Catholic Fire

By Jean M. Heimann Today, December 14, is the feast of St. John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of mystics, contemplatives, mystical theology, and poets. He was, in fact, one of Pope St. John Paul II's favorite saints and spiritual mentors in the faith. St. John Paul II revealed: “I got to know St. John of the Cross in my youth and was able to dialogue with this master of faith.  I wrote my Doctoral thesis on ‘Faith in St. John of the Cross.” I have found him a friend and master who has shown me that light shines in darkness.” St. John of the Cross (along with St. Teresa of Avila) is one of the founders of the Discalced Carmelites and today is one of their major feast days. Among the Church's contemplatives, St. John is one of the recognized masters of mystical theology. Indeed, perhaps no other writer has had greater influence on Catholic spirituality. In 1542, John (Juan de Yepes y Álvarez) was born into a family of Jewish con...

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 the ...

On March 31, we commemorate Blessed Joan of Toulouse, the first lay associate and founder of the Carmelite third order. Joan was born to a noble family in the kingdom of Navarre in the 13th century. A Carmelite monastery had been founded in Toulouse, France, in 1240, which exposed her to the Carmelite lifestyle and spirituality. Due to her devotion to Our Lady, she wished to live as an anchorite near the Carmelite monastery. In 1265, when St. Simon Stock, a thirteenth century reformer of the Carmelites, was passing through Toulouse, Joan met him and asked to be affiliated with the Carmelites. Simon agreed and Blessed Joan became the first Third Order Carmelite. She received the habit of the Carmelite order from St. Simon Stock, making a vow of perpetual chastity. A gentle, pious, prayerful young woman, she attended daily Mass and spent her days caring for the sick, elderly, and infirmed. One of Joan's primary missions was encouraging the boys of the town to help her serve the ...

Bangalore - The Carmel of the future is called to offer tools that correspond to the thirst for God that is present today in Asia. Carmelite spirituality has immense possibilities to respond to this thirst for God, and to lead people in his relationship with God: this is what emerged from the conclusions of the Asian Congress entitled "Saint Teresa speaks to Asia", organized by the Carmelites in India in preparation for the fifth centenary of the birth of St. Teresa of Avila, reformer of the Carmelite Order. As Fides learns, the Congress, held in Bangalore from 28th November to 1st December, was attended by Msg. Albert D'Souza, Archbishop of Agra and Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference, Mgr. Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore, together with the other Bishops of Karnataka and the Superiors General of the various congregations existing in India. Over 500 Carmelite delegates from all over India and abroad were present. The Congress revived the character, s...

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 martyrdom;...

This trailer presents the first 10 minutes of the Catholic Radio and Television Network - documentary "A Hidden Life." With the coming to power of the Communists in Bulgaria, religious communities became increasingly oppressed. Continuously controlled, continuously observed the sisters were subject to ever more intimidating interrogations and ruder searches. Some of them, such as the Carmelites, awaited prison sentences. In 1948 the authorities started to confiscate Church run schools, convents and orphanages, forcing the sisters to move to a hidden life in tucked away corners such as choir lofts or abandoned buildings. This is the story of how two religious communities, the Carmelites and the Eucharistine Sisters, survived this time. H/T: The Anchoress

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 martyrd...

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 the "Scapular of...

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 Elijiah 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 the "Scapular of...