Catholic Fire

Credit: CNA, EWTN By Jean M. Heimann I was both saddened and joyful when I learned of the death of Mother Angelica on Easter Sunday, March 27. What a beautiful bride of the Lord! She offered her entire self to Him – body, mind, spirit, and soul. Now, I pray that she is rejoicing in ecstasy with Him for all eternity. Although I did not know Mother Angelica personally, I felt that we were the best of friends. She had that effect on people, not only with me, but with people all over the world. She was a down-to-earth, commonsense type of person who always spoke the truth. She was witty, feisty, funny, and sometimes a little over the top. She was herself and did not put on any airs and I think that is why we loved her. She was warm, empathetic, and very human. I first heard about Mother Angelica in the ‘80s, shortly after I returned to the Church following a fifteen year absence. I heard that there was a cloistered nun who was appearing on TV who was really shaking things up in...

Losing a sister is like losing an arm or leg. Both are irreplaceable. My sister, Maureen, took her last breath and passed on peacefully to eternal life, surrounded by family in her home, on Saturday, May 16, 2015, due to complications of an aggressive cancer, multiple myeloma. She was my youngest sister, the baby of the family, and someone I felt I needed to nurture and protect. However, she was a feisty and independent lady with a bit of rebelliousness in her blood. I remember when my mom, worked the night shift in a nursing home, she asked that we play quietly in our rooms while she slept during the day. Maureen often had difficulty playing quietly. It seemed that her play time frequently required noise. I don’t remember her doing anything quietly. Her music, singing, dancing, talking, arguing, and playing were all loud. She may have been the youngest, but she was bound and determined to get attention one way or another. During mom’s sleeping hours, I usually quietly read books...

An inspiring video from Chris Stefanick :

In his Thursday morning Mass, Pope Francis talked about the mystery of death. He explained that despite our sins, dying in the heart of the Church, is a gift. POPE FRANCIS "It's a gift from God and we must pray for it. To say, 'Lord, grant me the gift of dying at my spiritual home, in the heart of the Church.' We are sinners! All of us are. But we're not traitors. No! We are not corrupt. No! We stay on the inside! The Church, our Mother loves us so, despite our sins, the Church cleanses us. She's our Mother.” The Pope then added that every Christian should make an effort to leave a Christian legacy behind, once they pass away. SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY (Source: Vatican Radio) Speaking at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta on Thursday, Pope Francis reflected on the mystery of death, inviting us to ask God for the grace to die in hope, in the heart of the Church and in the knowledge that we have left a legacy of Christian witness behind us. Pope Francis...

The sad story of Jahi McMath, a 13-year-old girl from California, who went into cardiac arrest after complications from a tonsillectomy last month and was declared brain dead on Dec. 12, has brought  much public attention to the difficult moral, legal and spiritual questions that all families face when a loved one is dying. Here is a timeline of the events that occurred in her case. Father Jonathan Morris weighs in on Jahi McMath case: Here is the opinion of one WV physician. However, another physician challenges this opinion. Dr. Paul Byrne, a prominent Catholic pediatrician, visited the child in the hospital and “observed her responding to her grandmother’s voice and touch with a squirming movement,” according to The Associated Press. “In my opinion, this signifies she is not dead,” Dr. Byrne said. “She should receive treatment as she is alive just like everyone else with severe head injury. If she gets treatment, she will have a chance to recover brain function.”...

November 27, 2013. (Romereports.co) In his weekly general audience,  Pope Francis talked about the meaning of death. The Pope explained that even though death is often misunderstood, feared and denied, humans were designed to yearn for the infinite, found precisely in Eternal life.   The Pope then added that if one lives with God, abandoning life can be done 'serenely and confidently into His hands at the moment of our death.' SUMMARY OF POPE'S CATECHESIS Dear Brothers and Sisters: In our catechesis on the Creed, we now reflect on “the resurrection of the body”. Christian faith illumines the mystery of death and brings the hope of the resurrection.  Death challenges all of us: apart from belief in God and a vision of life as something greater than earthly existence, death appears as wholly tragic; we misunderstand it, fear and deny it. Yet human beings were made for something greater; we yearn for the infinite, the eternal. Christ’s Resurrection not only off...

On September 11, 2009, our dear cat Callie left us. She was only 8 years old. Callie had been suffering from diabetes, as well as a very progressive and destructive disease which attacked her nervous system, preventing her from walking and interfering with her elimination processes. We adopted her only one year ago after her former owner passed away, but we became very attached to her. Before this horrible disease, when Bill and I began our night prayers, she would run into our bedroom, and jump up in the bed and sit on my chest as close as she could to my face, with her whiskers in my nose, while I rubbed her cheeks. She purred loudly and just couldn't seem to get enough of this. After ten minutes of this, she would jump on Bill for few minutes, then back to me for a longer period of time. When we were finished praying, she left and went to sleep on the floor in our room.   She had the swe etest and most affectionate disposition despite all the pain she was in ...

Please continue praying for Fr. Neuhaus. Here is the latest update: His friends and family are keeping vigil and he was administered last rites shortly after midnight. Fr. George Rutler, who gave him the Catholic Sacrament, says that “he is not expected to live long” and suggests “that it is appropriate that prayers be offered for a holy death.” Fr. Neuhaus has come close to this moment before and been back. If it’s his time: Go in peace. He's a man who has loved and served His Lord. When he leaves this world, his vast intellectual and spiritual body of work will have a long life here. Speaking of his archives: Fr. Neuhaus might agree with his brother priest on the appropriate prayer for him. Fr. Neuhaus might say, if he could right now, what he's already written : We are born to die. Not that death is the purpose of our being born, but we are born toward death, and in each of our lives the work of dying is already underway. The work of dying well is, in largest part, the work...

"A large number of endangered, unwanted, and unborn children held a town hall meeting on the 4th of July--alarmed at the brutal and untimely killing of millions of their brothers and sisters in recent years. That the murderous war waged on them had the full force and respectability of the law made their plight all the more terrifying. Their complaint was humble and it was simple. They were not distressed by rising gas prices, or the deteriorating economy in general. They were not even frightened by the exponential increase of natural disasters. The threat of global warming or global terrorism did not greatly disturb them. They had become an endangered species, and little had been done to answer their terrified and silent screams from the womb... " ~An excerpt from Father Corapi's new video entitled "Death Wish" Make sure to view part 2 - as these videos go together.

The Pill Kills - and now the Department of Health and Human Services recognizes it - American Life League Reacting to news reports that the Department of Health and Human Services is considering a rule that defines abortion to include birth control, Marie Hahnenberg, project manager for Protest the Pill Day '08: The Pill Kills Babies released the following statement: We are happy to see that this proposal recognizes that the birth control pill can kill babies in the womb and we hope that this will bring even more discussion and education on the abortifacient effects of the pill, IUD, emergency contraception and many other birth control drugs. Abortionist indicted after a botched abortion leaves 22-year-old dead The Boston Globe A Harvard-affiliated obstetrician has been indicted on a manslaughter charge after an abortion he performed last year on Cape Cod ended in the death of a 22-year-old woman, prosecutors said yesterday. Dr. Rapin Osathanondh, a research associate at the Har...

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. ...

A powerful story , documented by the Kansas City Star, about a family whose whole goal was to love and welcome the little one who would die soon after birth. Via Julie D . and The Anchoress .

Bishop says continued attacks on human life will lead to self-destruction Abuja, Jan 25, 2007 / 11:59 am ( CNA ).- The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, denounced this week the different attacks on human life in all its stages, saying mankind is “marching towards a self-genocide of the human race.” “The weakness of the Christian community and the strength of secular society could spell disaster,” Bishop Sgreccia warned, and he urged all European citizens to work at reversing the trend. “Up to now the culture of death has been accepted and this path leads to self-destruction.” He also noted the “widespread mentality that trusts in bio-technological power.” Such powers, Sgreccia said aim “to change the order of the human species” and to create “men in the image and likeness of other men who have power.” Society is embracing this mentality and, “it now defends the selecting of children so that each one is perfect, without defect, and the eliminating of t...