Catholic Fire

June 6 is the memorial of St. Norbert, a convert, priest, preacher, and reformer of the Church in the 12th century. He is the founder of the Norbertines and the patron saint of peace. Norbert was born around the year 1080 in Xanten, a town near the Holland-German border.  He was the son of nobility.  Through the influence of his family he obtained a financial subsidy from the parish church at Xanten when he accepted ordination to the subdiaconate.  His only task was to chant the Divine Office at the Church, but he apparently paid someone a small fee to take his place in the choir, because he gained an appointment as a chaplain-religious counselor to the emperor, Henry V in Cologne.  As a young man, he was wealthy and committed to worldly pleasures.  The thought of a religious vocation was the furthest thing from his mind until he had a dramatic conversion experience. One day in the spring of 1115, while riding his horse, a thunderbolt from a sudden stor...

Today is the optional memorial of St. Juan Diego. Juan Diego was born in 1474 with the name "Cuauhtlatoatzin" ("the talking eagle") in Cuauhtitlan, which was located in what now is part of Mexico City.  He was a member of the macehualli, or “poor Indian" class, the lowest (just above slave status) and largest group in the Aztec Empire. As an adult, he lived a simple life, farming the fields and weaving mats. He owned a piece of land with a small house on it. He and his wife were happily married but had no children. Around 1525, both converted and were baptized.  At that time, he received the Christian name of Juan Diego and his wife received the name of Maria Lucia. After his wife's death in 1529, Juan Diego withdrew to Tolpetlac, to the home of his uncle, Juan Bernardino, who had also become a Christian. On December 9, 1531, as was his custom every Saturday, he left before dawn, to walk to the Mass celebrated in honor of the Blessed Virgin, at the...

By Jean M. Heimann As Catholics, most of us have a difficult time sharing our faith story with others. Unlike our Protestant brothers and sisters, we have not been taught to evangelize. Nevertheless, people today are hungry to hear how God is working in and through others. There is a yearning for the truth and a longing for hope in our wounded world. But how can we help others if we cannot even share how God is working in our lives? Today I would like to share a conversation I had with Nancy HC Ward, a Catholic convert, journalist, blogger and speaker who offers a solution to this dilemma. In her new DVD "Sharing YOUR Faith Story," she tells her own conversion story while coaching her viewers on how to share their stories. Nancy, I have been enjoying your blog, JoyAlive.net for years. It is both uplifting and inspirational. Now, you have a wonderful new resource, a DVD, entitled “Sharing YOUR Faith Story.” I recently viewed your DVD and it is an excellent reso...

On April 15, we celebrate the feast of Blessed César de Bus, a priest, teacher, and founder of two religious congregations: the Fathers of Christian Doctrine and the Daughters of Christian Doctrine. He is the patron of catechists. César was born at Cavaillon, France in 1544, and was educated by the Jesuits. As a youth, he led a holy and virtuous life.  At eighteen, he joined the French army, and fought in the king’s war against the Huguenots. After the war, he dedicated his time in pursuit of the arts, writing poetry and painting. Then, he tried to join a naval fleet, which was besieging La Rochelle; but due to serious illness was unable to carry out his plans. Instead, he travelled to Paris. In Paris, César drifted away from his faith and began living a life of self-gratification and worldly ambition. For three years, he indulged his sinful wishes until the death of his brother, a canon of Salon. When his brother died, César managed to acquire his vacated positio...

I am pleased to participate in Andy LaVallee’s book-launch blog tour, hosted by Ellen Gable Hrkach of Full Quiver Publishing.   Entrepreneur Andrew LaValee was living in the fast lane and had no strong desire to return to his Catholic faith. After all, why should someone who is worldly successful and who has achieved nearly all his goals in life, go searching for something he is not particularly interested in finding? In From the Hub to the Heart , Andy LaValee and Leticia Velasquez share his captivating conversion story. He grew up in a tough neighborhood in Boston and spent most of his adult life drinking, gambling, and swearing. Then, one day, he met Jim Cavaziel (the actor who portrayed Jesus in The Passion of the Christ), who dared Andy to visit Medjugorje, a poor, obscure village in Croatia, where it has been alleged that the Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing for the past thirty years. His initial reaction to this challenge was, “No way am I going to fly fifteen ...

By Justin S. Steele, Imprimatur: Most Rev. Michael O. Jackels, released April 5, 2013, 260 pages, Light of Christ Press, Available in paperback ($14.95.) from Light of Christ Press . Justin S. Steele graduated in 2012 with a Masters degree in Theology from Newman University in Wichita, KS. He serves as a full-time Youth Minister. He and his wife have four children and one on the way. Reviewed by JEAN M. HEIMANN, M. A. Theology, author of Seven Saints for Seven Virtues , freelance writer, psychologist, and oblate with the Community of St. John. Praying Made Me Catholic: With the Biblical and Historical Reasons Why I Must Remain Catholic  is Justin S. Steele’s captivating conversion story. Raised as a non-denominational Christian, Steele was taught many Protestant and Seventh-day Adventist misconceptions about the Catholic Church, which distorted his perceptions of Catholicism. However, that did not prevent him from learning the truth. Thirteen family moves (due to dad’s w...

Philippe de Champaigne, Saint Augustine, c. 1645-1650 By Jean M. Heimann Today, August 28th, is the feast of St. Augustine, a Western Father of the Church whose conversion to Christianity is well-known as one of the most important events in the history of the Church. He was an illustrious theologian, a bishop, and a great doctor of the Church. Augustine was born in Tagaste, Africa in 354 to Patricius, a pagan Roman official, and to Monica, a devout Christian. Monica raised Augustine in the Christian faith, but when he went to study law in Carthage, he turned away from his Christian beliefs and led a life of immorality and hedonism. At age 15, he took a took a mistress who bore him a son, Adeodatus, which means “the gift of God,” and at age 18, he and his friend, Honoratus became members of the Manichaean heretical sect, which accepted the dual principle of good and evil. The late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen explained his attraction to the heresy: “The conflict between fl...

April 1 is the feast of a little-known saint whose story demonstrates the power of the Church as the home of forgiveness, redemption and mercy. St. Mary of Egypt was a prostitute for 17 years before she received the Eucharist and chose the life of a hermit. Born in 344 A.D., Mary of Egypt moved to the city of Alexandria when she was 12 years old and worked as a prostitute. With the intention of continuing her trade, she joined a large group that was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On the feast day itself, she joined the crowd as it was headed to the church in order to venerate the relic of the True Cross, again with the intention of luring others into sin. When she got to the door of the church, she was unable to enter. A miraculous force propelled her away from the door each time she approached. After trying to get in three or four times, Mary of Egypt moved to a corner of the churchyard and began to cry tears of remorse. ...

Today, June 6 the, Catholic Church honors Saint Norbert of Xanten, who began his adulthood as a  worldly cleric, but was transformed by God’s grace into a powerful preacher and an ardent reformer of the 12th century Church. He is also the founder of the Norbertines. Norbert was born around the year 1080 in Xanten near Cologne, Germany. He was the son of minor nobility and by his birth was entitled to join the high ranking offices within the Church, the state, or both, including one as a Canon of the Cathedral of Xanten.  As an adult, he began a career at the Court of the Emperor Henry V. Although a cleric, Norbert lived as a "playboy" for many years. A religious vocation was far from his mind until he experienced a dramatic conversion, similar to that of St Paul on the road to Damascus. The decisive change took place suddenly in 1115. While riding one day, he was overtaken by a thunderstorm and nearly killed by a lightning bolt.  His frightened horse threw him an...

Read this amazing conversion story of a couple -- a Hindu and a Baptist-- who just became Catholic. It is beautiful and inspiring!

April 1 is the feast of a little-known saint whose story demonstrates the power of the Church as the home of forgiveness, redemption and mercy. St. Mary of Egypt was a prostitute for 17 years before she received the Eucharist and chose the life of a hermit. Born in 344 A.D., Mary of Egypt moved to the city of Alexandria when she was 12 years old and worked as a prostitute. With the intention of continuing her trade, she joined a large group that was making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. On the feast day itself, she joined the crowd as it was headed to the church in order to venerate the relic of the True Cross, again with the intention of luring others into sin. When she got to the door of the church, she was unable to enter. A miraculous force propelled her away from the door each time she approached. After trying to get in three or four times, Mary of Egypt moved to a corner of the churchyard and began to cry tears of remorse. T...

Today the Church celebrates the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul , which gives us occasion to reflect on our own faith journey and our own conversion experiences. How do we relate to Paul’s conversion story? St. Paul's Conversion Paul was the most ferocious enemy of the Church, who as a zealous Jew and Pharisee was persecuting Christians during the first century. Paul rooted out Christians in the synagogues, taking them into Jerusalem in chains to have them persecuted. In fact, he even assisted in the stoning of St. Stephen, the first martyr. Then, suddenly, without warning, as he is traveling on the road to Damascus, he hears the voice of God speaking to Him, is blinded by a bright light, and is knocked off his horse. While Paul was an intellectual, a learned Rabbi, a great theologian, his conversion experience was hardly an intellectual one. He was not converted by reason, by an acceptance of Christian ideas, nor was he swayed over by Christian apologetics, but his was...

 I love hearing about conversion miracles like this one reported by LSN: Infamous Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas, 64, known for such sordid films as Basic Instinct and Showgirls, has undergone a conversion and now will be writing a new film on Our Lady of Guadalupe. Eszterhas has been one of Hollywood's most influential screenwriters, writing lucrative blockbuster films, such as Flashdance, Jagged Edge, and Basic Instinct, and raking in million-dollar paychecks.  Known for living the full 'Hollywood lifestyle', Eszterhas gave it up to move home to Ohio with his wife and children in the late 1990s. In 2001, faced with throat cancer resulting from his smoking and alcohol addictions, which threatened to kill him, Eszterhas turned to God in desperation. "Seven years ago, I sat down on a curb near my home, sobbing, and asked God to help me," he writes in a September 2008 Washington Post article.  "I cried and begged God to help me ... and He did. I h...

Part I Part II Part III Dawn Eden , author of "The Thrill of The Chaste" and the Dawn Patrol blog, gives a spur of the moment interview with the Franciscans of the Immaculate, at the Marian Friary "Our Lady of Guadalupe" in Griswold Connecticut. Related Posts: American Papist - Dawn Eden thrills the Today Show LifeSite News - Dawn Eden - Driven to Pro-Life and Faith by Rebellion - LifeSiteNews Interview

Anna Dickey relates how Jesus Christ led her to the Catholic Church. She started out with many misconceptions about the Church and in this video she explains how God revealed Himself and showed the misconceptions to be false.