Catholic Fire

November 19, is the feast of Saint Agnes of Assisi (Catarina di Favarone) according to the Franciscan calendar.  She is the younger of sister of Saint Clare of Assisi, and Abbess of the Poor Ladies of Assisi, and co-foundress of the Poor Clares.  Born in Assisi, Catarina was the youngest daughter of Count Favorino Scifi and Countess Hortulana (now Blessed). Catarina was later named Agnes by St. Francis of Assisi when she became a nun. Catarina was a beautiful girl who was gentle, prayerful, and kind. On March 18, 1212, Clare renounced her inheritance and family and founded the Poor Clares, the Franciscan cloistered Order. Catarina joined her sixteen days later at the Benedictine cloister of St. Angelo in Panso, where they received their initial training. Her father, Count Favorino, sent knights to carry her away.  They tried to drag her out of the monastery, kicking and striking her, but all of a sudden her body became so heavy that several of the men could n...

By Jean M. Heimann June 13th is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. With it being so close to Father's Day, my dad has been on my mind, so I thought I would re-post this popular post I wrote last year and updated this year. Whenever I think of my father, who passed on to eternal life 16 years ago, I am reminded of St. Anthony of Padua.  My dad introduced me to this powerful intercessor, to whom he was deeply devoted, inviting me to pray the novena prayers with him shortly before he died.  Although he was eighty years old and was suffering from an aggressive cancer, dad was able to recite the prayers from memory. He prayed often for the conversion of his family and for many other intentions, He gave me a copy of the novena prayers and encouraged me to pray it on my own. While I had always invoked St. Anthony of Padua for objects I seemed to be consistently misplacing, I never realized until then what a great saint he was and what a miracle-worker he was. I now pray daily...

The saint of the day for February 19 is St. Conrad of Piacenza (1290-1350), a friar and hermit celebrated for his piety and miraculous cures at Noto in Sicily. Conrad was born into a noble family in northern Italy. He married the daughter of a nobleman, Euphrosyne. One day, while he was hunting, Conrad ordered his attendants to make a fire. The wind carried the flames, which set fire to nearby fields, forests, towns and villages. Upon seeing this, Conrad ran away in fear. Because he ran, an innocent man was convicted for spreading the fire and was condemned to death as punishment. Upon hearing of this, Conrad stepped forth to accept the blame, saving the innocent man's life. He paid for the damaged property and he and his wife gave everything they owned to the poor in recompense. Conrad then left to join a group of Franciscan hermits, and his wife joined the Poor Clares. Word eventually spread of Conrad's holiness, piety and gift of healing. When many visitors...

Today, June 13th is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. Since he is one of my favorite saints, I have written a special post about him, which you can read here.

The saint of the day for March 5 is St. John Joseph of the Cross . Self-denial is never an end in itself but is only a help toward greater charity—as the life of Saint John Joseph shows. John Joseph was very ascetic even as a young man. He devoted himself even at his youngest years to a life of poverty and fasting. At 16 he joined the Franciscans in Naples; he was the first Italian to follow the reform movement of Saint Peter Alcantara. John’s reputation for holiness prompted his superiors to put him in charge of establishing a new friary even before he was ordained. Obedience moved John to accept appointments as novice master, guardian and, finally, provincial. His years of mortification enabled him to offer these services to the friars with great charity. As guardian, he saw himslef with no higher priveledge and insisted on working in the kitchen or carrying the wood and water needed by the friars. When his term as provincial expired, John Joseph dedicated himself to hear...

The saint of the day for February 19 is St. Conrad of Piacenza (1290-1350), a friar and hermit celebrated for his piety and miraculous cures at Noto in Sicily. Conrad was born into a noble family in northern Italy. He married the daughter of a nobleman, Euphrosyne. One day, while he was hunting, Conrad ordered his attendants to make a fire. The wind carried the flames, which set fire to nearby fields, forests, towns and villages. Upon seeing this, Conrad ran away in fear. Because he ran, an innocent man was convicted for spreading the fire and was condemned to death as punishment. Upon hearing of this, Conrad stepped forth to accept the blame, saving the innocent man's life. He paid for the damaged property and he and his wife gave everything they owned to the poor in recompense. Conrad then left to join a group of Franciscan hermits, and his wife joined the Poor Clares. Word eventually spread of Conrad's holiness, piety and gift of healing. When many visitors ...

The saint of the day for February 16 is St. Filippa Mareri. Filippa Mareri (c. 1190-1236) was born to a noble family in their castle in Cicolano, an inland area in the province of Rieti, Italy. Inspired by St. Clare of Assisi, Filippa was a cultured woman who left a life of luxury and wealth behind  in order to embrace a life of holiness and poverty. When her family (particularly her brother Thomas) disapproved, she ran away with like-minded companions, and took refuge in a nearby mountain cave, now as the Holy Grotto of Filippa. After several months, Thomas asked her forgiveness and  donated property to the community. He gave them an abandoned monastery named after St. Peter. St. Francis of Assisi assigned Blessed Roger of Todi, to provide spiritual direction to this group of consecrated women. The community subsequently adapted a rule modeled upon that of the Poor Clares, which was confirmed by the Roman Curia. The women spent much of their time in prayer and penance...

The saint of the day for February 4 is St. Joseph of Leonissa , OFM Cap. He was the third of eight children born at Leonessa (Italy) on January 8, 1556. At baptism he was given the name Eufranio. Impressed by the example of Matthew Silvestri, who had left the medical profession to embrace the Capuchin life and whose holiness was evident, Eufranio was inspired to become a Capuchin.  After overcoming family opposition, he was admitted to the novitiate and received the habit and the name Joseph and made profession on January 8, 1573. On May 21, 1581, the Capuchin general vicar issued patents for preaching, the ministry in which Joseph would be engaged for the remainder of his life. Relying solely on grace and with a mission crucifix always tucked in his cincture, Joseph negotiated the most obscure, mountainous regions of Umbria, Lazio and the Abruzzi in an intense and extensive mission of evangelization among those who were poor. Joseph enjoyed such great success in preach...

A native of Assisi, Italy, Giles was one of the earliest followers of St. Francis, from whom he received the habit in 1208. He accompanied Francis on many of his missions around Assisi, made a pilgrimage to Compostela, visited Rome and the Holy Land, and then made an unsuccessful visit to Tunis to convert the Saracens. The Christians in Tunis, fearful of the repercussions of his religious fervor, forced him back on a boat as soon as he landed. He spent the rest of his life living in Italy, living from about 1243 at the Monte Rapido hermitage on the outskirts of Perugia, where he died in 1263. He experienced ecstacies, had a vision of Christ at Cetona, and is considered the most perfect example of the primitive Franciscan. He is spoken of at length in "The Little Flowers of St. Francis" and Francis called him his "Knight of the round table." Known for his austerity and silence, his "The Golden Sayings of Brother Giles" is noted for its humor, deep under...