Catholic Fire

Today is the feast of St. Peter of Alcantra, one of the famous sixteenth century Spanish mystics. He was a Franciscan Friar who initiated one of the strictest reforms of his Order. He was born in 1499 at Alcantara, Estremadura, Spain, the son of Peter Garavita, governor of the palace. His mother was a member of the noble family of Sanabia. Peter studied grammar and philosophy at Alcantara, and both civil and canon law at Salamanca University. At 16, he entered the Observant Franciscans at Manxarretes (Manjaretes). At 22, he was sent to Badajoz to found a friary. He was ordained a priest at the age of 25 (1524), and preached missions in Spain and Portugal. He was a noted preacher, who preferred to preach to the poor; and his sermons, taken largely from the Prophets and Sapiential Books, reflected much empathy and tenderness. He was made superior of the province of Saint Gabriel in 1538.  As the superior, he drew up new constitutions for the order of Stricter Observanc...

The saint of the day for August 31 is St. Raymond Nonnatus. He is the patron of expectant mothers, midwives, obstetricians, infertile couples, and newborn babies. Raymond was born at Portella, Catalonia, Spain in 1204, the son of wealthy parents. He was delivered by cesarean section when his mother died in childbirth. Hence his name non natus (not born). In his childhood, he seemed to find pleasure only in his devotions and serious duties. His father, sensing that Raymond was drawn to religious life, ordered him to manage one of the family farms. Raymond readily obeyed but spent his time with the shepherds and workers, studying and praying until his father abandoned the idea of making his son a worldly success. Raymond later joined the the Order of Our Lady of Mercy or the Mercederians, which was founded by St. Peter Nolasco, who devoted to ransoming Christians captured by the Moors. He succeeded Peter as chief ransomer and went to Algeria to ransom slaves. He remained as h...

Today is the feast of St. Florence, also known as St. Florentina, a cloistered nun and abbess. She was the founder of a religious community. St. Florentina was born in the middle of the sixth century in Cartagena, Spain. Her family was very devout and actively involved in living out their faith and in promoting Christianity. Florentina was the sister of three bishops: Leander , Isidore of Seville , and Fulgentius . All three brothers are saints. Florentina’s parents died when she was young; therefore, her older brother Leander became her guardian. Leander had been a monk, prior to becoming a bishop, and it was through his encouragement that Florentina embraced the cloistered life. She consecrated her virginity to God, associated with other consecrated virgins, and formed a religious community. They took up residence at the monastery of St. Maria de Valle near Ecija (Astigis), where her brother Fulgentius was bishop. Leander wrote the rule of life for her order. Florentina ent...

Today, March 2, the Church honors St. Angela of the Cross, foundress of the Institute of the Sisters of the Company of the Cross. Born in 1846 in Seville, Spain, and given the baptismal name "Maria of the Angels" Guerrero Gonzalez, Angela was affectionately known as "Angelita". Her father worked as a cook and her mother a laundress in a Trinitarian Fathers convent. They had 14 children, with only six reaching adulthood. Angelita was greatly influenced by the teaching and example of her pious parents, and was taught from an early age how to pray the Rosary. She could often be found in the parish church praying before the image of "Our Lady of Good Health", while her mother prepared a nearby altar. In their own home, a simple altar was erected in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary during the month of May, where the family would recite the Rosary and give special honor to Our Lady. Angelita made her First Communion when she was eight, and her Confirm...

January 7th is the optional memorial of Saint Raymond of  Peñafort, a Spanish Dominican friar from the 13th century who served as the third Superior-General of the Order. He is the patron saint of lawyers, particularly canon lawyers. Raymond was born in Spain in 1175 and died there on January 6, 1275 at the age of 99. He was the gifted son of the count of Peñafort in Catalonia, Spain. Due to his status and wealth, he was well educated and at the age of 20, was already a professor of philosophy. He earned his doctorate in both cannon and civil law at the age 41. He taught cannon law in Bologna, Italy, and it was here that he first met the Dominicans. He was attracted to the Dominican Order by the preaching of Blessed Reginald of Bologna and received the Dominican habit at the age of 47. Raymond was deeply devoted to Our Blessed Mother, and it was this devotion that led him to forgo worldly fame and become a Dominican. The Order made good use of his legal skills by assig...

By Jean M. Heimann Today, December 14, is the feast of St. John of the Cross, priest and doctor of the Church. He is the patron saint of mystics, contemplatives, mystical theology, and poets. He was, in fact, one of Pope St. John Paul II's favorite saints and spiritual mentors in the faith. St. John Paul II revealed: “I got to know St. John of the Cross in my youth and was able to dialogue with this master of faith.  I wrote my Doctoral thesis on ‘Faith in St. John of the Cross.” I have found him a friend and master who has shown me that light shines in darkness.” St. John of the Cross (along with St. Teresa of Avila) is one of the founders of the Discalced Carmelites and today is one of their major feast days. Among the Church's contemplatives, St. John is one of the recognized masters of mystical theology. Indeed, perhaps no other writer has had greater influence on Catholic spirituality. In 1542, John (Juan de Yepes y Álvarez) was born into a family of Jewish con...

The saint of the day for October 30 is St Alphonsus Rodriguez, a Jesuit, who was born at Segovia in Spain, on July 12, 1531. From childhood he was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary. He loved her as his mother. This childlike devotion to her was the main reason for his sanctity. When he was a teenager, Alphonsus and his older brother were sent to study in a Jesuit college. On the death of his father in 1545, he was called home from his studies, by his mother, who was burdened with the care of eleven young children. Though only a boy of fourteen, he was placed in charge of the family business, which involved the buying and selling of wool. At the request of his mother, Alphonsus married the virtuous Maria Suarez. His married life of four years was marked with much suffering. His business suffered, and two of the couple’s three children died in infancy. He was widowed at the age of 32 and his mother died soon aftewards. He sold the business and moved in with his sisters; they hel...

October 15 is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), a Spanish mystic and the first woman Doctor of the Church. Here are twelve great quotes she shares with us: 1. “Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, all things are passing: God never changes. Patience obtains all things. He who possesses God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” 2. “It is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves.” 3. “It is love alone that gives worth to all things” 4. “Thank God for the things that I do not own.” 5. “You pay God a compliment by asking great things of Him.” 6. “From sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us!” 7. “Love turns work into rest.” 8. “Be gentle to all, and stern with yourself.” 9. “God calls to us in countless little ways all the time. Through illnesses and suffering and through sorrow he calls to us. Through a truth glimpsed fleetingly in a state of prayer he calls to us. No matter how halfhearted such ...

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 July 1, we honor Blessed Junipero Serra, a Franciscan priest and missionary, who converted thousands of native Americans. Miguel Jose Serra was born on the island of Majorca (Spain), on November 24, 1713, and took the name of Junipero in honor of Saint Juniper, who had also been a Franciscan and a companion of Saint Francis of Assisi. In 1730, he entered the Franciscan Order and was ordained seven years later. A brilliant man who had earned his doctorate in theology, he taught philosophy and theology at the University of Padua for two years.At the age of thirty-seven, he arrived in Mexico City on January 1, 1750, and spent the rest of his life converting the people of the New World. When Father Junipero Serra founded California's first mission in 1769, he was 56 years old and asthmatic, with a chronic sore on his leg that troubled him for the rest of his life, and he suffered frequently from other illnesses, as well. He stood just 5 feet, 2 inches, and, as a journalist l...

Today is the feast of Saint Michael de Sanctis, also known as St. Michael of the Saints, a Spanish Discalced Trinitarian priest, the patron of cancer patients. Michael Argemir was born on September 29, 1591 at Vic, Catalonia, Spain. At age 6, he told his parents that he planned to become a monk and began modeling his life after Saint Francis of Assisi. Michael’s parents died when he was about ten years old. He then served as an apprentice with a local merchant. During this apprenticeship, he continued his fervent devotion to the Lord, especially to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. At the age of 12, he joined the Trinitarian Friars at Barcelona, taking his vows at St. Lambert’s monastery in Saragosa four years later.  Shortly afterwards, Michael expressed a desire to join the reformed group of Trinitarians and was given permission to do so. He went to the Novitiate at Madrid and, after studies at Seville and Salamanca, he was ordained a priest. Twice he served as Superior of the...

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 of Saint María Soledad Torres Acosta (1826-1887), who was known for her diligent and loving care of the sick and the poor. St. Mary Soledad was a "modern" saint who gave to the world yet another sisterhood dedicated primarily to nursing. They are the "Handmaids of Mary Serving the Sick", better known in this country (where they have been working since 1914) as the Sister Servants of Mary, Ministers to the Sick. The foundress, a native of Madrid, was baptized Bibiana Antonia Manuela. She was the second of the five children of shopkeeper Francisco Torres and his wife Antonia Acosta. Raised in good Christian surroundings, Manuela grew up a thoughtful child, more interested in passing her own food on to her poorer playmates, and teaching them their prayers, than playing games with them. Educated by the Daughters of Charity, she may have been inspired by that order's hospital work to think along nursing lines. Definitely desiring to join ...

Francis Borgia Helping a Dying Impenitent by Francisco Goya The saint of the day for October 10th is St. Francis Borgia, a Spanish duke, who married, and after his wife died, gave up a life of nobility to become a Jesuit priest. St. Francis Borgia was born October 28, 1510, at Gandia, Valencia, Spain, the first of 17 children, to noble parents. He was the son of the Duke of Gandia, the great grandson of Pope Alexander VI, the notorious Borgia pope, and the grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon. He was named after St. Francis of Assisi. Following the death of his mother at the age of ten he was educated by his uncle, the Archbishop of Saragossa. Because he possessed many natural gifts, he became a favorite at the court of Charles V. In 1539, Francis was appointed Viceroy of Catalonia, and four years later, on his father’s death, the Duke of Gandia. He built a university there, received the degree of Doctor in theology. After his wife died in 1546, Francis entered the Socie...

Today, September 9, is the memorial of St. Peter Claver, a Jesuit priest who dedicated his life to the service of African slaves. The son of a Catalonian farmer, Peter was born in Verdu, Spain in 1581. He obtained his first degrees at the University of Barcelona. At the age of twenty, he entered the Jesuit novitiate and was ordained in 1615. While Peter was studying philosophy at Majorca, he met St. Alphonsus Rodriguez, the door-keeper of the college, who learned from God the future mission of his young friend. St. Alphonsus, therefore, encouraged Peter to travel to South America to work with the African slaves. Peter obeyed, and in 1610 landed at Cartagena, where for forty-four years he was the “Apostle of the African slaves.” Cartagena became the chief slave-mart of the New World, where many thousands of African slaves were landed after crossing the ocean amid inhuman conditions, and then penned like animals in yards. A thousand slaves landed there each month.  There were...

Today, August 26, is the feast day of St. Teresa of Jesus Jornet Ibars (also known as Saint Teresa de Gesu, Jornet y Ibars), the Foundress of the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor. Born in 1843 at Catalonia, Spain, she was raised on a farm and later became a teacher at Lérida. She had been preparing to take her final vows as a Poor Clare nun, when the government suppressed all convents and she was sent home. She struggled to understand why God would permit this to happen and for several years asked Him what she was to do with her life. Then, she met a priest/spiritual director who provided the answer. Along with Father Saturnino Lopez Novoa, she opened a shelter for the poor and the elderly. At the age 29, in Barbastro, Spain, Teresa founded the community known today as the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor. By the time of her death, at age 54, she had established more than 100 shelters in Spain and 58 congregation houses. Today the Little Sisters of the Abandoned Poor have...

July 31 is the memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola, priest, and founder of the Society of Jesus. St. Ignatius of Loyola 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 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 the home of his brother. Confined to his sick bed , he was given pious books to read, which he grudgingly accepted. To his surprise, he enjoyed them and began to dream of becoming a "knight for Christ", pursuing the ideals of St. Francis and St. Dominic. He eventually promised to devote his life to being a knight for St. Peter if he ...

The saint of the day for July 12 is St. Ignatius Delgado, Dominican bishop and martyr.  Bishop Delgado OP was part of a group of 117 martyrs, who suffered and shed their blood out of love for Christ in the region known today as Vietnam. Of this group, 59 were from the Dominican Order.  Bishop Delgado died together with bishop Dominic Henares OP and a catechist. Both bishops were from Spain and bishop Delgado was born in 1762. Bishop Delgado had worked for nearly fifty years in Tonkin before he died at the age of seventy-six. In 1838, the two bishops and the catechist were captured, in a persecution recently stirred up. A copy of his trial showed that he answered truthfully and fearlessly where he himself was concerned, but that no amount of questioning or torture could make him reveal the whereabouts of his companions. Bishop Delgado endured torture rather than give any clue as to where they might be found. The death sentence was passed on Bishop Delgado, and he w...

The saint of the day for April 5 is St. Vincent Ferrer. St. Vincent Ferrer was a famous Dominican missionary, credited with having converted thousands of Europeans to Catholicism. He was born in Valencia, Spain, in 1350 and entered the Dominican Order at the age of 17. After years of study in Toulouse, in 1379, he was retained by Cardinal Pedro de Luna, legate of the Court of Aragon, who was trying to win the king to the obedience of the Avignon pontiff. When France withdrew from the obedience of Avignon in September 1398 and the troops of Charles VI laid siege to the city, St. Vincent was struck by a fever that nearly killed him. He was miraculously cured after having an apparition of Christ, accompanied by St. Dominic and St. Francis. He began his preaching ministry again in November 1399, and for 20 years was a missionary in Western Europe. He was responsible for the conversion of thousands in the different regions of France, Switzerland, Spain and Italy, including an es...

Today is the optional memorial of St. Isidore of Seville, the patron saint of the Internet and the author of the first encyclopedia. A Confessor, Doctor of the Church, and Bishop of Seville, Isidore was born in Cartagena, Spain, 560 and died in Seville, Spain in 636. He was younger brother to Saint Fulgentius of Astigi and Saint Florentina and succeeded his brother, Leander, a monk, to the See of Seville in 599. He began as a poor student, but he turned his problem over to God and became one of the most learned men of his time. During his episcopacy he devoted his time and energy to promoting science and establishing schools and convents. He presided over the synod of Seville, 619, and the synod of Toledo, 633. He was a prolific writer whose literary works included: a dictionary, an encyclopedia, a history of Goths, and a history of the world beginning with creation. He is the patron saint of computers, computer technicians, computer programmers, and the Internet. His symbols...