Catholic Fire

We are frequently entertained and fascinated by the lifestyles of royalty and their romantic adventures in books and movies. However, St. Elizabeth was a real-life princess, who served as an exemplary model of the heroic virtues of charity and humility. Her life is not a fairy tale, but is a true story of authentic love. Born in Bratislava, Hungary in 1207, Princess Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. Her aunt was St. Hedwig and her great niece was St. Elizabeth of Portugal. Elizabeth was betrothed at the age of four to Prince Herman of Thuringia (in central Germany) and grew up in his father's court. In 1216, Hermann, who Elizabeth was to marry, died. After this, she then became engaged to Ludwig, the second son. The couple married when she was fourteen and he was twenty-one.  She loved him and bore him three children. They were very happy together and deeply devoted to one another. Ludwig was protective of his wife and the couple ...

St. Gertrude the Great St. Gertrude was born in Eisleben, Germany in 1256. As a five-year-old, she was received into the monastery of the Cistercian nuns in Helfta. She was an intellectually gifted student with a gentle disposition who applied herself to her studies, concentrating on literature and philosophy. At the age of twenty-six, Gertrude had the first of many visions of Jesus which brought about a deep interior conversion, drawing her into the innermost recesses of His Sacred Heart. Her heart symbolically united in a vision to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she was a precursor of the later devotion to the Sacred Heart. She also advocated frequent reception of the Eucharist and devotion to St Joseph. Similar to other mystics, such as St. Teresa of Avila, the Passion of Christ was her favorite devotion and when she meditated on it, or on the blessed Eucharist, she was often unable to control the torrents of tears which flowed from her eyes. She frequently went into ecstasy ...

August 25 is the feast of St. Louis IX (1215-1270), King of France. Louis IX, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, was born at Poissy, April 25, 1215. Louis was twelve years old when his father's death made him king.At that time, his mother Queen Blanche of Castile, was declared regent and remained an important influence throughout his life. Louis had tutors who made him a master of Latin, taught him to speak easily in public and write with dignity and grace. But Blanche's primary concern was to implant in him a deep regard and awe for everything related to religion. She used often to say to him as he was growing up, "I love you my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should commit a mortal sin." At nineteen, he married Marguerite of Provence and the couple had eleven children. Louis was a model father and his children received careful instruction from him in the Christian life. ...

On August 18, we commemorate Saint Helena of Constantinople (246-330), mother of Constantine the Great, and finder of the True Cross of Jesus Christ. St. Helena is the patroness of archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, and divorced people. St. Helena was the daughter of an innkeeper in Bithynia, Asia Minor. She was married to an ambitious Roman general and they had one son, Constantine.  When her husband was named emperor, he promptly divorced Helena to marry another woman for political gain. Following the death of his father, Constantine became emperor of Rome, and one of his first acts as ruler was to declare his mother empress. Constantine had converted to Christianity, and with his encouragement, Helena also became a Christian. As empress, Helena spent her days in acts of charity, and built magnificent churches on the holy sites of the faith, frequently tearing down pagan temples that had been built on those sites. She worked tirelessly for the poor, relea...

On August 16, the Church commemorates the feast day of St. Stephen of Hungary (975 - 1038), the last Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997 -1000) and the first Christian king of Hungary, who led his country to embrace Christianity. Prior to Stephen's birth, his mother, the duchess Sarolt had a vision in which St. Stephen, the martyr appeared to her and told her that her son would convert the people of Hungary to Catholicism. Born a pagan, Stephen was baptized at age 10, along with his parents, and was raised as a Christian. At the age of 20, he married Gisela, the daughter of Duke Henry II of Bavaria. Stephen crushed the pagan counter-reaction to Christianity, and converted the so-called Black Hungarians after their failed rebellion. In recognition of his efforts, Stephen was crowned king of Hungary at the age of 25, receiving the cross and the crown from Pope Sylvester II. His crown and regalia became beloved symbols of the Hungarian nation, and Stephen was venerated as th...

Today is the feast of St. Matilda, the Queen of Germany and wife of Henry I. She was born in Engern, Westphalia, Germany in 895 to Count Detrich and his wife, Reinhild. Raised by her grandmother, an abbess, she entered into an arranged marriage with King Henry the Fowler of Saxony in 909. Matilda became the mother of: Otto I, Emperor of Germany; Henry, Duke of Bavaria; St. Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne; Gerberga, who married Louis IV of France; Hedwig, the mother of Hugh Capet. As queen, Matilda was humble, holy, charitable, and very generous -- always ready to help the poor and the down-trodden. Following her husband's death, Matilda made an unsuccessful attempt to secure the throne for her favorite son Henry, but his elder brother was elected and crowned in 936. Later, the two brothers joined in persecuting their mother, whom they accused of having impoverished the crown by her lavish almsgiving. To satisfy them, she renounced the possessions the deceased king had left her, a...

Today, February 26, the Church honors Saint Isabelle of France, (1225-1270, also known as Isabel and Isabella), the daughter of King Louis VIII of France and sister to the illustrious king of France, St. Louis IX. Isabelle was gifted in many ways: she was beautiful, intelligent, and virtuous. She was well-known for her charity to others. Daily, she invited poor people to her dinner table, waiting on them herself. She spent her evenings visiting the poor and the sick. As a child, she requested spiritual direction and became even more devoted to the Lord, under the guidance of the Franciscans. She sought holiness above all else and refused to marry, but consecrated her virginity and her entire life to God alone. In 1252, Isabelle founded a cloister for Franciscan nuns, which she built just four miles from Paris, at Longchamp. She had a great love for the virtue of humility and named the Monastery of the Humility of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rules, which were written by St. B...

Image Source On February 4, the Church commemorates St. Joan of Valois (also known as Jane, Jeanne, Joanna of France). The second daughter of Louis X1, King of France, and Charlotte of Savoy, she was born on April 23, 1464. Joan's father hated her from birth, partly because of her sex and partly because she was sickly and deformed.  Joan had a hump on her back and walked with a limp, suggesting that she had curvature of the spine.  At the age of five, she was sent away to be brought up by guardians in a lonely country home, deprived of common comforts and sometimes even necessities. The neglected child offered her whole heart to God, and yearned to do some special service in honor of His blessed Mother. She developed a deep devotion to Our Lady, praying the Angelus daily. At the age of two months Joan was betrothed to Louis, Duke of Orleans, the future King Louis XII, and the marriage took place when she was just nine years old. The marriage was forced upon Louis an...

The saint of the day for December 16th is St. Adelaide of Burgundy, patron of abuse victims, second marriages, and widows. St. Adelaide was a picture of grace and beauty, according to her spiritual director and biographer, St. Odilon of Cluny. She was born a princess in 1931 and was to became not only the Queen of Italy, but the Empress of Italy. More importantly, this woman of grace lived a holy life, which wasn't an easy endeavor, given her circumstances in life, and was later canonized a saint. The daughter of King Rupert II of Burgundy, France, at age 16, she married Lothar of Italy, who eventually became king of Italy. She was widowed in 950 while still a teenager. Lothair was thought to be poisoned by his successor to the throne, Berengarius. As part of his attempt to solidify his grip on power, Berengarius ordered Adelaide to marry his son; she refused, and was imprisoned. It is believed that a priest came and dug a tunnel to where she was being kept a...

Today, August 25, is the optional memorial of St. Louis IX (1215-1270). Louis IX, King of France, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, was born at Poissy, April 25, 1215. Louis was twelve years old when his father's death made him king.At that time, his mother Queen Blanche of Castile, was declared regent and remained an important influence throughout his life. Louis had tutors who made him a master of Latin, taught him to speak easily in public and write with dignity and grace. But Blanche's primary concern was to implant in him a deep regard and awe for everything related to religion. She used often to say to him as he was growing up, "I love you my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should commit a mortal sin." At nineteen, he married Marguerite of Provence and the couple had eleven children. Louis was a model father and his children received careful instruction from him in the C...

The Saint of the day for January 8th is St. Adela of Messines (1009-1071), Princess of France, Countess of Flanders, and later Benedictine Abbess of Messines. Born a princess, St. Adela was the second daughter of King Robert the Pious of France and Constance of Arles. She married Count Baldwin IV in her childhood, and was taken by his father, Baldwin IV, to Flanders, to be brought up in his own family. The town of Corbio was her dowry. Baldwin and Adela built the Benedictine monastery of Messines.  They rebuilt the monastery of Einham, or Iham, on the Scald, and gave it to the Benedictines in 1063. Baldwin made the Fosse neuf, a great canal between Flanders and Artois.  After Baldwin's death in 1036, Adela entered the monastery of Messines,  that she might spend the remainder of her life in silent prayer. She traveled to Rome to receive the veil and the blessing of Pope Alexander II. She then returned to the monastery of  Messines. and remained there until h...

While so many of us are entertained and fascinated by the lifestyles of royalty and their romantic adventures in movies, St. Elizabeth was a genuine princess, who served as an exemplary model of the heroic virtues of charity and humility. The authentic biography of her life, devoid of the legends and the rumors, is a true love story. Born in Bratislava, Hungary in 1207, Princess Elizabeth was the daughter of King Andrew of Hungary and his wife Gertrude. Her aunt was St. Hedwig and her great niece was St. Elizabeth of Portugal. Elizabeth was betrothed at the age of four to Prince Herman of Thuringia (in central Germany) and grew up in his father's court. In 1216, Hermann, who Elizabeth was to marry, died; after this she then became engaged to Ludwig, the second son. The couple married when she was fourteen and he was twenty - one.  She loved him and bore him three children. They were very happy together and deeply devoted to one another. Ludwig was protective of his wife and...

The Saint of the day for December 16th is St. Adelaide of Burgundy. St. Adelaide was a marvel of grace and beauty, according to her spiritual director and biographer, St. Odilon of Cluny. She was born a princess in 1931 and was to became not only the Queen of Italy, but the Empress of Italy. More importantly, this woman of grace lived a holy life, which wasn't an easy endeavor, given her circumstances in life, and was later canonized a saint. The daughter of King Rupert II of Burgundy, France, at age 16, she married Lothar of Italy, who eventually became king of Italy. She was widowed in 950 while still a teenager. Lothair was thought to be poisoned by his successor to the throne, Berengarius. As part of his attempt to solidify his grip on power, Berengarius ordered Adelaide to marry his son; she refused, and was imprisoned. It is believed that a priest came and dug a tunnel to where she was being kept and helped her escape. She remained hidden in the woods until the Duke o...