Catholic Fire

Today is the feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. He is the patron of fishermen, singers, unmarried women, and women who wish to become mothers. St. Andrew, son of Jonah, was the brother of the Apostle Peter, and like his brother, was born at Bethsaida in Galilee. He was a disciple of John the Baptist and became the first to follow Jesus. A fisherman like St. Peter, Saint Andrew first introduced Saint Peter to Christ. Both occupied the same house at Capharnaum. At first the two brothers continued to carry on their fishing trade and family affairs, but later, the Lord called them to stay with Him all the time. He promised to make them fishers of men, and this time, they left their nets for good. As one of the Twelve Apostles, Andrew was very close to Our Lord during His public life; he was present at the Last Supper; beheld the risen Lord; witnessed the Ascension; shared in the graces and gifts of the first Pentecost, and helped, amid threats and persecution, to establish the Fait...

On November 22, the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr. St. Cecilia, patroness of musicians, is one of the most famous and most venerated of Roman martyrs. It is believed that St. Cecilia was born in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D., although the dates of her birth and martyrdom are unknown. Tradition tells us that Cecilia was a Roman girl of a patrician family who had been brought up as a Christian. She fasted often and wore a coarse garment beneath her rich clothing. Although she had consecrated her virginity to God, her father betrothed her to a young pagan named Valerian. When the wedding day arrived, Cecilia sat apart from her guests, repeating psalms and praying. After the ceremony, when the guests had departed and she was alone with her husband, Cecilia made known her great desire to remain a virgin, saying that she already had a lover, an angel of God who was very jealous. Valerian, shaken by fear, anger, and suspicion, said to her: “Show me ...

We are frequently entertained and fascinated by the lifestyles of royalty and their romantic adventures in books and movies. However, St. Elizabeth was a real-life princess, who served as an exemplary model of the heroic virtues of charity and humility. Her life is not a fairy tale, but is a true story of authentic love. Born in Bratislava, Hungary in 1207, Princess Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. Her aunt was St. Hedwig and her great niece was St. Elizabeth of Portugal. Elizabeth was betrothed at the age of four to Prince Herman of Thuringia (in central Germany) and grew up in his father's court. In 1216, Hermann, who Elizabeth was to marry, died. After this, she then became engaged to Ludwig, the second son. The couple married when she was fourteen and he was twenty-one.  She loved him and bore him three children. They were very happy together and deeply devoted to one another. Ludwig was protective of his wife and the couple ...

St. Gertrude the Great St. Gertrude was born in Eisleben, Germany in 1256. As a five-year-old, she was received into the monastery of the Cistercian nuns in Helfta. She was an intellectually gifted student with a gentle disposition who applied herself to her studies, concentrating on literature and philosophy. At the age of twenty-six, Gertrude had the first of many visions of Jesus which brought about a deep interior conversion, drawing her into the innermost recesses of His Sacred Heart. Her heart symbolically united in a vision to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she was a precursor of the later devotion to the Sacred Heart. She also advocated frequent reception of the Eucharist and devotion to St Joseph. Similar to other mystics, such as St. Teresa of Avila, the Passion of Christ was her favorite devotion and when she meditated on it, or on the blessed Eucharist, she was often unable to control the torrents of tears which flowed from her eyes. She frequently went into ecstasy ...

By Jean M. Heimann On November 15, the Church celebrates St. Albert the Great, "the light of Germany", uniquely named the “Universal Doctor” because of his vast knowledge and writings. He was the greatest German philosopher and theologian of the Middle Ages. A Dominican priest and the Bishop of Regensburg, Germany, he was the first of the medieval academics to apply Aristotle’s philosophy to Christian thought. Albert was born in Lauingen on the Danube, near Ulm, Germany in 1206 to a knight from a noble family. As a young man, he studied at the University of Padua and there he met Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican who made the rounds of the universities of Europe, attracting the best young men of the universities into the Dominicans. At age 16, Albert entered the Dominican Order and was ordained a priest in 1228. He was then sent to teach in Cologne, where he was renown for his lectures on the Sentences of Peter Lombard. After several teaching assignments in h...

The saint of the day for November 14 is St. Lawrence (also spelled Laurence) O'Toole, a Benedictine abbot and archbishop of Dublin. St. Lawrence O'Toole was born around 1128 in County Kildare, Ireland.  His father was the chief of Hy Murray, and his mother one of the Clan O'Byrne. At the age of 10, Lawrence was taken hostage by King Mac Murehad of Leinster, who treated him with such cruelty that his father convinced the King to turn him over to the Bishop of Glendalough. In 1140, Lawrence obtained permission to enter the monastic school of Glendalough; he studied there for thirteen years and became known for his piety and learning. So great was his reputation in the eyes of the community that on the death of Abbot Dunlaing, at the young age of 25, he was unanimously chosen to supervise the Abbey of St. Kevin. In 1161, Lawrence was chosen as Archbishop of Dublin. In his new position, he reformed much of the administration and clerical life in his diocese, worked...

 We salute you! Thank you for your service! 1. Happy Veteran's Day, U S A ! What is Veteran's Day? On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month of the year 1918, an armistice was signed, ending the "war to end all wars." November 11 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during the war in order to ensure a lasting peace. In 1938 Congress voted Armistice Day as a legal holiday, but World War II began the following year. Armistice Day was still observed after the end of the Second World War. In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans' Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill renaming the national holiday to Veterans' Day. Today, we remember those who have served for our country in the armed forces in our prayers. 2. Today we honor a great soldier saint -- St. Martin of Tours , who was a soldier in ...

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor. He is regarded as one of the most important of the Western Fathers of the Church. St. Leo the Great (d. 461) was born in Rome of Italian nobility. As a deacon of the Church, he opposed the heresy of Pelagianism, which taught that grace was not necessary for salvation, but was rather a bonus that God granted to those who earned it by their good works. He was elevated to the office of Pope in 440 and reigned as pope for twenty-one years. As pope, St. Leo labored strenuously to safeguard the integrity of the faith and vigorously defended the unity of the Church. He affirmed the full divinity and humanity of Christ. His most famous writing, commonly known as the Tome of St. Leo (449), was the basis of the Council of Chalcedon's dogmatic definition of Christ as one Divine Person possessing two complete natures, human and divine. When Attila the Hun marched on Rome, Leo went out to meet him and pleade...

By Jean M. Heimann  November 8 is the feast of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, a French discalced Carmelite nun, a mystic, a spiritual director, and a spiritual writer. She is the patron saint of sick people and of the loss of parents. Elizabeth was born on July 18, 1880 in a military camp in the diocese of Bourges, France to Captain Joseph Catez and Marie Catez. Her father died when she was just seven, leaving her mother to raise Elizabeth and her sister. Elizabeth was a determined, energetic, and popular young lady. She had a great love for God, and practiced a beautiful, but simple prayer life. At the same time, she had a bad temper as a child. However, this changed when she made her First Holy Communion just prior to her eleventh birthday. Thereafter, she eventually developed self-discipline and attained a deeper knowledge of God. She grew in her love for God and acquired an intense awareness of the Holy Trinity. Elizabeth was blessed with many gifts. She was a talent...

Today's saint of the day is St. Engelbert of Cologne. He was born in Berg around the year 1185 to Engelbert, Count of Berg and Margaret, daughter of the Count of Gelderland. He studied at the cathedral school of Cologne and, while still a boy, was made provost of the churches of St. George and St. Severin at Cologne and of St. Mary's at Aachen, as it was a common abuse in the Church at the time to appoint the children of nobles to such positions. In 1199 he was elected provost of the cathedral at Cologne. He led a worldly life, and in the conflict between  two Archbishops, Adolf and Bruno, he sided with his cousin Adolf, and waged war for him. Consequently, he was excommunicated by the pope along with his cousin. After his submission he was reinstated in 1208 and, to atone for his sin, joined the crusade against the Albigenses in 1212. On Feb. 29, 1216, the chapter of the cathedral elected him archbishop by a unanimous vote. The mendicant orders of the Franciscans and t...

November 4 is the memorial of St. Charles Borromeo (1538 - 15840), Bishop of Milan and one of the great reformers of the sixteenth century. He is is the patron of catechists, catechumens, spiritual directors, and spiritual leaders. Charles was born at the Castle of Arona in northern Italy to wealthy and powerful parents. His father, Count Gilbert Borromeo, was a man of virtue and skill, and his mother was a member of the famous Medici family of Milan, sister of Angelo de Medici, who was to become Pope Pius IV. Raised in a pious family, Charles was deeply devoted to the Passion of Christ and to the Blessed Mother. He received the clerical tonsure at age twelve and was educated at the Benedict Abbey of Saints Gratian and Felinus. He earned a doctorate in civil and canon law at the University of Pavia. When his uncle, Cardinal de Medici, was elected pope in 1559, as Pius IV, Charles was made cardinal-deacon and administrator to the archdiocese of Milan while still a lay person a...

On November 3, we celebrate the feast of St Martin de Porres, a Peruvian Dominican Brother whose life of charity and devotion led to his canonization as the first black saint of the Americas. Martin was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the son of a Spanish knight, Don Juan de Porres and the former Panamanian slave Ana Velazquez. His father initially refused to acknowledge the boy publicly as his own, because Martin, like his mother, was black. Though Martin's father later helped to provide for his education, his son faced difficulties because of his family background. At age 12, Martin studied to be a barber, which at that time meant he was also a druggist, a physician and a surgeon. Once trained, he began to use his skills to serve the poor. He became very well known for his compassion and skill as a barber, and cared for many people as well as animals. Martin was a pious child, who began praying at a young age. He had a deep devotion to our Lord’s Passion, and prayed for di...

On November 1, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, also known as Hallowmas and All Hallows. Today's feast honors all the saints of the Church, known and unknown, whose virtues and efforts in this life are considered to have earned them an eternal reward with God. On this day, Catholics are asked to reflect on holiness and sainthood and to celebrate the holiness of men and women who gave their lives in faithfulness and service to God, and whose witness continues to inspire us today. Christians have been honoring saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially, the calendars of saints and martyrs varied by location, with churches honoring local saints. However, gradually feast days became more universal. The first reference to a general feast celebrating all saints occurred with St Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373). St. John Chrysostom (d. AD 407) assigned a day to the feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost, where in the Eastern Churches the feast is celeb...

By Jean M. Heimann Blessed Bartholomew was born circa 1200 at Vicenza, Italy Vicenza in Northern Italy, and belonged to the noble family of Breganza. He received the habit of the order from Saint Dominic's own hands on occasion of the holy founder’s visit to Vicenza in 1220. He was a very virtuous man and within a short time, he became prior of the monastery, effectively overseeing several monasteries with great wisdom and fruitfulness. Seven years later, he became Master of the Sacred Palace, an office which had been first held by Saint Dominic himself. It was during this period that Blessed Bartholomew composed his scholarly commentary on the work of Saint Denis, entitled "From the Heavenly Hierarchy.”  In 1246, Pope Innocent IV appointed Blessed Bartholomew as Bishop of Cyprus, were he served for two years. He was then sent as Papal Legate to King Louis IX of France, who was then carrying on the Crusade against the infidels. The two saints became good friends and ...

Today is the feast of St. Peter of Alcantra, one of the famous sixteenth century Spanish mystics. He was a Franciscan Friar who initiated one of the strictest reforms of his Order. He was born in 1499 at Alcantara, Estremadura, Spain, the son of Peter Garavita, governor of the palace. His mother was a member of the noble family of Sanabia. Peter studied grammar and philosophy at Alcantara, and both civil and canon law at Salamanca University. At 16, he entered the Observant Franciscans at Manxarretes (Manjaretes). At 22, he was sent to Badajoz to found a friary. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25 (1524), and preached missions in Spain and Portugal. He was a noted preacher, who preferred to preach to the poor; and his sermons, taken largely from the Prophets and Sapiential Books, reflected much empathy and tenderness. He was made superior of the province of Saint Gabriel in 1538.  As the superior, he drew up new constitutions for the order of Stricter Observanc...

The saint of the day for October 23 is St. John of Capistrano, a great Franciscan priest, preacher, and theologian who promoted devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus. He is the patron saint of chaplains, military chaplains, and judges. John was born at Capistrano, Italy in 1385, the son of a former German knight of that city. He studied law at the University of Perugia and practiced as a lawyer in the courts of Naples. King Ladislas of Naples appointed him governor of Perugia. During a war with a neighboring town he was betrayed and imprisoned, where he experienced a deep conversion. Upon his release, he entered the Franciscan community at Perugia. There, he began his brilliant preaching ministry, while still a deacon in 1420. Following his ordination, he traveled to many European countries and Russia, preaching penance and founding numerous Franciscan communities. St. John of Capistrano was the student of St. Bernadine of Siena, who inspired him to promote devotion to the Hol...

By Jean M. Heimann October 21 is the feast of St. Laura of St. Catherine of Siena (1874-1949), a Colombian sister who founded the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and St. Catherine of Siena in 1914. She was renowned for her work with the native Indians of Colombia, and serves as a strong role model for South American girls. Laura Montoya Upegui was born on May 26, 1874 in Jericó, Antioquia, Colombia, the second of three children to Juan de la Crux Montoya and Dolores Upegui.  When she was only two, her father died, defending his country in the Colombian War of 1876. Consequently, the family was left in poverty after all their possessions were confiscated. Following her father's death, Laura was sent to live with her grandmother. Laura felt orphaned and alone. To help overcome her feelings of loneliness, she took refuge in Jesus. As she grew older, she was especially sustained by meditation on Sacred Scripture and the strength she received from the E...

Today, October 20, is the feast of St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), Italian priest, mystic, and founder of the Passionist Congregation. Paul was born in Ovada, in northern Italy as Paolo Francesco Danei, the second oldest of sixteen children, eleven of whom died in infancy. His father was from a noble family that had been reduced to poverty over the years. His parents were devout Catholics and their strong faith provided the grace they needed to accept their trials. Paul’s mother had a deep and lively faith, which she shared with her son. She often read to him, sharing the writings of the desert fathers.  Paul received his early education from a priest and was a very virtuous and pious youth, who spent much time in prayer, attended daily Mass, and visited the Blessed Sacrament, without neglecting his duties. He had a great love and devotion for Christ Crucified. As a young man, Paul enlisted in the Army, desiring to serve Christ in the Crusades; however, he abandoned sold...

On October 19, in the dioceses of the United States, the Church celebrates the feast of Sts. John de Brébeuf and  Issac Jogues and their companions, 17th century martyrs. They were six Jesuit priests and two lay brothers who traveled from France to North America to preach the gospel to the Huron and Mohawk natives in present-day New York, Quebec, and Onatario, Canada. They endured many horrific tortures and death in order to accomplish what they had set out to do. In 1625, St. John de Brebuf, at age 32, entered into the Huron tribe in the harsh frontier of Canada. John had tuberculosis, but the climate so agreed with him that the Hurons, surprised at his endurance, called him Echon, which meant load bearer. John was tortured and martyred in 1649. The Indians, hoping to gain the incredible strength he had, drank his blood. St. Issac Jogues was sent to Canada in 1636, where he worked among the Mowhawks. He was taken captive by the Iroquois in 1642 and imprisoned for thirt...

Today, October 18, is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is believed that St. Luke was born a Greek and a gentile. A physician at Antioch, and a painter, St. Luke became a convert of Saint Paul and afterwards his fellow-laborer. Luke was the writer of the Gospel and its "companion volume," the Acts of the Apostles and has been identified with St. Paul's "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Saint Luke shared the shipwreck and perils of Saint Paul's voyage to Rome, and was with him in his last days. He later died a martyr's death in Achaia. After St. John, St. Luke's writings (both his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles) are my favorite part of the New Testament. Although Luke was not an eye witness, he was a historian who carefully researched his material and obtained details from eye witnesses. As a physician, Luke emphasizes the miracles and the merciful love of Jesus, which heals his children and welcomes all into his arms --...