Catholic Fire

September 15 marks the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. This title was given to our Blessed Mother due to the intense suffering and tremendous sorrow she experienced during the passion and death of her Son. She was indeed a co-redeemer with Christ due to the terrible pain she endured.  Traditionally and in Scripture readings, her suffering was not limited to the passion and death event; rather, it consisted of the seven dolors or seven sorrows of Mary, which were prophesied by the priest, Simeon in Luke 2: 34-35. There Simeon announced: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." Today, we are called to reflect on the seven great sorrows, which Mary lived in relation to her Son, as they are recorded in the Gospels or through tradition. The Seven Sorrows are: The prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35) The f...

On Thursday, we celebrated the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary , and on Monday, we will be celebrating the feast of her Holy Name . She has given us so much! She has given us the gift of her maternal love. God calls all of us to be gift-bearers and to share the love that Our Mother has given us, through her virtues of humility, charity, purity, and obedience to God's will. 1. Pray a Litany to her.  The Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Name of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to instill in us how valuable and beneficial it is for us to invoke her holy name in all our needs. The name Mary means “Star of the Sea.” Like the stars in the sky, she reflects the light of Christ and illuminates the way for us along dark paths. She protects us from evil and guides us safely home.  St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, wrote: “As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary.”  As “Star of the Sea”, Mary ...

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 Immaculate Virgin…invites us not to fix our eyes on her but to pass beyond, and as much as possible, to enter into the mystery in which she was conceived: the mystery of God who is One and Three, full of grace and fidelity.”  ~ Pope St. John Paul II 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. ...

August 22, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis has displayed a special devotion to the Virgin Mary, over the course of his first six months as Pope. That includes his visit to the Aparecida Shrine during WYD in Rio. But there's another German advocation that he has shows fondness to, Mary Untier of Knots. MSGR. EDUARDO GARCIA Auxiliary Bishop of Buenos Aires “It's a German advocation, and that same face full of surprise, we placed it in Argentina when he first enthroned a depiction at a parish. Mary Untier of the Knots is Our Lady who unties all problems in life, and frees us from the deceptions the Devil bounds us to.” Pope Francis discovered this Marian advocation when he lived in Germany in the 1980's, while he researched the works of theologian Romano Guardini. He was drawn to the significance of Mary Untier of Knots so much that when he returned home he promoted her devotion. Today, the image is worshiped by thousands in Argentina. MSGR. EDUARDO GARCIA ...

Totus Tuus Totus tuus ego sum, et omnia meatua sunt, O Virgo, super omnia benedicta. Translates as: I am all yours, and all that is mine is yours, O Virgin, blessed above all. Louis de Montfort's life is inseparable from his efforts to promote genuine devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus and mother of the church. Totus tuus was Louis's personal motto; Karol Wojtyla (Pope John Paul the Great) chose it as his episcopal motto. Born to a poor family in 1673 in the Breton village of Montfort, as an adult, Louis identified himself by the place of his baptism instead of his family name, Grignion. After being educated by the Jesuits and the Sulpicians, he was ordained as a diocesan priest in 1700. He preached parish missions throughout western France, walking from city to city. His years of ministering to the poor prompted him to travel and live very simply, sometimes getting him into trouble with church authorities. In his preaching, which attracted thousands of people back to t...

Via Esther. What is your favourite image of Our Lady? Wow, there are so many to choose from, but I have always loved Our Lady of Lourdes and Our Lady of Grace. What is your favourite Marian feast? The Feast of the Immaculate Conception What is your favourite Marian hymn/anthem? I have lots of them but my favorite is Ave Maria. I also like Salve Regina a lot. What is your favourite Marian place of pilgrimage? I haven't been on a Marian pilgrimage yet, but would love to go to Lourdes and the other apparition sites in France, as well as Guadalupe. I would also like to go to Medjugore. What is your favourite Marian devotion? The Holy Rosary is my favorite Marian Devotion when it is prayed in a contemplative manner, reverently and slowly, while meditating on the mysteries. I don't like rushing through the rosary. Anyone who is reading this and loves the Blessed Mother is tagged. Related Post: A Pictorial Tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary