Catholic Fire

Today is the feast of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905 - 1938), a Polish nun who was chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love, the devotion to Divine Mercy. Helena Kowalska was born in a small village in west-central Poland, the third of 10 children. She worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. During her 13 years in various houses, she was employed as a cook, gardener, and porter. In the 1930's, Sister Faustina grew in holiness and developed a mystical interior life.  During her time at the convent, Sister Faustina was blessed with many spiritual gifts, including: visions, prophecy, the stigmata, bi-location, the ability to read human hearts, and mystical marriage. Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world.  She was asked to become the apostle and secretary of God's mercy, a model of how to ...

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.

1. Spring is my favorite season. It speaks of new life. To enjoy the beauty of spring, my dear husband Bill and I visited the Botanical Gardens in Wichita. Here are just a few of the living, growing things we saw there: 2. Here is "Granny Jean", about to visit her Tree House in the children's section of Botanica: As you can tell, it was a windy day, but the temperature was comfortable. 3.  I hope you have been praying the Divine Mercy Novena with me. Bill and I will be making our Divine Mercy consecration this Divine Mercy Sunday, based on Fr. Gaitley's excellent book, 33 Days to Merciful Love. 4.  This coming Sunday, March 27 is Divine Mercy Sunday, a very important day. Matthew Coffin at Big C Catholics writes about the great graces we can receive on this day, as well as the plenary indulgence that we can attain in this Jubilee Year of Mercy. 5. Mother Angelica has been a big influence on me over the years in ...

The Divine Mercy novena is prayed between Good Friday and the Sunday of Divine Mercy, which is the Sunday following Easter. Those praying the novena are to pray for the special intentions of each day followed by the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. St. Faustina wrote that Jesus told her, “On each day of the novena you will bring to My heart a different group of souls and you will immerse them in this ocean of My mercy … On each day you will beg My Father, on the strength of My passion, for the graces for these souls.” (Diary of Faustina, 1209) Special intentions for souls during the Divine Mercy Novena: Day 1 (Good Friday) — All mankind, especially sinners Day 2 (Holy Saturday) — The souls of priests and religious Day 3 (Easter Sunday) — All devout and faithful souls Day 4 (Easter Monday) — Those who do not believe in Jesus and those who do not yet know Him Day 5 (Easter Tuesday) — The souls of separated brethren Day 6 (Easter Wednesday) — The meek and humble souls and th...

1. My favorite book for this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy thus far is 7 Secrets of Divine Mercy by Vinny Flynn. Flynn is the author of other 7 Secrets books, (7 Secrets of the Eucharist and 7 Secrets of Confession), but I agree with him when he admits that this is the book he should have written first. It is a remarkable book that will open up your heart and your mind to the mysteries of Divine Mercy.  If you think you know just about all there is about Divine Mercy, you will be astounded to learn that there is so much more to know. Vinny Flynn is the perfect person to tell you about it. He has contemplated the mystery of Divine Mercy for thirty-five years and has worked with Divine Mercy experts Fr. Seraphim Michalenko and Fr. George Kosciki, to train many of the current speakers on this timely topic. He edited the official English version of the Diary of St. Faustina, and for twenty years has been singing the Chaplet of Divine Mercy with his family on EWTN. Flynn...

Today, October 14, we commemorate St. Callistus I, who was a slave, a convict, pope, and martyr. The saint caused a major controversy, including a schism that lasted almost two decades, by choosing to emphasize God's mercy toward sinners. However, it was this enduring aspect of his leadership, as well as his martyrdom, that has confirmed his holiness. St. Callistus (martyred c.222) was once a young slave in Rome, who got into serious trouble. He was put in charge of his master’s bank account, but mishandled his money, and lost a large sum. Out of fear, he ran away, but was caught, put in chains, and was sentenced to do hard labor in the city. Later on, he became involved in a riot in a local synagogue and was sent to the mines of Sardinia. When, at Pope Victor’s request, the emperor freed all the Christians who had been condemned to those mines, Callistus was freed, too. From that time on, things began to improve for him. Pope St. Zephrinus (119-217) came to know and trust...

Today is the feast of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska (1905 - 1938), a Polish nun who was chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love, the devotion to Divine Mercy. Helena Kowalska was born in a small village in west-central Poland, the third of 10 children. She worked as a housekeeper in three cities before joining the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy in 1925. During her 13 years in various houses, she worked as a cook, gardener, and porter. In the 1930's, Sister Faustina grew in holiness and developed a mystical interior life.  During her time at the convent, Sister Faustina was blessed with many graces, including visions, revelations, wounds of the stigmata, sharing in the Passion of the Lord, bilocation, the ability to read of human souls, prophecy, mystical engagement, and mystical marriage. Sister Faustina received from the Lord a message of mercy that she was told to spread throughout the world.  She was asked to becom...

Divine Mercy Novena Prayers First Day of the Divine Mercy Novena Intention: Today bring to Me ALL MANKIND, ESPECIALLY ALL SINNERS, and immerse them in the ocean of My mercy. In this way you will console Me in the bitter grief into which the loss of souls plunges Me. Novena Prayers: Most Merciful Jesus, whose very nature it is to have compassion on us and to forgive us, do not look upon our sins but upon our trust which we place in Your infinite goodness. Receive us all into the abode of Your Most Compassionate Heart, and never let us escape from It. We beg this of You by Your love which unites You to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon all mankind and especially upon poor sinners, all enfolded in the Most Compassionate Heart of Jesus. For the sake of His sorrowful Passion show us Your mercy, that we may praise the omnipotence of Your mercy for ever and ever. Amen. Divine Mercy Chaplet Second Day of the Divine Mercy Novena ...

Vatican City, 3 July 2014 (VIS) – In a press conference held this morning the metropolitan archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, presented the logo and official prayer for the 31st World Youth Day. Three elements are combined in the symbolism of the logo: the place, the main protagonists, and the theme of the celebration. The logo of the 2016 World Youth Day, to be held in Krakow , illustrates the passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, 5.7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”, chosen as the theme of the event. The image is composed of a geographical outline of Poland, in which there is a Cross, symbol of Christ Who is the soul of World Youth Day. The yellow circle marks the position of Krakow on the map of Poland and is also a symbol of youth. The flame of Divine Mercy emerges from the Cross, and its colors recall the image “Jesus, I trust in you”. The colours used in the logo – blue, red and yellow – are the official colours of Krakow and...

April 8, 2013. ( Romereports.com ) Twenty six days after being elected, Pope Francis visited the Basilica of St. John Lateran, to celebrate his 'installation' Mass as the bishop of Rome. Thousands of people gathered outside to catch a glimpse. The Pope greeted them, as he made his way in a jeep. He then inaugurated the John Paul II Square, by unveiling a white stone with the name of the Polish Pope. Also there, was Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno. At the entrance, Cardinal Agostino Vallini, who serves as the Vicar for the Diocese of Rome, welcomed the Pope. He kissed the crucifix and blessed the Basilica with Holy Water. As he made his way to the altar, he stopped along the way to bless and greet the sick. Since the day marked the second Sunday of Easter, during his homily, the Pope spoke about God's patience. POPE FRANCIS “This is God's way: He's not impatient like us, who often want things immediately, and from people too. God is patient with us bec...

Today is the optional memorial of St. Faustina Kowalska (1905 - 1938), a Polish nun who was chosen by Jesus to remind the world of the mystery of God's merciful love, the devotion to Divine Mercy. Saint Faustina was born Helena Kowalska in a small village west of Lodz, Poland on August 25, 1905. She was the third of ten children. When she was 15 years old, she quit school in order to work as a housekeeper to help support her family. By the time she was 18, she was sure that God was calling her to a religious life, but her parents objected. So she tried to put it out of her mind. But one night, while at a village dance, Helena saw Jesus, sad and suffering. The very next day she packed a small bag and went to the capital city of Warsaw to join the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy, whose members devote themselves to the care and education of troubled young women. The following year she received her religious habit and was given the name Sister Maria Faustina, to which she added, ...

CNS: During Alpine prayer service, pope says real power is love, mercy

A beautiful song about Divine Mercy:

On Divine Mercy Sunday (April 19th), CatholicTV will show special programming in honor of God’s Divine Mercy. The programming will include a show explaining the history and significance of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, a recitation of the Chaplet, and songs by artist Angelina Davis of Louisiana. Her performance was taped in Poland, where Jesus revealed his message of Divine Mercy to St. Faustina. The special programming will begin at 2:30PM (all times Eastern) with “The Message of Divine Mercy” which is hosted by Dr. Vincent Baratta from Windham, NY. Dr. Baratta was an average physician who wrote a prayer card about the Rosary for his own use. He showed the card to Msgr. Charles Brown who previously worked in the Vatican under Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. Msgr. Brown suggested that the prayer card be shown to Archbishop Edwin O’Brien. The Archbishop believed Rosary prayer cards would be very helpful in teaching and evangelizing armed forces personnel. After this, Dr. Bara...

Highlights of the 2008 Life Chain in Medford, Oregon set to music.