Catholic Fire

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 ...

Today we celebrate the feast of St. William of Paris, also known as St. William of Eskilsoe. William (1105 - 1203) was born in Paris of a noble French family. He was educated by the monks of Saint-Germain-des-Pres under the direction of his Uncle Hugh, the abbot. From there, he was received by the chapter of secular canons of St. Genevieve.  This was already a venerable college of canons, having been founded by King Clovis and St. Choltide in the 6th Century.  But it had grown decadent and in great need of reform. In fact, his fellow canons were so hostile to William and his disciplined way of life that he had to leave and relocate to Epinay, outside of Paris. Pope Eugene III visited the abbey in 1148, discovering its poor state. The reform of St. Genevieve was entrusted to the Canons Regular of St. Victor, who were a relatively new canonical house on the outskirts of Paris, being founded only a few decades earlier.  The prior of St. Victor, Odo, came to St. Genev...

November 18th is the optional memorial of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. Saint Rose was born on August 29, 1769 at Grenoble, France to a family of wealth and political connections. When she was eight years old, she heard a Jesuit missionary speak of his missionary work in America, which sparked a strong desire within her to evangelize. She was educated at home until she was 12 years old, when she was sent to the convent of the Visitation nuns in Grenoble to continue her studies. She joined them when she was 19 without the permission or knowledge of her family. Her convent closed quite abruptly during the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution. She spent the next ten years living as a laywoman, but continued to live as if she were still with her Order. She established a school for poor children, cared for the sick and hid priests from the Revolutionaries. When the Reign of Terror ended, she reclaimed her convent and attempted to reestablish it with a small group of sisters. How...

By Jean M. Heimann On Wednesday, November 12, the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Josaphat, a Ukrainian Basilian monk. The saint’s birth occurred during a grim period for the Ruthenian Church. At the beginning of the sixteenth century the Ruthenian Church, suffered greatly following its severance from Rome, and the entire body of its clergy became notorious for their ignorance and brutality. After the Union of Berest in 1596, the Ruthenian Church was divided into two opposing parties – the Uniates and those who persisted in schism – each with its own hierarchy. Josaphat is known for being one of the victims of this schism. St. Josaphat was born in the Ukraine of Ruthenian Orthodox parents about the year 1580 and was given the name John at baptism. His parents raised him to live a holy life. He applied himself with great zeal to his religious studies and to his prayer life – learning the breviary and reciting it from a young age. He also developed relationships with men of...

Today we celebrate the feast of St Martin de Porres, the first black American Saint. He was born in Lima, Peru in 1579, the son of a Spanish aristocrat and a freed black slave woman from Panama. His father was repulsed by the darkness of his son's skin at birth and deserted him. At age 12, Martin was apprenticed to a "surgeon," at that time a combination of barber, druggist, physician and surgeon. Once trained, he began to use his skills to serve the poor. Martin was a pious child, who began praying at a young age. He had a deep devotion to our Lord’s Passion, and prayed for discernment to know how he could show his gratitude to God for this great sacrifice. He believed that God was calling to serve as a religious. At fifteen, he became a lay brother at the Dominican Friary in Lima, where he worked as a barber, a farm laborer, a clothier, and a care-giver for the sick. Each day Martin distributed food to the hungry, he nursed the sick, and he helped to found an or...

WASHINGTON (CNS)- For the second year in a row, the U.S. Catholic bishops are sponsoring “Nine Days for Life: Prayer, Penance and Pilgrimage,” planned for Jan. 18-26 this year, as part of several events marking the 41st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion virtually on demand in the U.S. “Since that tragic decision, more than 55 million children’s lives have been lost to abortion, and many suffer that loss - often in silence,” says a posting on the website www.9daysforlife.com . Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston, chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, said Jan. 15 that the number of abortions since the 1973 decision reflects “with heartbreaking magnitude” what Pope Francis means by a “throwaway culture.” “Yet our society relegates abortion to a matter of personal choice, often denying the integrity and even the recognition of the personhood of unborn children,” he said in a statement. “However, we have great trust in God’s ...

As he celebrated Mass for a congregation of over 45,000 people in a Washington baseball stadium, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the virtue of hope-- the subject of his encyclical Spe Salvi-- and the call to repentance and conversion. Greeted by thunderous applause when he arrived at Nationals Park, the Pope presided at a liturgical celebration that featured music drawn from a wide variety of sources, prompting one television commentator to describe the liturgy as "consciously multicultural." In his homily the Pontiff observed that the American people have always valued the virtue of hope, preserving their confidence even in times of trial. That confidence is tested today, he said, as "we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations" of our culture. He exhorted Christians to approach this crisis with a firm reliance on the power of faith. In the Christian understanding, the Pope said, hope is based on the realization that Christ has brought man the...

Examination of Conscience by Father Robert Altier -- based on the Ten Commandments Examination of Conscience by Father John Hardon -- based on the Theological Virtues Examination of Conscience for Teens Examination of Conscience for Children How to go to Confession The Sacrament of Penance (also known as "Confession" or "Reconciliation")