Catholic Fire

Many of us struggle to understand the mystery of suffering in our lives. In fact, one of the most frequently asked questions by people of all faiths is, “Why would a loving God allow pain and suffering?” People often perceive pain and suffering as a punishment, rather than as a medicine or as a healing balm, which helps us grow closer to God. Redemptive suffering is something that we might understand intellectually, but have difficulty putting into practice. Even the great saints struggled to make sense out of the suffering and trials they endured. In Jeannie Ewing’s book, “From Grief to Grace: The Journey From Tragedy to Triumph” , she shares her own poignant struggle with suffering and grief,  recounting the story of the birth of  her daughter, Sarah, who was congenitally  diagnosed with a rare genetic condition known as Apert Syndrome, which is characterized by facial abnormalities and fused fingers.  Although Jeannie initially experienced heartbreak, loss,...

By Jean M. Heimann “Prayer is nothing else than an intimate friendship, a frequent heart-to-heart conversation with Him, Who we know loves us.” ~ St. Teresa of Avila Are you simply going through the motions when you pray or are you on fire for your faith? Sometimes, as Catholics, we get into the rut of performing our spiritual practices out of habit without really thinking about what we’re doing.  We get into a certain routine that has become dull and we don’t know how to put the life back into it. Or we may fear that if we discontinue or alter our routine, God will punish us by distancing himself from us or by allowing bad things to happen in our lives. How can we get back on track and pump up our prayer life? We need to be able to pray with conviction. Our primary reason for prayer should be because we love God, who is our Creator and our Savior.  As such, He deserves our praise and we, in turn, desperately need his grace.  When we pray with conviction, we p...

Today was one stressful day for me! Everything that could have gone wrong did -- almost. As is my daily custom, I attended afternoon Mass. During Mass, I was experiencing the pangs of chronic pain, which is often exacerbated by stress. Nevertheless, I felt elevated -- lifted up above the pain.  I began to experience joy in the midst of my suffering. The graces of the Eucharistic Sacrifice made me realize that in this present situation, I was living out Heaven on earth. St. Pope John Paul II  described the Mass as "Heaven on Earth," explaining that what "we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy." ( Angelus address, November 3, 1996).  The Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Divine Liturgy confirms John Paul II's description, further elaborating:  "In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the holy city of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgr...

The saint of the day is St. Gaspar Bertoni, a renowned Italian preacher and spiritual director. He was born to a wealthy, pious family in Verona, Italy, in 1777. Following the death of his younger sister, Gaspar remained the only child. He had the benefit of an excellent education both at home and at St. Sebastian's school. When he made his First Communion at age 11, he received a vision and message that he was to enter the priesthood. He entered the seminary in 1796, when French troops began a 20-year occupation of northern Italy. Gaspar volunteered to help those who were wounded, ill or displaced. After his ordination in 1800, he helped to establish free schools for the poor. He also helped to organize a European movement to offer prayers for Pope Pius VII, who was imprisoned by Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1816, he founded the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ. He died 19 years later, in 1835,  after years of fighting an infection in his right leg. He...

October 25, 2013. (Romereports.com) During Mass at Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis explained the keys to the Sacrament of Confession. He said it must be face-to-face and concrete. The Pope said children offer a good example of confession because they are not afraid to speak openly.   POPE FRANCIS "Confessing our sins is not going to a psychiatrist, or to a torture chamber. Some say: ‘Ah, I confess directly to God. It’s easy, But it’s like confessing by email, no?' God is far away, I say things and there’s no face-to-face contact. Little children have that wisdom: when a child comes to confess, he never says something general. ‘But Father, I did this and I did that to my aunt, another time I said this word.' And they say the word. But they are concrete, eh? They have that simplicity of the truth."  Pope Francis also spoke about shame. He said it wasn't bad. Rather, it's a God-given grace to help people return to Him. As an example, he recalled St. Peter ...

Many years ago, I went through inner healing with a spiritual director to rid myself of a block in my spiritual life – unforgiveness. I wanted to grow spiritually, but was unable to due to this obstacle. I wanted to experience the fullness of God’s peace, which He gives so freely to those who open their hearts to Him. When I went through this process, I realized that in my life, there was not just one person I needed to forgive, but many, throughout the various stages of my life. It was not an easy journey, but one that taught me valuable lessons. Here are a few of the lessons I learned: First, without forgiveness in our lives, we cannot experience the fullness of God’s love and the peace and joy that comes with it. Second, I learned that forgiveness is not an emotion, but an act of the will. You can still feel hurt by the injustice that was done to you, but make the decision to forgive the person who hurt you. Third, I began to think of all the times that I needed to be forgiven for t...

Be sure to have tissues handy. Firefighter reunites with woman he saved 40 years ago. ~ Via Mark Shea.

God created our sexual being in His own image, created it for goodness and for loveliness. Christ redeemed it for grace and for gracefulness. The presence of grace in sexual love makes it, quite literally, "graceful". The absence of grace from sexual love makes it, quite literally, "disgraceful". Marriage is ordained by God to make sexual love graceful. ~ From the Pastoral Letter of the Irish Bishops