Catholic Fire

Friday, May 13, the Feast of Our Lady of Fatima, marks the launch of my new book , Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir . We will be giving away paperback books and sharing reviews from some very talented writers and bloggers. Here is the blog tour schedule: Friday, May 13 -- Ellen Gable Hrkach, Review , Plot, Line, and Sinker     Saturday, May 14 -- Rosemary Bogdan, Review, A Catholic Mother’s Thoughts    Book Giveaway! Sunday, May 15 -- Carolyn Astfalk, Review, My Scribbler’s Heart Blog   Book Giveaway! Monday, May 16 -- Lisa Mladinich, Interview,  Patheos  Tuesday, May 17—Nancy HC Ward, Review, Joy Alive in our Hearts   Book Giveaway! Wednesday, May 18 -- Esther Gefroh., Review, A Catholic Mom in Hawaii  Thursday, May 19 -- Barb Szyszkiewicz, Review, Franciscan Mom      Book Giveaway!  and Catholic Mom    Friday, May 20--Jeannie Ewing, Interview, Love Alone Creates ...

October 23, 2013. (Romereports.com) Inside the Vatican, there are priceless works of art, like this one and....this one. Thanks to the Patrons of the Arts, these masterpieces are being restored for generations to come.     The Blake family chose to restore a map of Lucano, where St. Gerard was born. It's something that's close to their hearts and their faith. GERARD FRANCIS BLAKE Patrons of the Arts “My mother had a miscarriage unfortunately and nuns came to the room to comfort her in the hospital and said, pray to St. Gerard because he's the patron saint of mothers and fortunately a year later I was born.” BERENICE CESEÑA DE BLAKE Patrons of the Arts (USA) “So, my mother in law prayed to St. Gerard so that my husband would be born. That's why his name is Gerard. I followed that tradition and now our boy is named Gerard.” Among the highlights, the Patrons were welcomed by Pope Francis who explained that art is much more than just beauty. Ultimately, art h...

August 15, 2013. (Romereports.com) Every year, an all across the world, millions of people visit sactuaries dedicated to Our Lady. Behind each pilgrim there's a story. A documentary “Fiction or Reality” shares the testimonies of people that have come back to the Catholic faith, after experiencing a type of intervention from the Mother of Christ.   “I heard this voice that sounded so sweet, so... motherly. She told me, 'My son, it's enough. Are you ready to come back home?'” JUAN MANUEL COTELO Producer “Fiction or Reality” “The movie is based on that. The easiest and most nurturing path to go back to God is through Mary.” 3:16 – 3:31 “It's very, very beautiful to see how Our Lady is not some precious legendary figure or a Greek tale. She is not just another legend.” Juan Manuel Cotelo explained that the main goal of this film is to investigate, to learn more about the people's reality; including those who claim they speak to God himself. JUAN MANUEL ...

Limit Break, a web series, reports: In this episode we meet Friar Didacus and Friar Gabriel, two brothers who skateboard and were called to religious life. The brothers skated for 7 years as teenagers, but felt their vocation was religious life. They were prepared to abandon their passion for skateboarding to live a life of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience as Friars of the Immaculate. Six years after becoming Friars and having not skated, they were given obedience to obtain a skateboard and go to the skatepark once a week - to "preach the gospel at all times, when necessary, use words" as Saint Francis stated. Friar Gabriel explains that God has so many ways of using peoples talents to give Him glory. Skateboarding allows the Friars to help others see the compatibility of exercising the body as well as the soul. Friar Didacus reflects that if he had always tried to live in a state of grace growing up, he would have been far better at skating and enjoyed it much more- bec...

Blessed Pope John Paul II saw the outline of our new “new world” more than 30 years ago.  And following his lead, the Church has been calling Catholics to the work of a “new evangelization” ever since.  But there’s a natural human tendency to attach magic powers to slogans, which then replace serious thought and effort — as if saying the slogan, or talking about it, actually makes mission work happen.  In practice, the words “new evangelization” are overused and underthought.  Unless we reconfigure our lives to understanding and acting on it, the “new evangelization” is just another pious intention – well meaning, but ultimately infertile. ~ Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M.CAP., excerpted from his speech at the Serra International Convention, June 22, 2013, Mallorca, Spain.

Father Luis Alfredo Leon Armijos This is an amazing story of faith and forgiveness: A priest who was conceived in rape when his mother was only 13 years old is sharing the story of how he met, forgave and heard the confession of his father, who is now living a life of faith. “I could have ended up in a trash can, but I was allowed to live,” said Father Luis Alfredo Leon Armijos of Loja, Ecuador. In a Feb. 6 telephone interview with CNA, Fr. Leon, who is pastor of St. Joseph Parish in Loja, said his mother, Maria Eugenia Armijos Romero, was working as a maid to help her parents support their eight children. “The owner of the home took advantage of her working alone, raped her and left her pregnant,” he said. His mother always defended his life, even though she was young and alone, without the support of her family members, who tried to cause an abortion by giving her concoctions to drink and punching her stomach. “She prayed and felt that the Lord was saying to her in h...

Famed Hollywood actor Mickey Rourke, who was at the Sarajevo Film Festival last week, told a Bosnian newspaper that he thanks God and his Catholic faith for giving him a “second chance” in life to overcome his addictions, which almost led him to commit suicide. Read the full story here.