Catholic Fire

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 ...

On April 12, the Church commemorates the feast of St. Teresa of the Andes, a Discalced Carmelite mystic and the first Chilean to be beatified or canonized.  St. Teresa of the Andes is the patron of youth and sick people. Born in Santiago, Chile on July 13, 1900 to an upper class family, she was baptized Juana Enriqueta Josefina of the Sacred Hearts Fernandez Solar. Her family and friends called her Juanita. Her family was devout in their Catholic faith and lived it out in their daily lives with consistency. Juanita was a cheerful, happy, attractive, extroverted young woman, who was athletic and enjoyed sports. She reflected the light of Christ and her holiness touched all who interacted with her as she witnessed to others the power of God’s love working in her life. She served as a model to her peers, who often sought her out for encouragement and advice. As a young girl, she read an autobiography of the French Saint Thérèse of Lisieux which had a profound influence on her ...

On June 16, we honor St. Lutgardis, a Cistercian, and one of the first mystics of the Sacred Heart. St. Lutgardis is the patron saint of the blind and physically disabled people. Other areas of patronage include: childbirth, Flanders, and Belgium. St. Lugardis was born at Tongres, Brabant, the Netherlands, in 1182. She was sent to the Black Benedictine convent of Saint Catherine when she was 12- years-old because her father lost her dowry in a business venture. She had received no specific calling to the religious life, but without a dowry there was little hope of finding an appropriate husband. Then, one day the attractive girl, who was fond of fine garments and simple pleasures, had a vision of Christ that changed her view on life. A few years after entering the convent, she received a vision of Christ showing her his wounds, and at age 20 she discovered her true vocation as a Benedictine nun. Her visions continued and she is said to have had ecstasies, levitated, and dripped...

The saint of the day is St. Lutgardis, a Cistercian, and one of the first mystics of the Sacred Heart. St. Lutgardis is the patron saint of the blind and physically disabled people. Born in the 12th century, she came to her vocation, in part, due to her father’s bad business sense. Her father lost her dowry in a failed business venture and sent her to a Benedictine convent at the age of 12. A few years later, she received a vision of Christ showing her his wounds, and at age 20 she became a Benedictine nun. Her visions continued and she is said to have levitated and dripped blood from her head when meditating on the Passion. Seeking a stricter life, she joined the Cistercians and displayed the gifts of healing, prophecy, spiritual wisdom and teaching on the Gospels. She accepted the blindness that afflicted her for the last 11 years of her life as a gift that helped reduce the distractions of the outside world. In her last vision, Christ told her when she was to die, the da...

The saint of the day for April 8 is St. Julie Billart. Saint Julie was born in Cuvilly, France, on July 12, 1751 to a loving family. She was a woman of serenity, despite the great personal suffering she endured. The Billiart family survived many hardships, including the deaths of several children. When Julie was 16, she went to work as a teacher to help support her family. One night, robbers invaded her home and shot her father as she stood by helplessly. He recovered from the incident, but the trauma caused Julie, who was then 23, to become paralyzed and a complete invalid. Besides her physical and emotional distress, Julie suffered religious persecution. During the French Revolution, Julie opened her home as a hiding place for loyal priests, which forced her to flee and hide from danger. Throughout her suffering and trials, she steadfastly trusted in God’s goodness. Her motto was: “Oh, how good God is!” At the age of 53, Julie and her very good friend, Françoise Blin de Bour...

John Eudes was born at Ri, Normandy, France, on November 14, 1601, the son of a farmer. He went to the Jesuit college at Caen when he was 14, and despite his parents' wish that he marry, joined the Congregation of the Oratory of France in 1623. He studied at Paris and at Aubervilliers, was ordained in 1625. He worked as a volunteer, caring for the victims of the plagues that struck Normandy in 1625 and 1631, and spent the next decade giving parish missions, building a reputation as an outstanding preacher and confessor and for his opposition to Jansenism. He resigned from the Oratorians in 1643 and founded the Congregation of Jesus and Mary (the Eudists) at Caen, composed of secular priests not bound by vows but dedicated to the spiritual improvement of the clergy by establishing effective seminaries and preaching missions. Through his parish mission work, John became interested in helping prostitutes who sought escape from their miserable lives, and in 1641, with Madeleine Lamy, ...