Catholic Fire

Bishop Barron's powerful talk at the 2016 World Youth Day "Night of Mercy" event, hosted by the Knights of Columbus, on July 27, 2016. Over 25,000 young people were present at the Tauron Arena in Kraków, Poland.

February 22 is the feast of the Chair of St. Peter the Apostle.  The Church has celebrated this occasion since at least the mid-4th century. It is a commemoration of St. Peter, the first pope, and his primacy over the Church as well as an acknowledgment of the primacy of the pope today. St. Peter St. Peter is consistently shown in the Scriptures to be the head or Vicar of Christ's Church on earth after Christ's Ascension. Peter's primacy over the rest of the apostles is clearly delineated. Peter presided over the election of Matthias as an apostle replacing Judas the traitor. After the Holy Spirit came among the apostles on Pentecost, it was Peter who first went forth to preach to the crowd that day. And it was he who worked the first miracle. In fact, so great was his power that merely his shadow falling upon the sick as he passed by healed their maladies. It was Peter also who excoriated Simon Magus for trying to buy the apostles' power. On another occas...

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

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix released for the first time ever in its history a documentary-style short film that seeks to create awareness of a crisis in masculinity found in today’s society. This is an amazing, powerful, and uplifting short film! This film, titled “A Call to Battle,” is available for viewing in English with Spanish subtitles at http://www.IntoTheBreach.net. Released only a few weeks after the promulgation of Bishop Olmsted’s apostolic exhortation “Into the Breach,” the new short film shows the urgency of the Diocese of Phoenix to confront head on today’s crisis in masculinity. With regards to this crisis highlighted by the film, Michael Phelan, director of the Marriage and Respect Life Office said, “Historical circumstances have periodically devastated families, but we have never seen the disparagement of masculinity and fatherhood, or abandonment of men’s responsibilities that we are seeing now. It calls for an unprecedented response from the Church...

Lesson 1 from Fr. Robert Barron's "The Mystery of God" film and study program. Learn more at http://MysteryOfGod.com . This sample lesson is on "Atheism and What We Mean By 'God'".

By Jean M. Heimann "Harsh rhetoric (of those who oppose gay marriage) will continue because gay activists know the war on America is not over. Only this phase of the battle has been won. They are pushing on to create a new America. Bathing the White House in rainbow colors was just the initial re-branding of the nation. The next step will be changing the understanding of religious liberty. " -- Al Kresta from his YouTube video (See bottom of the page.) "Since same-sex marriage is now recognized as a fundamental human right guaranteed by the Constitution, those who oppose it can only be characterized as bigots animated by an irrational prejudice. To be sure, Justice Kennedy and his colleagues assure us that those who have religious objections to same-sex marriage will be respected, but one wonders how such respect is congruent with the logic of the decision. Would one respect the owners of a business who refuse to hire black people as a matter of principle? Woul...

Today, February 3, we commemorate St. Blaise, a physician and Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia in the 4th century. He lived in a cave on Mount Argeus and was a healer of men and animals. According to legend, sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him at prayer. Agricola, the governor of Cappadocio, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians. His hunters discovered Blaise praying while seeking wild animals for the arena and arrested him as a Christian. Blaise was taken to prison, but on the way there he interceded to God on the behalf of a child who was choking to death on a fish bone. The child was cured, which led to the blessing of throats on Blaise's feast day. Thrown into a lake to drown, Blaise stood on the water's surface and invited his persecutors to walk out and prove the power of their gods; they drowned. When he returned to land, he was martyred by being beaten, his flesh torn with wool combs (which led to his association with an...

The Pontifical Council for Culture studied the role women play in society and in the Church. For a year, several women took part in the research. Now the results will be starting point of a three-day discussion, as this Vatican council will celebrate its Plenary Assembly under the theme  "Women's Cultures: equality and difference.” CARD. GIANFRANCO RAVASI President, Pontifical Council for Culture "We won't discuss women's culture in itself, but rather the way women see it. Women have a specific way of understanding the world that has its own characteristics.” During the three-day meeting, the members of the council will try to track these characteristics. In particular, they will talk about the differences between men and women, and how they can help each other to avoid uniformity. ANNAMARIA TARANTOLA President RAI "Women don't have to imitate the "male model” of doing things. There are two models that together are important. That is, ...

An inspiring video from Chris Stefanick :

To truly listen to women. This is the purpose of a new Vatican campaign titled, Life of Women. It was launched by the Pontifical Council for Culture, to look into the strengths and challenges women face in modern day society. Everything from their faith to simply being a woman. MELCHOR SÁNCHEZ DE TOCA ALAMEDA Secretary Pontifical Council for Culture "It follows Pope Francis' call of recognizing the role of women. It goes even further because it reflects a call of our time, of giving women the role and place they deserve.” The Vatican is calling on women to share their concerns, hopes and experiences by posting a short video or even a picture on social media, under the hashtag, #Lifeofwomen. MELCHOR SÁNCHEZ DE TOCA ALAMEDA Secretary Pontifical Council for Culture "We are seeing a transformation that's having a direct affect on women and culture, so the Council thought that the best way for females to share this experience is through images and story tel...

By Jean M. Heimann Christmas is the origin of Christian evangelization in the world because the primary Eucharistic event of our faith is the birth of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Jesus is God’s Living Word made flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and it is He offers Himself to us Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist. As we gaze upon the Babe in the manger and as we receive Him in Holy Communion, let us be ever aware of our mission to be witnesses to God’s life-giving love in the world. How do we evangelize at Christmas as Catholics? There are thousands of little ways we can share our faith and draw others to the Good News. Here are some of the ways I like to evangelize. Continue Reading.

The liturgical season of Advent begins on the First Sunday in Advent , November 30, 2014, opening a new year in our Church's Calendar. The word Advent is from the Latin adventus, which means "coming" and is associated with the four weeks of preparation for Christmas. Advent blends together a penitential spirit, very similar to Lent, a liturgical theme of preparation for the Second and Final Coming of the Lord, called the Parousia, and a joyful theme of getting ready for the birth of Christ. Advent is a season of waiting, a season filled with hope. Here are ten tips for making this Advent Season a holier one for you and your family: 1. Take the entire family, as often as possible, to daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and to the sacrament of Reconciliation. On days when you are unable to attend Mass, read and reflect on the Scriptures for that day. 2. Use an Advent calendar and/or a wreath to mark this time of preparation. Pray Advent prayers with the fami...

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is a reference book with over 700 pages. Now, thanks to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, it is even more accessible. With this new online version, beyond reading, users will be able to navigate its pages. It has a very clear index, which is available at all times, and also a search engine that can find everything related to a specific topic in a few seconds. It also permits bookmarking pages and even making brief notes. Another novelty is that users can share any page on Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Users can find it in English, as well as Spanish. This online version is the American edition of the Catechism, adapted for Catholics in the United States and approved by the Holy See. - Via Rome Reports.

A beautiful reflection from Fr. James Kubicki:

The memory of those Christians who gave their lives during the Communist persecution in Albania was very present during the meeting of Pope Francis with the Albanian priests and religious people. "Our martyr died crying 'Long live the Pope!' and we also want to cry it out together.” A 84-year-old Albanian priest told Pope Francis how he faced hard labor in a concentration camp for 27 years. A nun who had to live in clandestinity also gave her testimony, and couldn’t help getting emotional when she greeted Pope Francis. The Pope himself set aside his written speech and improvised another one. He made a comment on the Gospel of the day, that talked about the consolation that God brings to his people. For the Pope, the priest and nun that shared their experiences were living examples of martyrdom. He explained how they survived religious persecution. POPE FRANCIS "We can ask them: how did you survive so much suffering? And they will answer what we read on o...

Today, August 27, is the feast of St. Monica, patron saint of mothers and married women. She is a saint I admire so much for her tenacity, patience, and perseverance in prayer for the conversion of her son, St. Augustine. A persistent prayer warrior, Monica never gave up on her son, Augustine, a great sinner, who later became so strongly drawn to the faith that he was eventually canonized, as one of the Church's greatest teachers and philosophers, and was designated a doctor of the Church. St. Monica is a wonderful model for us to follow today. How many of us have family members who have left the Church? I would guess that most of us have at least one or more relatives who are no longer practicing their faith. A Pew Research Study reports that 10% of all Americans are ex-Catholics. How can we encourage these fallen-away Catholics to return to the faith of their childhood? The most effective ways to positively influence our family members to return to their faith are to ...

In a fascinating interview, Colleen Hammond discusses her personal journey to veiling.  She conveys how it relates to modesty, holiness, purity, and femininity.

This project sounds so exciting! Fr. Barron's second documentary will be out soon! Here's the trailer: Father Robert Barron has embarked on his next epic film project, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players. He’s currently traveling through Rome, Florence, Naples, Siena, Avignon, and Paris to film the first two episodes on St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena.

She was young, beautiful, talented, and confident. The 19-year-old had just won the prestigious Eurovision Song Contest that launched her into immediate fame, an exploding pop career, and the promise of every success. Forty-four years ago to this day, the world was her oyster. But Rosemary Scallon, Ireland’s sweetheart best known as Dana, did not let her 1970 win go to her head. Instead of rejecting her Christian faith as she was eagerly embraced by the world, she found herself longing to deepen her relationship with God. Continue reading.