Catholic Fire

Today marks the feast day of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta - a beautiful servant of God who is one of our most celebrated mothers and a universal symbol of God's merciful and preferential love for the poor and forgotten. In her own words: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.” "God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” "The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between." Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) Biography Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Peacemaker, Pioneer, Legend Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: My Favorite Quotes Book Review: Mother Teresa's Secret Fire Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Do It Anyway A PICTORIAL T...

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 ...

Jimmy Akin offers us a quick look at who Pope Francis is and was, and what we can expect from our new holy father.

February 11, 2013. (Romereports.com) Despite being a close aid of John Paul II for 23 years, little is known about the life of Joseph Ratzinger. As head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith he became the moral watchdog of the Church. He fended off attacks against Marxist ideology and the dangers of heresy. A prolific writer, Cardinal Ratzinger is the author of dozens of essays and books on theology. BENEDICT XVI “Faith which is the human experience which opens up man to God is not in conflict with science. On the contrary, science requires a higher dimension for man to truly understand his essence.” Up until the late seventies, we didn’t know much about the private Joseph Ratzinger. Then on his 50th birthday, he published his memoirs, entitled Milestones. Born on April 16, 1927, in Bavaria, Germany, Joseph was the youngest of three children. Baptized the following day at the Easter Vigil Mass, he recalled that moment as personally very meaningful to him… a symbol...

Not only is it Veteran's day today, but it is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, a soldier in the "Army of God" who is the patron saint of soldiers. Saint Martin was born to pagan parents in Hungary. When he was fifteen years old, he was enrolled in the Roman armies and went to serve in Gaul, the land he was predestined to evangelize one day. The most famous episode of this period in his life is his meeting with a poor man almost naked in the dead of winter, and trembling with cold. Martin did not have a penny to give him, but he remembered the text of the Gospel: “I was naked, and you clothed Me.” “My friend,” he said, “I have nothing but my weapons and my garments.” And taking up his sword, he divided his cloak into two parts and gave one to the beggar. The following night he saw Jesus Christ in a dream, clothed with this half-cloak and saying to His Angels: “It is Martin, still a catechumen, who covered Me.” Soon afterwards he was baptized. Charity, purity, and bravery...

St. John Chrysostom (ca. 347-407) was a famous and controversial fourth century bishop. Born in Antioch, he studied law as a young man, but then went off to the mountains and became a hermit for several years. In 381, he became a deacon and was later ordained as a priest and served in his native city of Antioch. It was there that his powerful and eloquent oratory earned him the title "Chrysostom" (golden-mouthed). His homilies ranged from the Gospels to personal conversion to the moral reformation of society. He delivered 88 sermons alone on the Gospel of St. John. MORE Favorite Quotes: "Why sow where the ground makes it its care to destroy the fruit? where there are many efforts at abortion? where there is murder before the birth? for even the harlot thou dost not let continue a mere harlot, but makest her a murderess also. You see how drunkenness leads to whoredom, whoredom to adultery, adultery to murder; or rather to a something even worse than murder. For I have no ...

Mother Teresa and the Sacred Heart of Jesus Today marks the feast day of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta - a beautiful servant of God who is one of our most celebrated mothers. In her own words: “By blood, I am Albanian. By citizenship, an Indian. By faith, I am a Catholic nun. As to my calling, I belong to the world. As to my heart, I belong entirely to the Heart of Jesus.” "God still loves the world and He sends you and me to be His love and His compassion to the poor.” Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) Biography Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Peacemaker, Pioneer, Legend Related Posts on Catholic Fire : Words of Wisdom: Blessed Teresa of Calcutta A Brief Meditation from Blessed Teresa of Calcutta Blessed Mother Teresa: My Favorite Quotes A PICTORIAL TRIBUTE TO BLESSED MOTHER TERESA OF CALCUTTA (1910 - 1997) Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: Do It Anyway Mother Teresa's Reaction to President Clinton's Access to Abortion Clinics Act Recalled by Fr. Pavone Novena to Bles...

Known as a "Victorian Mother Teresa", Sister Elizabeth Prout opened schools and provided a lifeline to thousands during the industrial revolution. Sister Elizabeth Prout is seen as a pioneer of women's rights for her work in teaching the poor during the 19th century, and helping them find jobs. A dossier on Sister Elizabeth Prout will be sent to the Vatican after a Mass at her tomb in the Church of St Anne and Blessed Dominic. A WOMAN WHO SAID 'YES' THE STORY OF ELIZABETH PROUT (1820-1864) FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF THE CROSS AND PASSION

Pilsen, KS, Jun 15, 2008 ( CNA ).- The Cause for the Canonization of Father Emil Kapaun, an Army Chaplain who died while in a North Korean Prisoner of War Camp in 1951, will be officially opened on June 29. Father Emil Kapaun, a native of Pilsen, was ordained for the Catholic Diocese of Wichita on June 9, 1940. After serving as a priest in the diocese, Father Kapaun asked to be allowed to serve as a U.S. Army chaplain. On June 29, Bishop Michael O. Jackels will be the celebrant of the 10 a.m. Mass in Pilsen, Kan., Father Kapaun’s home town. After the celebration of the Mass, a short ceremony will take place in which the officials of the diocesan canonization process will take their oath of office and the Father Emil Kapaun’s Cause for Sainthood will be officially opened. MORE Fr. Kaupan's Bio: Father Kapaun, was born in Pilsen, Kansas in the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas on Holy Thursday, April 20, 1916. He was the first child of Enos and Elizabeth (Hajek) Kapaun and was of Bohemian (Cz...

Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on the death of Liberty University president Jerry Falwell: “Rev. Jerry Falwell did more to mobilize evangelicals than any other leader in the nation. He not only inspired them to become active politically, he encouraged them to rethink their positions on a host of issues, especially abortion and school choice. In 1979, he established the Moral Majority, welcoming Roman Catholics into the organization. He also founded Liberty University, an institution of higher education that quickly made its mark on American society. “Jerry was a great fighter in the culture wars. He was both an exemplary evangelical and a renowned social activist, always exuding the kind of moral courage so often lacking in religious leaders of all faiths. He will be sorely missed.” Amen. Brownback Mourns Loss of Reverend Jerry Falwell Comments from Sam Brownback: "Today, America lost a true spiritual leader and a man of great faith in Jerry Falwell. ...