Catholic Fire

Today, October 20, is the feast of St. Paul of the Cross (1694-1775), Italian priest, mystic, and founder of the Passionist Congregation. Paul was born in Ovada, in northern Italy as Paolo Francesco Danei, the second oldest of sixteen children, eleven of whom died in infancy. His father was from a noble family that had been reduced to poverty over the years. His parents were devout Catholics and their strong faith provided the grace they needed to accept their trials. Paul’s mother had a deep and lively faith, which she shared with her son. She often read to him, sharing the writings of the desert fathers.  Paul received his early education from a priest and was a very virtuous and pious youth, who spent much time in prayer, attended daily Mass, and visited the Blessed Sacrament, without neglecting his duties. He had a great love and devotion for Christ Crucified. As a young man, Paul enlisted in the Army, desiring to serve Christ in the Crusades; however, he abandoned sold...

September 20 is the memorial of St. Andrew Kim Taegon, priest and martyr, St. Paul Chong, martyr, and companions. During the persecutions of 1839, 1846, 1866, and 1867, one hundred and three Christians in Korea gave their lives as martyrs. The martyrs included clergy, but were, for the most part, members of the laity. They consecrated the rich beginnings of the Church in Korea with their blood. Among them were Fr. Andrew Kim of Taegon, the first Korean priest and pastor, and Paul Chong of Hasang, a lay apostle. St. Andrew Kim Taegon was born into a noble Korean family. He traveled to China to become a Catholic priest and he was ordained in Macao. When he returned to Korea, as the first native priest, he was arrested, tortured, and eventually beheaded. Paul Chong Hasang was a seminarian, aged 45. As a layman, he was one of the great founders of the Catholic Church in Korea. He was persecuted before he could be ordained. Reflection "We have received baptism, entrance i...

Today, June 23, we honor St. Joseph Cafasso, an Italian priest who was a social reformer in Turin during the 19th century. He is the patron of prison chaplains, spiritual directors, and prisoners. He is known as the "Priest of the Gallows". He was born on January 15, 1811 in northern Italy, about twenty miles from Turin. Joseph Cafasso was the third of four children. His parents, who were known for their charity to the poor, were small farmers who had to supplement their scanty income by working on neighboring farms. Although he was born with a deformed spine, Joseph did not allow this defect to influence his desire to do penance. Even in his childhood he had certain days set apart for penance, and he fasted every Saturday in honor of Our Blessed Lady. He also attended daily Mass, at which he often served. He was gifted with a keen intellect and a good memory, and was first in his class at school. He was ordained a priest in 1833 at the age of twenty-two. After Ordi...

By Jean M. Heimann St. Anthony of Padua is a Doctor of the Church, a Franciscan priest called the "Hammer of the Heretics", the "Wonder-Worker", and the "Living Ark of the Covenant." Countless conversions, miraculous healings, and powerful preaching were all characteristic of his ministry. He was born to a noble family in 1195 in Lisbon, Portugal and was baptized Fernando Martins de Bulhões. His parents sent him to be educated by the clergy at the Cathedral of Lisbon.  At the age of 15, he joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.  At 17, he transferred to the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Coimba. For a period of eight years, he devoted himself to study and prayer. When he was 25, Fernando met five Franciscan friars who were on their way to Morocco to serve as missionaries.  Five months later, when the bodies of these five were brought back from Morocco, he expressed an intense desire to suffer martyrdom in a similar manner.  Stirred by their hero...

June 6 is the memorial of St. Norbert, a convert, priest, preacher, and reformer of the Church in the 12th century. He is the founder of the Norbertines and the patron saint of peace. Norbert was born around the year 1080 in Xanten, a town near the Holland-German border.  He was the son of nobility.  Through the influence of his family he obtained a financial subsidy from the parish church at Xanten when he accepted ordination to the subdiaconate.  His only task was to chant the Divine Office at the Church, but he apparently paid someone a small fee to take his place in the choir, because he gained an appointment as a chaplain-religious counselor to the emperor, Henry V in Cologne.  As a young man, he was wealthy and committed to worldly pleasures.  The thought of a religious vocation was the furthest thing from his mind until he had a dramatic conversion experience. One day in the spring of 1115, while riding his horse, a thunderbolt from a sudden stor...

Today is the feast of St. Louis de Montfort, a French priest and confessor. He was a renowned preacher and missionary, who founded the Missionaries of the Company of Mary (for priests and brothers) and the Daughters of Wisdom. Louis de Montfort is one of the most prominent promoters of Marian devotion. Totus tuus ("I am all yours.") was Louis's personal motto; Karol Wojtyla (Pope St. John Paul II) 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...

July 31 is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, and founder of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). St. Ignatius of Loyola (Iñigo) 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 received a courtly education, learned to read books of chivalry and romance, gambled recklessly, became involved with women, quarrled and dueled. He 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 his family home. Confined to his sick bed,  he asked for novels of chivaly to read, but was given pious books instead, which he grudgingly accepted. To his surprise, he e...

On June 2, we honor Sts. Marcellinus and Peter -- two Roman martyrs who suffered under the Diocletian persecution, around the year 304.  Marcellinus was a priest, Peter an exorcist. Peter was thrown into prison at Rome, under the emperor Diocletian, by the judge, Serenus, for stating that he was a Christian. While in prison, he freed Paulina, the daughter of Artemius, the prison keeper, from an evil spirit which plagued her. When this occurred, Artemius and his wife and their entire household, along with their neighbors had run to witness this bizarre event. When they arrived, all were amazed and instantly converted to Christianity. Thus, Peter brought them to Marcellinus the priest, who baptized them.  When Serenus heard of this, he called Peter and Marcellinus before him, and threatened to harm them, unless they denied Jesus Christ. Marcellinus refused, which resulted in his being separated from Peter, and shut up naked, in a prison scattered with broken glass...

On April 15, we celebrate the feast of Blessed César de Bus, a priest, teacher, and founder of two religious congregations: the Fathers of Christian Doctrine and the Daughters of Christian Doctrine. He is the patron of catechists. César was born at Cavaillon, France in 1544, and was educated by the Jesuits. As a youth, he led a holy and virtuous life.  At eighteen, he joined the French army, and fought in the king’s war against the Huguenots. After the war, he dedicated his time in pursuit of the arts, writing poetry and painting. Then, he tried to join a naval fleet, which was besieging La Rochelle; but due to serious illness was unable to carry out his plans. Instead, he travelled to Paris. In Paris, César drifted away from his faith and began living a life of self-gratification and worldly ambition. For three years, he indulged his sinful wishes until the death of his brother, a canon of Salon. When his brother died, César managed to acquire his vacated positio...

March 16 is the feast day of St. Clement Mary Hofbauer (1751-1820), a hermit and a priest of the Redemptorist congregation, who is considered a co-founder of the congregation and called the “Apostle of Vienna.” John, the name he was given at Baptism, was born in 1751, to a poor family in Moravia [now known as the Czech Republic], the ninth of twelve children. Although he desired to be a priest, the family did not have the money for him to attend the seminary, so he became an apprentice in a bakery at the age of 16.  At 19, he went to work in the bakery of a monastery. At that time, the effects of war and famine were sending many homeless and hungry people to the monastery for help. John worked diligently to feed the poor who came to his door. While this was still not the priesthood that he desired so badly, it was an opportunity to serve God's people who were in great need. John lived the life of a hermit, but when Emperor Joseph II eliminated hermitages, he went to Vienna...

Today we commerate the feast of Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco, who was beatified in 2001 as a model of holiness for priests. He was dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer evenings for young people and adults at the parish. Pope John Paul II referred to him as the "Don Bosco of Southern Italy" due to his heroic charity and concern for the plight of poor orphaned children. He had a deep devotion to the crucified Christ throughout his life and worked to build the devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the faithful. He was born December 1, 1831, in Pagani, Italy, the seventh of eight children. Orphaned by the age of 10, his uncle, a priest and a teacher, who took charge of his education. Since 1839, the year of the canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Thomas Mary had dreamed of the priesthood. He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained in 1855. In 1862 he opened a sch...

Today is the feast of St. Anthony Mary Claret -- a favorite saint that my husband introduced me to about twenty years ago when he gave a teaching on this incredible man of God. I don't think I have ever heard of any saint who was filled with so much zeal for his apostolate. He was a monk and a mystic who exerted an unusual amount of influence over the laity by obeying the call of God. Born on Christmas eve, 1807, in the village of Sallent, in Catalonia, Spain, Anthony was a very pious child. When he was eleven years old, the bishop visited his school and asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without the least bit of hesitation, he replied: "A priest." As a young adult, Anthony Claret excelled as a maker of cloth and as a weaver in his father's textile factory. He then studied for the priesthood, desiring to be a Jesuit. Ill health prevented him from entering the Order, so he served as a diocesan priest. He was ordained at age 27 and busied himself ...

Today is the feast day of St. Paul of the Cross, priest, mystic, and founder of the Passionist Congregation. Paul was born in Ovada, in northern Italy as Paolo Francesco Danei in 1694, the second oldest of sixteen children, eleven of whom died in infancy. His father was from a noble family that had been reduced to poverty over the years. His parents were devout Catholics and their strong faith provided the grace they needed to accept their trials. Paul’s mother had a deep and lively faith, which she shared with her son. She often read to him, sharing the writings of the desert fathers.  Paul received his early education from a priest and was a very virtuous and pious youth, who spent much time in prayer, attended daily Mass, and visited the Blessed Sacrament, without neglecting his duties. He had a great love and devotion for Christ Crucified. As a young man, Paul enlisted in the Army, desiring to serve Christ in the Crusades; however, he abandoned soldiering to spend his l...

Today we remember St. Joseph Calasanz , a diocesan priest who opened the first free public school in Rome, the patron of Catholic schools. Other men who joined Father Joseph in his work became members of a community he founded, the Piarist Order. Fr. James Kubicki shares more about this saint:

Blessed Thomas Mary Fusco was beatified in 2001 as a model of holiness for priests. He was dedicated to his priestly ministry, preaching spiritual retreats and missions, teaching catechism to youth and organizing prayer evenings for young people and adults at the parish. He had a deep devotion to the crucified Christ throughout his life and worked to build the devotion to the Most Precious Blood of Jesus among the faithful. He was born Dec. 1, 1831, in Pagani, Italy, the seventh of eight children. Orphaned by the age of 10, his uncle, a priest, took charge of his education. Since 1839, the year of the canonization of St. Alphonsus Liguori, Thomas Maria had dreamed of the priesthood. He entered the seminary in 1847 and was ordained in 1855. In 1862 he opened a school of moral theology in his home to train priests for the ministry of confession. That same year he founded the priestly Society of the Catholic Apostolate for missions among the faithful. In 1873, deeply moved by th...

Historically today is the feast of St. Edmund Campion, Jesuit martyr, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales, also called "the Pope's Champion". Edmund Campion was born in London on January 25, 1540. He was raised a Catholic and had such a powerful intellect that at the age of only 17 he was made a junior fellow at Saint John’s College at Oxford University. On visiting the university, Queen Elizabeth I was so taken by Edmund’s brilliance, as were a few of her dignitaries, that she bid him to ask for anything he wished. The exaltation of so many fed his vanity and led him away from his Catholic faith. He took the Oath of Supremacy, thus acknowledging the Queen as head of the church, and became an Anglican deacon. However, his brilliant intellect and his conscience would not allow him to be reconciled to the idea of Anglicanism for too long, and after a stay in Dublin he turned back to his faith and returned to England. He was at this point suspected of bein...

On November 23, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Miguel Augustin Pro, priest and martyr. Miguel Agustin Pro was born January 13, 1891, in Mexico. From his childhood, he was known for his high spirits and happy personality. The son of an affluent mining engineer and a pious and charitable mother, Miguel had a special affinity for the working classes. At 20, he became a Jesuit novice and shortly afterwards was exiled due to the Mexican revolution. He traveled to the United States, Spain, Nicaragua and Belgium, where he was ordained in 1925. Father Pro suffered greatly from a severe stomach disorder. When his health did not improve after several surgeries, his superiors permitted him to return to Mexico in 1926. At this time, the revolutionary government in Mexico had banned all religious practice. The churches were closed and priests were in hiding. The government was particularly focused on finding and persecuting priests. Father Pro became a great master of disg...

Today is the feast of Blessed Damian of Fulcheri, a Dominican priest. Damian was born at the end of the fourteenth century to wealthy, Italian nobility. As a baby he was kidnapped by a man who was mentally ill. His parents prayed to Our Lady, and searchers were led to the baby by a miraculous light. He was returned to his family unharmed. Damian entered the Dominican order at Genoa and became a diligent student and later, a dedicated priest. He was well-known for his forceful preaching and hundreds of people were converted during his missions in Italy. Damian died in Modena, Italy in 1484, and immediately became the object of much pious speculation, because of the miracles worked at his tomb. He was beatified in 1848 by Pope Pius IX (cultus confirmed). Prayer God of truth, for the salvation of the faithful you endowed Blessed Damian with wondrous virtues and powers of speech. Through his prayers may we hear your word with an open heart and hold fast to it with patience. We ...

St. Anthony Marie Claret Today ims the optional memorial of St. Anthony Mary Claret -- a favorite saint that my husband introduced me to several years ago when he gave a teaching on this amazing man of God. I don't think I have ever heard of any saint who was filled with so much zeal for his apostolate. He was a monk and a mystic who exerted an unusual amount of influence over the laity by obeying the call of God. Born on Christmas eve, 1807, in the village of Sallent, in Catalonia, Spain, Anthony was a very pious child. When he was eleven years old, the bishop visited his school and asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Without the least bit of hesitation, he replied: "A priest." As a young adult, Anthony Claret excelled as a maker of cloth as a weaver in his father's textile factory. He then studied for the priesthood, desiring to be a Jesuit. Ill health prevented him from entering the Order, so he served as a diocesan priest. He was ordained at a...