Catholic Fire

Bishop Barron's powerful talk at the 2016 World Youth Day "Night of Mercy" event, hosted by the Knights of Columbus, on July 27, 2016. Over 25,000 young people were present at the Tauron Arena in Kraków, Poland.

Today is the historical feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (The Black Madonna). The Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist; and it was while painting the picture, Mary told him about the life of Jesus, which he later incorporated into his gospel. The next time we hear of the painting is in 326 A.D. when St. Helen found it in Jerusalem and gave it to her son and had a shrine built for it in Constantinople. During a battle, the picture was placed on the walls of the city, and the enemy army fled. Our Lady saved the city from destruction. The picture was owned by many other people until 1382, when invading Tartars attacked a Prince Ladislaus' fortress, where the painting was located. A Tartar's arrow lodged into through the throat of the Madonna. The Prince transferred the painting to a church in Czestochowa, Poland. In 1430, the church was invaded and a looter struck the painting two times with his sword, but before he could strike it another time, he fell to ...

Vatican City, 3 July 2014 (VIS) – In a press conference held this morning the metropolitan archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, presented the logo and official prayer for the 31st World Youth Day. Three elements are combined in the symbolism of the logo: the place, the main protagonists, and the theme of the celebration. The logo of the 2016 World Youth Day, to be held in Krakow , illustrates the passage from the Gospel according to Matthew, 5.7: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”, chosen as the theme of the event. The image is composed of a geographical outline of Poland, in which there is a Cross, symbol of Christ Who is the soul of World Youth Day. The yellow circle marks the position of Krakow on the map of Poland and is also a symbol of youth. The flame of Divine Mercy emerges from the Cross, and its colors recall the image “Jesus, I trust in you”. The colours used in the logo – blue, red and yellow – are the official colours of Krakow and...

November 7, 2013 (Romereports.com) The theme for World Youth Day 2016 in Krakow will focus on mercy, one of the topics Pope Francis talks about most. The event will take place from July 25 to August 1. The theme is “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”   During WYD 2013 in Rio, Pope Francis urged young Argentinians to reread the Beatitudes, and use them a guide in their everyday lives. POPE FRANCIS “What do we have to do, Father? Look, reading the Beatitudes will do you some good. And if you want to know what practical things you must do, read Matthew 25, which is the protocol by which we will be judged. With these two things, you have a plan of action: the Beatitudes and Matthew 25.” He also announced the themes for the two Youth Days that will be celebrated locally, in 2014 and 2015: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” and “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Today is the historical feast of Our Lady of Czestochowa (The Black Madonna). The Black Madonna was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist ; and it was while painting the picture, Mary told him about the life of Jesus, which he later incorporated into his gospel. The next time we hear of the painting is in 326 A.D. when St. Helen found it in Jerusalem and gave it to her son and had a shrine built for it in Constantinople. During a battle, the picture was placed on the walls of the city, and the enemy army fled. Our Lady saved the city from destruction. The picture was owned by many other people until 1382 when invading Tartars attacked a Prince Ladislaus' fortress, where the painting was located. A Tartar's arrow lodged into through the throat of the Madonna. The Prince transferred the painting to a church in Czestochowa, Poland. In 1430, the church was invaded and a looter struck the painting two times with his sword, but before he could strike it another time, he fell to t...