Catholic Fire

The word Advent comes from the Latin word advenio, which means "to come to," and denotes the coming of Christ. Advent is a time to prepare our hearts and souls for the Savior’s three comings: (1) the Lord's coming into the world as the incarnate God of love at Christmas, (2) Christ’s coming in Holy Communion and through grace, and (3) His final coming as judge, at death and at the end of the world. In her inspirational book, Advent with St. Teresa of Calcutta: Daily Meditations , author Heidi Hess Saxton presents twenty-eight daily meditations based on the wisdom of St. Teresa of Calcutta as it relates to each day’s Scripture readings. With an Introduction written by Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle and a Foreword by Bishop Robert Barron, this beautiful devotional assists us in entering into the peace, joy, and love of this liturgical season. The book is divided into six sections: each of the four weeks of Advent, the Christmas week through Epiphany, and the feasts days a...

I have never been on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but with Marge Fenelon’s new book, Our Lady ,  Undoer of Knots: A Living Novena , I feel as if I have actually traveled there. In Our Lady, Undoer of Knots: A Living Novena, Fenelon takes us on her Holy Land trip, as she follows Pope Francis in his historic 2014 pilgrimage to the sacred sites. She reflects on the nine sacred sites, the inspiring words of the Holy Father, and the knots that obstruct the peace there, comparing them to the common knots that prevent each of us from experiencing interior peace in our daily lives. As we travel along on the nine-day pilgrimage, Fenelon shares fervent novena prayers to Our Lady for each of the nine days. She also poses thoughtful questions which encourage us to delve deeper and to untangle the knots. The various knots include: injustice, separation, confusion, hopelessness, grief and loss, discord, betrayal, envy and pride, and affliction. The Our Lady Undoer of Knots novena is...

The Feast Day This coming Sunday, March 29, is Divine Mercy Sunday . This feast was instituted by Pope John Paul II in the year 2000, in response to a direct request by the Lord to a Polish nun, St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, whom Pope John Paul II canonized that year . The Image On February 22, 1931, Jesus first appeared to St. Faustina at the Congregation of Our Lady of Mercy convent in Plock, Poland. This is how she describes that vision in her diary: “In the evening, when I was in my cell, I saw the Lord in a white garment. He had one hand raised in blessing and the other was touching his garment at the chest. From the fold in His garment…..there were two large rays: one red and the other pale.” Jesus later told her: “Paint an image according to the pattern you see with the signature Jesus, I trust in You. I desire this image be venerated first in your chapel and then throughout the world.” The Meaning of the Image There is a connection between that image and the liturgy of the sec...

The Way of the Cross for Children – a coloring book by Kathryn Mulderink, OCDS, with drawings by Victor KyNam Kathryn Mulderink, lay Carmelite and Catholic homeschooling mom of seven, originally wrote these beautiful prayers for the 14 Stations of the Cross for her own children and has used them for several Lenten seasons. Kathryn’s poignant prayers and meditations on the Stations of the Cross combined with Victor KyNam’s sensitive illustrations make this book one that will touch the hearts of the children who peruse it. The Way of the Cross for Children offers brief meditations entitled “I Think of Jesus”, which help children to reflect on the suffering that Jesus experiences during His Passion, while reminding them of His overwhelming, unconditional love for each one of us. This is followed by a prayer “I talk to Jesus” which gently encourages children to open their hearts to Him, to broaden their prayer intentions, and to change their behavior in response to His love. A one line c...