Catholic Fire

October 4th is the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, “the little beggar”, who is perhaps the most popular saint in history. Francis Bernardone was born in 1182 in Assisi, Italy. His baptismal name was John, but his father renamed him Franceso, in honor of his love for France. The son of a wealthy merchant, Francis had time and money to host lavish banquets for young nobles who proclaimed him "King of Feasts." Parties and selling cloth left Francis little time for God. A handsome, charming and educated young man, he spent his early life leading young nobles to parties. He dreamed of knighthood and longed for the adventurous life of chivalry. In pursuit of that dream, he joined in the war between Assisi and Perugia at the age of 20. In that war, Francis fought with youthful enthusiasm, but was wounded and taken prisoner. Spending the next year in a dungeon, he contracted malaria. Ransomed by his father, a more reflective Francis returned to Assisi. Sickness overtook h...

August 23 is the feast of St. Rose of Lima, virgin, who became known for both her piety and her care of the poor. She is the patron saint of embroiderers, florists, gardeners, people ridiculed for their piety, and those who suffer from family problems. Isabella Flores de Oliva was born April 20, 1586 to a family of educated, but impoverished Spanish immigrants in Lima, Peru. At her confirmation, she took the name of Rose, because as an infant, her face had been seen as transformed into a mystical rose. She was pious from an early age. At age five, she built a small chapel for herself in the family garden. When she made her first Confession, she obtained permission from her confessor to make a vow of virginity. Rose had a strong devotion for Jesus and His Holy Mother and spent long hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. With St. Catherine of Siena as her model, Rose fasted three times a week, offered up severe penances, and when her vanity was attacked, she cut of...

This Thanksgiving I am thankful for being alive. Thank you, Lord, for the gift of life! Thank you for creating me in your image and likeness, Lord. Thank you for my body, which allows me to serve you daily through the tasks I perform for my family, my parish, and my community. Thank you for the opportunity to exercise every weekday (and occasionally on weekends) at my gym. Thank you, Lord, for my health. Thank you for the amazing food choices I have each day and the delicious and nutritious meals that I am able to prepare. Thank you, Lord, for blessing me not only with the ability to cook, but also with the enjoyment it brings to others, especially those I love. I am thankful for my mind, which despite my age (ha!), remains active and interested in many things. I am thankful that I am able to focus, to reason, to retain information, and am still learning new things every day. Thank you, Lord, that I know who you are and that each new day provides an opportunity f...

“Your birth, O Blessed Virgin Mary, fills the whole world with a sweet consolation and a holy joy, because of you was born our Jesus, our God, who has taken away from us the curse in which we were plunged by the sin of our first parents, and filled us with all kinds of blessings.”  ~ St. John Vianney The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of September 8, nine months after the December 8 celebration of her Immaculate Conception as the child of Saints Joachim and Anne. History of this feast day The feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the oldest of the Marian solemnities, was mentioned by the Church Fathers in the early fifth century.  Like other Marian feasts, it began to be celebrated at the local level without any major solemnity. As the feast began to spread throughout the Byzantine world in the sixth and seventh century, it was celebrated with greater solemnity. The solemnity of the fe...

July 31 is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, and founder of the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius of Loyola was born in 1491 in the Basque Country of Northern Spain to parents of distinguished families in that area. He was the youngest of 13 children and was called was called Iñigo. At the age of 15, he served as a page in the court of a local nobleman and later embraced a military career and became a valiant soldier. Wounded in battle by a cannonball, which broke one leg and injured the other, he was taken prisoner by the French, who set his leg and eventually allowed him to go home to Loyola. He spent his time recuperating at the home of his brother. Confined to his sick bed , he was given pious books to read, which he grudgingly accepted. To his surprise, he enjoyed them and began to dream of becoming a "knight for Christ", pursuing the ideals of St. Francis and St. Dominic. He eventually promised to devote his life to being a knight for St. Peter if he ...

Prayer for the Intercession of John Paul II O Blessed Trinity, We thank You for having graced the Church with Pope John Paul II and for allowing the tenderness of your Fatherly care, the glory of the cross of Christ, and the splendor of the Holy Spirit, to shine through him. Trusting fully in Your infinite mercy and in the maternal intercession of Mary, he has given us a living image of Jesus the Good Shepherd and has shown us that holiness is the necessary measure of ordinary Christian life and is the way of achieving eternal communion with you. Grant us, by his intercession, and according to Your will, the graces we implore, hoping that he will soon be numbered among your saints. Amen. Litany to the Venerable Blessed John Paul II Kyrie eleison Christe eleison Kyrie eleison Christ hear us, Christ graciously hear us God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us Holy Trinity,...

Guiseppe Sarto was born June 2, 1835, the second of ten children born to a poor family in the village of Riese, Province of Treviso, near Venice. His mother, Margherita Sanson, was a seamstress. His father, Giovanni Sarto, who was a cobbler by trade, as well as the caretaker of the city hall and the town's postmaster, passed away when Gisueppe was 16. Gisueppe entered the seminary at the age of 15 and was ordained at the age of 23. For nine years, he served as chaplain at Tombolo, having to assume most of the functions of parish priest, as the pastor was old and in poor health. He sought to prefect his knowledge of theology by studying Saint Thomas and canon law. He established a night school for adults, and devoted himself to pastoral ministry for 17 years. He became the bishop of Mantua, cardinal patriarch of Venice, and Pope in 1903. As Pope, he took as the motto of his reign "to renew all things in Christ." Referred to as the "Pope of the Eucharist", he advo...

To recite some beautiful prayers and listen to the Ave Maria, click here. To recite The Litany to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, go here. To make an act of consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary go here . The Alliance of the Two Hearts and Consecration by Monsignor Arthur B. Calkins. Related Posts: The Solemnity of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus U.S. BISHOPS RENEW CONSECRATION OF OUR NATION TO THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY TODAY