for the sale.  I enjoy garage sales, even if they don't include the mystery that Hallmark adds to them. It's fun meeting new folks and sharing small "treasures" with them. 3. What have I been reading lately?  Some wonderful books, including: 33 Days to Merciful Love: A Do-It-Yourself Retreat in Preparation for Divine Mercy by Fr. Michael E. Gaitley, MIC How To Be Holy: First Steps In Becoming A Saint by Peter Kreeft The Four Keys to Everlasting Love by Karee Santos and Manuel P. Santos, MD I highly recommend all three! 4. This past week we have celebrated the lives of so...

Bishop Robert Barron comments on the New York Times Bestseller, All The Light We Cannot See.

1. This week, we welcomed our new priests, Fr. Joshua Evans, assistant pastor, on the left, and Fr. C. Jarrod Lies (pronnounced "Lease"), pastor, on the right. 2. I have been working on two new books along with preparing a new project, which I will announce soon. In the meantime, my book Seven Saints for Seven Virtues is doing well and continues to get good reviews. 3. We're gearing up here for the upcoming Midwest Catholic Family Conference , which will be featuring: Matt Maher, Fr. James Kubicki, Tim Staples, Dr. Pia Solenni, Dr. Tim Gray, and more. We attend this every year in August and it just seems to get better and better! 4. This past week, I posted on Catholic Fire this prayer to the Blessed Mother for the healing of our country. 5. Here is an update on my vegetable and flower gardens: The first tomato the season -- a big boy! Our State Flower has popped up! The butterflys really enjoy the purple echinea  ...

I. What I am currently reading for Lent: 1. Thirsting for Prayer -- Jacques Philippe 2. The Magnificat Lenten Companion 3. The Word Among Us II. Best Catholic Books for Lent 2015 III. Best Catholic Films for Lent 2015 IV . Lenten Activities 2015 VI. St. Paula Montal Fornés: A Saint to Emulate this Lent  VII. Lenten Reflection -- Fr. James Kubicki Have a wonderful weekend! Jean For more Quick Takes, go here.            

1.  Today, Friday, is the last day for my book giveaway Trusting God with St. Therese , the new book by popular spirituality writer Connie Rossini. Read my review and enter the drawing HERE before midnight tonight. 2. Speaking of books, this writer and author has a new fan page on FaceBook . Please "like" me HERE . 3.  The official release date for my new book, Seven Saints for Seven Virtues , is October 24, 2014. In the meantime, you can pre-order it online at Amazon or at Barnes and Noble. 4. This week I wrote about one of my favorite female Franciscan saints,  St. Clare of Assisi: Contemplative, Lover of the Eucharist, Miracle Worker. 5. St. Maximilian Kolbe is on the list of my favorite saints and I wrote about why he is so special to me. 6.  St. Jane Frances de Chantal was a charming, animated, energetic member of the aristocracy. Why would she leave that luxurious lifestyle and agree to found an order that served the poor? Learn more HER...

1. Rooted in Love: Our Calling as Catholic Women by Donna Marie Cooper O'Boyle 2. Jacob's Ladder: Ten Steps to Truth by Peter Kreeft 3 . StrangeGods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life  by Elizabeth Sacalia 4. The Miracle of Father Kaupan -- Priest, Soldier, and Korean War Hero by Roy Wenzel and Travis Heying 5.  Navigating the Interior Life: Spiritual Direction and the Journey to God by Daniel Burke with Fr. John Bartunek 6. Fill These Hearts:God, Sex, and the Universal Longing by Christopher West 7. Along the Way: Lessons for an Authentic Journey of Faith by Randy Hain

On this morning’s “Today” show, English atheist Philip Pullman was questioned by Al Roker about his trilogy, His Dark Materials, and the movie which opens December 7 that is based on his first book, The Golden Compass. Roker mentioned that the Catholic League is charging that Pullman’s work is selling “atheism for kids.” Here is Pullman’s response: “Well, you know I always mistrust people who tell us how we should understand something. They know better than we do what the book means or what this means and how we should read it and whether we should read it or not. I don’t think that’s democratic. I prefer to trust the reader. I prefer to trust what I call the democracy of reading. When everybody has the right to form their own opinion and read what they like and come to their own conclusion about it. So I trust the reader.” MORE

You're Confessions ! by St. Augustine You're a sinner, you're a saint, you do not feel ashamed. Well, you might feel a little ashamed of your past, but it did such a good job of teaching you what not to do. Now you've become a devout Christian and have spent more time ruminating on the world to come rather than worldly pleasures. Your realizations and ability to change will bring reverence upon you despite your hedonistic transgressions. Florida will honor you most in the end. Take the Book Quiz at the Blue Pyramid .

"Did you ever see a statue of a grouchy saint? I saw one once. It was the most gorgeous one I ever saw. It was Padre Pio, who was a grouch, you know. Now everybody excuses the poor guy and says, 'Well, he had the stigmata and he was suffering.' Come off it. He was a grouch; he was a typical Italian grouch -- which I can relate to! So I bought that statue in New Orleans a few years ago. He has the most beautiful, grumpy look on his face. See, that's my kind of saint. I want a saint who struggles like I do. There's no such thing as perfection. There is only the struggle for holiness." ~ Mother Angelica in Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality , edited by Raymond Arroyo, page 166

From Power to Purpose A Remarkable Journey of Faith and Compassion by Sam Brownback Brownback's first hand account of his journey from farm boy to U.S. Senator. Hardcover List Price: $22.99 ISBN: 084990398X Publisher: Thomas Nelson Pub. Date: July 2007 More information is available here.

How many books do you own? I haven't counted lately, but I would guess about 500. I have given many of my books away. What books are you reading now? Humility by Dietrich Von Hidebrand The World's First Love by Fulton J. Sheen Infinite Space, Infinite God by Karina Fabian Books I Have Read Recently: My Life With the Saints by Fr. James Martin A Holy Life: St. Bernadette of Lourdes by Patricia Mc Eachern Five Books That Mean a Lot to Me: The Bible True Devotion to Mary The Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux Mother Angelica by Raymond Arroyo Amazing Grace For Those Who Suffer by Jeff Cavins & Matt Pinto I tag anyone who wants to play. Via Leticia.

Nick from Literary Compass tagged me for the Title Blending Meme. Here are the rules:Blend two book titles together by using the last word of one title and the first word of the second title . If you want, you can blend the authors' names too. Like this: The Divine Comedy 0f Errors by Dante Shakespeare Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince of Tides by J.K Conroy The Canterbury Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Geoffrey Blume The Screwtape Letters to a Young Poet by C.S. Rilke and of course, The Last Don Quixote by Mario de Cervantes. Now it's your turn. Write as many or as few as you want. Tag six people. Extra credit for blending titles with my other two favorite books, Lord of the Rings and Master and Commander. Extra extra credit if you can find another title that blends with Don Quixote. Don Quixote and the Hobbit by Miguel Tolkien Cradle Don Quixote by Kurt de Cevantes Catch Don Quixote by Heller de Cevantes Don Quixote: 1984 by Miguel Orwell A Prayer for Don Quixote b...

I was tagged for A Book Meme from Esther: Three works of non-fiction everyone should read: Other than the Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I hope all Catholics read, I recommend the following: 1. True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis De Montfort 2. Why Can't We Love Them Both? by Dr. & Mrs. J.C. Wilke 3. Modern Saints, Their Lives and Their Faces - Books One & Two by Ann Ball Three works of fiction everyone should read: 1. Emily's Hope by Ellen Gable 2. Father Brown: The Essential Tales by G.K. Chesterton 3. Little Flowers by Kathryn Lively There's so many more I would like to include here. Three authors everyone should read (non-fiction): 1. Pope Benedict XVI 2. Pope John Paul II 3. Fr. Benedict Groeschel Three authors everyone should read (fiction): 1. Michael D. O'Brien 2. G.K. Chesterton 3. Jane Austen Three books no one should read: 1.The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown (anti-Catholic) 2. National Sunday Law by A. Jan Marcussen (anti-Catho...

Check out our beloved Dawn Eden's latest interview on LifesiteNews here. John-Henry Weston asks her about her conversion to Catholicism. Great story! I loved it! Dawn Eden's book The Thrill of the Chaste is available from Amazon here . Thanks, Dawn.

Jesus of Nazareth, a new book by Pope Benedict XVI will go on sale in Europe on April 16, the Pontiff's 80th birthday. The 448-page book published by Rizzoli will cost € 19.50 and be available in 22 different languages around the world. Jesus of Nazareth will be available immediately in Italian, German, and Polish translations. The English-language edition, to be published by Doubleday , will appear next month. Franco Pisano of Asia News provides this description: Jesus of Nazareth is not only a profound meditation on the character and life of the founder of Christianity, but is also a pastoral reflection about today’s world. In the book the focus goes from the “world so sadly tormented” when the Pope talks about Palestine to a critique of Nietzsche’s self-centred man to an even more radical critique of the ills that modern society has caused by believing that it can do without God. The Pope's book, the publisher points out, "reflects the personal search by Joseph Ratzi...

Underline or put an asterisk next to all those bo oks whose movies you have seen. Bold or highlight the ones you've read in a different color. 1. Heidi (Johanna Spyri) * 2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) * 3 To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) * 4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) * 5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) * 6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien ) * 7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien) * 8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) * 9. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte) * 10. Anne of Avonlea (L.M. Montgomery) * 11. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) * 12. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) * 13 Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) * 14. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) * 15. Chariots of Fire (Clarence E. MacArtney) * 16. 1984 (Orwell) * 17. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas) * 18. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck) * 19. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald) * 20. War and Peace (T...