Catholic Fire

St. Bibiana (on the right) The saint of the day for December 2 is St. Bibiana (Vivian), who was born in the 4th century in Rome. St. Bibiana was known for her beauty, her modesty, and her chastity. In the year 363, Julian the Apostate made Apronianus Governor of Rome. St. Bibiana suffered in the persecution started by him. She was the daughter of Christians, Flavian, a Roman knight, and Dafrosa, his wife. Flavian was tortured and sent into exile, where he died of his wounds. Dafrosa was beheaded, and their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and left to suffer poverty. However, they remained in their house, spending their time in fasting and prayer. Apronianus, seeing that hunger and want had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her Faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. St. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored to sed...

St. Bibiana (on the right) The saint of the day for December 2 is St. Bibiana (Vivian), who was born in the 4th century in Rome. St. Bibiana was known for her beauty, her modesty, and her chastity. In the year 363, Julian the Apostate made Apronianus Governor of Rome. St. Bibiana suffered in the persecution started by him. She was the daughter of Christians, Flavian, a Roman knight, and Dafrosa, his wife. Flavian was tortured and sent into exile, where he died of his wounds. Dafrosa was beheaded, and their two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria, were stripped of their possessions and left to suffer poverty. However, they remained in their house, spending their time in fasting and prayer. Apronianus, seeing that hunger and want had no effect upon them, summoned them. Demetria, after confessing her Faith, fell dead at the feet of the tyrant. St. Bibiana was reserved for greater sufferings. She was placed in the hands of a wicked woman called Rufina, who in vain endeavored to s...

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

Modest Swimsuits are all the rage now ! Why? Watch this amazing video! Jessica Rey Swimsuits Other Modest Swimsuits Divinta Sole Land's End Simply Modest

I hope that modern brides will be imitating  Princess Madeleine of Sweden, age 30, in her modest taste of wedding gowns. What a beautiful princess she is! The Washington Post has the story and more wedding photos here . Image Source

Modesty of Dress and the Love of God: An Effective Way to Defend the Family

Interview: Living the Virtue of Modesty through Dress and Thought

Written by Richard Wetzel, M.D. Published by Sex Education for Advanced Beginners, Inc. Publication Date: 2009 222 pages “The world needed a sexual revolution, but got the wrong one. We needed the one based on truth and love, the one Pope John Paul II presented in The Theology of the Body. Instead, we got one based on lies, pleasure, and freedom, which has turned into a hideous monster of a revolution marred by rampant diseases, death, divorce, abortions, sexual enslavement, etc., which is sweeping away hopelessly ignorant young people in droves and robbing them of the awesome potential of an authentic relationship with Jesus Christ.” These are the words of Richard Wetzel, M.D. in his new book, Sexual Wisdom for Catholic Adolescents , which was written specifically to address the catastrophic crisis in Catholic sexuality education today. In Sexual Wisdom for Catholic Adolescents , Dr. Wetzel, a devout Catholic physician, who has been a chastity educator for the last 20 years, provides...

Martyr for Purity Patron Saint of Youth, Young Women, Purity and Victims of Rape Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Coranaldo in the province of Ancona in Italy, the third of seven children of Assunta and Luigi Goretti. When Maria was six, her father, realizing he could not support his growing family on the barren countryside, took them south to a village near Anzio, believing that in the rich, warm farmlands of the Mediterranean he would find a more prosperous living and a make a better life for his family. Luigi was a hard worker, but suffering from malaria, typhus, meningitis and pneumonia, he died in 1900, leaving his family penniless. Maria, now a child of ten, was doing the work of a grown woman . Maria impressed everyone with her radiant purity. She was naturally pious, kind, and helpful. She was also outstandingly beautiful . In 1902, at age twelve, Maria was attacked by the 19-year-old farm hand Alessandro Serenelli. He tried to rape her but she resisted and foug...

You'll love this one! H/T: Marcel at Aggie Catholics.

Some false and pernicious ideas on immodest dress prevail in the world and lead into error souls desirous to do right. Remember, therefore, it matters not how many others sin, yours can never be justified before God, and where it is fashionable to sin it is likewise the fashion to go to hell. The choice is always yours to make. ~ St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church

Modesty Gains Currency at Fashion Week NEW YORK (AP) — If the world needs another sign that Britney Spears' look is yesterday's news, check out New York Fashion Week. Gone are the skin-centric, tummy-revealing and possibly private part-exposing trends that Spears and friends like Paris Hilton made ubiquitous. Instead, designers are embracing modesty, using sheer fabrics and lingerie looks to subtly hint at sexiness. It's an extension of the ladylike trends for fall; designers seem to have made the collective decision that a lot of skin isn't in. On Tuesday, Monique Lhuillier presented sophisticated, fluid looks that celebrate a woman's shape without squeezing it. Carmen Marc Valvo showed tasteful swimwear with plenty of coverage, flattering pintucks and low leg openings. Even pantyhose made a comeback over the weekend at the Derek Lam show. [More] For a look at more fashions. go here . The Oscar de Renta and the Monique Lhuillier fashions appeared to be, for the mo...

The lovely Marie has written a piece on her blog Big is Beautiful on Pure Fashion where modesty is promoted when modeling. A Celebration of Style and Virtue As Marie wrote: Teenagers also need help in accepting that they are beautiful no matter their size. On this site the models represent all sizes whether they be slim or curvaceous, mainly because their objective is to promote self esteem and to show that no matter what size you are, you can look fantastic. I also believe that when you promote self-respect, you promote self-esteem. Modesty builds self - respect, which lessens the chances of a woman being manipulated and used by others - particularly those of the opposite sex - and it sends out the message to others that she is a decent person, not someone who uses others for her own selfish purposes. Via Esther.

Via Dawn Eden : A friend notes the following in a recent Philadelphia Inquirer article where a reporter quizzed men about their opinions on women's fashions: Anything too tight (cut down on the cleavage, girls) and lots of makeup made the list, too. But we think the guys who said that were trying to be politically correct. After all, we've all seen the heads turn when a girl in clinging britches walks by. Note the fundamental disconnect between the reporter's expectations and the men's answers. The reporter assumes that because men look at women who show cleavage and wear tight clothes, men find those women more attractive than women who dress modestly. Her assumption is that men only want what (never mind who) makes them stare. [Read more here.] My Comments: Interesting: Capris top the hate list and men love dresses . The majority of men are going to look at a woman who is scantily dressed - that's normal, but that doesn't mean they like women who dress that w...

Maria Goretti was born on October 16, 1890, in Coranaldo in the province of Ancona in Italy, the third of seven children of Assunta and Luigi Goretti. When Maria was six, her father, realizing he could not support his growing family on the barren countryside, took them south, toward Rome, to a village near Anzio, believing that in the rich, warm farmlands of the Mediterranean he would find a more prosperous living and a make a better life for his family. In order to make ends meet, Maria’s father entered into partnership with a man called Serenelli, and shared a house with him and his two sons, one of whom was called Alessandro. Luigi was a hard worker, but suffering from malaria, typhus, meningitis and pneumonia, he died in 1900, leaving his family peniless. Maria, now a child of ten, was doing the work of a grown woman, suffering hunger and mortification daily. Maria impressed everyone with her radiant purity. She was naturally pious, kind, and helpful. She was also outstandingly bea...

"One can not sufficiently deplore the blindness of so many women of every age and station. Made foolish by a desire to please, they do not see to what degree the indecency of their clothing shocks every honest man and offends God. Most of them would formerly have blushed for such apparel as for a grave fault against Christian modesty . Now it does not suffice to exhibit themselves on public thoroughfares; they do not fear to cross the threshold of churches, to assist at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and even to bear the seducing food of shameful passions to the Eucharistic Table, where one receives the Heavenly Author of Purity." ~ Pope Benedict XV

NEW YORK, March 6, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Addressing violence against women and girls must go beyond mere policy changes to look at the root reasons for the devaluing of women, stated the Vatican delegation to the 51st session of the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN March 2. "The promotion of women will be achieved not only by the legitimate vindication of women's rights," the delegation stated. "With that there must also be established a fresh appreciation of authentically feminine values in the heart of our societies." The session is considering the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly entitled '"Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century:' Implementation of strategic objectives and action in the critical areas of concern and further actions and initiatives: The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence agai...

( CNA ).- Students across the United States and around the world will be celebrating St. Valentine's Day by educating their peers on the value of sexual purity. Leading up to Feb. 14th, which doubles as the Fourth Annual Day of Purity, young people are promoting the choice of purity by distributing flyers, wearing Day of Purity T-shirts and LivePure wristbands, and organizing events in their schools, communities and churches. The Day of Purity, an international project of Liberty Counsel, is designed to raise awareness about the dangers of promiscuous behavior, to promote abstinence and to inform young people who have already engaged in sexual activity, that it is possible to make a fresh start and to practice abstinence. More than three million U.S. teens are infected each year with sexually transmitted diseases, and the country has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries. In addition, 20 percent of the annual 1.3 million abortions in the U.S. are performed on ...