Catholic Fire

St. Anthony of Padua's feast day is celebrated on June 13. He is the patron saint of: amputees, animals, barrenness, elderly people, faith in the Blessed Sacrament, harvests, lost articles, mail, American Indians, oppressed people, poor people, pregnant women, sailors, swineherds, and travellers. The novena begins on Saturday, June 4th and continues for a total of nine consecutive days. Prayer O wonderful St. Anthony, glorious on account of the fame of your miracles, and through the condescension of Jesus in coming in the form of a little child to rest in your arms, obtain for me of His bounty the grace which I ardently desire from the depths of my heart . (State your intention) You who were so compassionate toward miserable sinners, regard not the unworthiness of those who pray to you, but the glory of God that it may once again be magnified by the granting of the particular request  (State your intention)  which I now ask for with persevering earnestness. Amen. P...

"The beautiful spring came; and when Nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also." — Harriet Ann Jacobs 1. It has been a great spring! God has blessed us with lots of showers, which has done wonders for my flowers, fruit-bearing trees, and the garden! Thank you, Lord! The potted plant (an annual named verbena) above, which hangs on my shepherd's hook in the back yard is flourishing and I have only watered it twice in the last month due to the plentiful rain here! 2. These bright, cheerful lilies on the side of the garage are also loving the weather here! 3. These are just a few of the beautiful birds that land on the back yard crabapple tree and head for the mulberry tree, where they enjoy a feast. 4. We have recently added tomato plants to our vegetable garden. This one is a 'Big Boy.'  5. Just for fun, here's our little one, playing with her favorite mate. 6. It's not too la...

St. Anthony of Padua is a powerful intercessor! The novena to him begins Friday, June 5, 2015 and ends on his feast day, June 13. Patronage and Miracles Catholics know St. Anthony best as the patron saint of lost and stolen articles . According to one story, St. Anthony had a psalter, filled with his own notes, that a novice, leaving the monastery, took. St. Anthony prayed for its return and the novice came back, gave him his psalter, and rejoined the order. Barren women claim St. Anthony for their patron saint as well, because of his association with the Child Jesus. From the 17th century, statues of St. Anthony holding the Child Jesus have been popular. It is believed that one night, during Saint Anthony's lifetime, the Divine Child visited him, kissed him and told him He loved him. The story is so well loved that, aside from Mary, St. Anthony is the saint most often depicted with the Child Jesus. He is also often shown carrying a lily, a symbol of purity, innocence ...

On January 16, from the Franciscan calendar, we celebrate the feast of St. Berard and companions. Six Franciscan friars accepted from St. Francis of Assisi an assignment to go to Morocco. They were to announce Christianity to the Muslims. Friars Berard, Peter, Adjutus, Accursio and Odo traveled by ship in 1219. Morocco is in the northwest corner of Africa and the journey was long and dangerous. The group arrived at Seville, Spain. They started preaching immediately, on streets and in public squares. People treated them as if they were crazy and had them arrested. To save themselves from being sent back home, the friars declared they wanted to see the sultan. So the governor of Seville sent them to Morocco. The sultan received the friars and gave them freedom to preach in the city. But some of the people did not like this. They complained to the authorities. The sultan tried to save the friars by sending them to live in Marrakech, on the west coast of Morocco. A Christian prince...

By Jean M. Heimann June 13th is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. With it being so close to Father's Day, my dad has been on my mind, so I thought I would re-post this popular post I wrote last year and updated this year. Whenever I think of my father, who passed on to eternal life 16 years ago, I am reminded of St. Anthony of Padua.  My dad introduced me to this powerful intercessor, to whom he was deeply devoted, inviting me to pray the novena prayers with him shortly before he died.  Although he was eighty years old and was suffering from an aggressive cancer, dad was able to recite the prayers from memory. He prayed often for the conversion of his family and for many other intentions, He gave me a copy of the novena prayers and encouraged me to pray it on my own. While I had always invoked St. Anthony of Padua for objects I seemed to be consistently misplacing, I never realized until then what a great saint he was and what a miracle-worker he was. I now pray daily...

After Mass today, I stopped by the Adoration chapel to pray. Then, I spotted a friend in church, who walked me to my car. I reached into my purse for my keys and they weren't in the spot I usually keep them. I searched my purse, then retraced my steps. I looked in the church bathroom, then went to the pew I sat in, looked in the Adoration chapel, then searched through the lost and found. My keys were nowhere to be found. I prayed to St. Anthony for help and emptied out the contents of my purse, but they weren't there! I looked in the car windows on both sides of the locked car. Still no keys! My friend helped me retrace my steps and we repeated the steps above. Finally, I called my husband and he opened my car with the extra key. There were no keys inside. Bill helped me retrace my steps and as we headed toward the church, he bent down near some shrubbery and retrieved my keys. "Thank you, St.Anthony!" he exclaimed, as I silently prayed in unison. Thank you, God,...

Today, June 13th is the feast of St. Anthony of Padua. Since he is one of my favorite saints, I have written a special post about him, which you can read here.

By Jean M. Heimann Whenever I think of my father, who passed on to eternal life 16 years ago, I am reminded of St. Anthony of Padua.  My dad introduced me to this powerful intercessor, to whom he was deeply devoted, inviting me to pray the novena prayers with him shortly before he died.  Although he was eighty years old and was suffering from an aggressive cancer, dad was able to recite the prayers from memory.  He gave me a copy of the novena prayers and encouraged me to pray it on my own. While I had always invoked St. Anthony of Padua for objects I seemed to be consistently misplacing, I never realized until then what a great saint he was. 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 ...

St. Anthony (also known as Antony) is a Doctor of the Church, a Franciscan called the "Hammer of the Heretics", and the "Wonder Worker." He is also known as the finder of lost articles. St. Anthony (1195 - 1231) was born in Portugal and entered the Augustinian monastery of Sao Vicente in Lisbon when he was fifteen. When news of the Franciscan martyrs in Morocco reached him, he joined the Franciscans at Coimbra at the age of 25. Illness caused him to leave Morocco, and a storm then drove his ship to Sicily, so that he found himself taking part in the General Chapter of the Franciscans in 1221, where he met Saint Francis of Assisi. Anthony became a preacher by accident. When a scheduled preacher did not show up for an ordination ceremony at Forli, the Franciscan superior quickly asked the friars in attendance to volunteer. Each excused himself, saying that he was not prepared, until finally, Anthony was asked to give it. When he too, excused himself in a most humble...