Catholic Fire

I watched EWTN News tonight and learned of the approval of the apparitions of Mary Mediatrix of all Grace  that I am excited to share this with all of you. In 1948, Our Blessed Mother appeared 19 times to a novice in the Carmelite order in Lipa City, Philippines. Teresita Castillo recounted that Our Lady stressed humility, penance, prayers for the clergy and the Pope, and to pray the Rosary. Our Lady also asked that a Mass be held on the 12th of every month. Before her final departure, the Blessed Virgin identified herself: "I am the Mediatrix of all Grace." Teresita reported that there was one secret for herself, one for the Carmel convent in Lipa City, one for China, and also one for the entire world.Initially declared by a local bishop as non-supernatural in 1951, the case was reopened in 1991 with extensive research then investigation, and was formally approved by Archbishop Ramon Arguelles on September 12, 2015.   Update: Here is a video of the EWTN News...

An affluent, aristocratic family witnessed an astonishing miracle during the 4th century.  John and his wife were childless and prayed to the Blessed Mother for a child with whom they could share their love.  They made a vow to donate their possessions to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Our Lady appeared to them in a dream on the night of August 4th into August 5th and told them to build a church in her honor on the Esquiline hill. She explained that the exact location of where they were to build would be marked out in snow.  This would be their sign that the request was truly from her. Incredibly, during that sultry summer night, a snowfall outlined the shape of the basilica on the hill. That night, the Blessed Mother also appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream so that he, too, could witness and confirm the miracle. The next morning, Roman citizens gathered on the hill to see the uncommon occurrence of snow sparkling in the summer sun. When John and his wife woke up, they...

By Jean M. Heimann On June 10, we honor Blessed John Dominici (1350 - 1420), a Dominican priest, renowned theologian and preacher, and reformer. He is wonderful example of a man who was determined to live out his full potential, using all his gifts to serve the Lord, overcoming his weaknesses. John had humble beginnings. He was born in Florence, Italy, to a very poor family, had no formal education, and suffered from a severe speech impediment, which caused him to stammer and stutter. His speech impediment, combined with a lack of formal education, made the Dominican friars doubt the validity of his vocation to their Order. The Dominican Order is known for their emphasis on education and their work in the world as preachers. Thus, for two years, John was refused admission to the Order, who encouraged him to stay at home to care for his parents. When he was finally admitted to the Order at age 17, John demonstrated an excellent memory, as well as an aptitude for theology and ...

The saint of the day for April 8 is St. Julie Billart. Saint Julie was born in Cuvilly, France, on July 12, 1751 to a loving family. She was a woman of serenity, despite the great personal suffering she endured. The Billiart family survived many hardships, including the deaths of several children. When Julie was 16, she went to work as a teacher to help support her family. One night, robbers invaded her home and shot her father as she stood by helplessly. He recovered from the incident, but the trauma caused Julie, who was then 23, to become paralyzed and a complete invalid. Besides her physical and emotional distress, Julie suffered religious persecution. During the French Revolution, Julie opened her home as a hiding place for loyal priests, which forced her to flee and hide from danger. Throughout her suffering and trials, she steadfastly trusted in God’s goodness. Her motto was: “Oh, how good God is!” At the age of 53, Julie and her very good friend, Françoise Blin de Bou...

Irishwoman Marion Carroll and her husband Jim talk about her cure from multiple sclerosis after a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock.

Late Archbishop Fulton Sheen is one step closer to becoming a Blessed. A group of Vatican doctors and theologians agreed that a miracle should be attributed to the intercession of Venerable Fulton Sheen. The case involves a stillborn baby boy. His mother gave birth to him back on September 2010. For over an hour, the stillborn showed no signs of life. Overwhelmed with grief, his parents started praying to Fulton Sheen, asking for a miracle. After 61 minutes, the baby boy responded. Three years and a full recovery later, the boy named James Fulton Engstrom, in honor of the late Archbishop, is doing just fine. The American prelate rose to fame back in the 1950's with his television show 'Life is Worth Living.' He even won an Emmy for his work. He died on December 9th, 1979, but he is still remembered for his direct, clear and moving homilies. The process isn't over just yet. Now that a team of doctors and theologians agreed that there is no medical explanation ...

The saint of the day for April 8 is St. Julie Billart. Saint Julie was born in Cuvilly, France, on July 12, 1751 to a loving family. She was a woman of serenity, despite the great personal suffering she endured. The Billiart family survived many hardships, including the deaths of several children. When Julie was 16, she went to work as a teacher to help support her family. One night, robbers invaded her home and shot her father as she stood by helplessly. He recovered from the incident, but the trauma caused Julie, who was then 23, to become paralyzed and a complete invalid. Besides her physical and emotional distress, Julie suffered religious persecution. During the French Revolution, Julie opened her home as a hiding place for loyal priests, which forced her to flee and hide from danger. Throughout her suffering and trials, she steadfastly trusted in God’s goodness. Her motto was: “Oh, how good God is!” At the age of 53, Julie and her very good friend, Françoise Blin de Bour...

A seven-member team of medical experts convoked by the Vatican reported there is no natural explanation for the survival of a child delivered stillborn and whose heart did not start beating until 61 minutes after his birth. The survival of the child, James Fulton Engstrom of Goodfield, now 3 years old and developing normally, was credited by his parents to a miracle attributable to the intercession of Archbishop Fulton Sheen, a Peoria diocesan priest who gained fame for his 1950s television show "Life Is Worth Living" and his 16 years at the helm of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith. The medical experts' report was announced March 6 in Peoria by the Archbishop Fulton Sheen Foundation, of which Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, is president. "Today is a significant step in the cause for the beatification and canonization of our beloved Fulton Sheen, a priest of Peoria and a Son of the Heartland who went on to change the world," Bishop Jenky said in...

When Therese Daoud arrived at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital with a huge cancerous tumor, doctors said her only chance of survival would be to amputate the leg. What happened during the following months has left the medical staff and the nation speechless. “If someone had told me the story of what happened to Therese, I would have said they are crazy and sent them to a mental hospital,” said Professor Yaakov Bickels, head of the Orthopedic- Oncology Department at the hospital. “But I was there. I saw it with my own eyes.” Read more.

Venerable Sister Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, SC (1901-1927) Pope Francis recently approved a decree attributing a miracle to the intercession of a New Jersey nun, thus paving the way for her beatification. According to the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth , Venerable Miriam Teresa Demjanovich (1901-27) is a candidate for sainthood “because of her saintly life, her striving for perfection in her religious life, her spiritual writings, the mystical privileges accorded her by God during life, and the favors received by others after her death through her intercession with God.” Who is Sister Miriam Teresa? Teresa Demjanovich, a 20th Century American girl, was born in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1901, the youngest of seven children of Alexander and Johanna (Suchy) Demjanovich, Ruthenian immigrants to the United States from what is now Eastern Slovakia. Teresa received Baptism, Confirmation, and her First Holy Communion in the Byzantine-Ruthenian ...

September 19, 2013. (Romereports.com) There's a miracle behind this face. On April 8th 2011, Floribeth Mora woke up with a headache so strong she had to be taken to the emergency room.   FLORIBETH MORA “I was hospitalized. They told me I had a brain hemorrhage.” The doctors didn't have good news for Floribeth's husband. They told him her days were limited. But that was before John Paul II came into the picture. Now, in a special program produced by ROME REPORTS, they share the human drama they went through and the unexpected outcome of their story. A heartwarming and emotional story that saved her life and paved the way towards John Paul II's canonization. EDWIN ARCE Floribeth's husband “I try not to remember those difficult moments because they were filled with pain.” FLORIBETH MORA “Then, I suddenly hear a voice in my room that tells me: 'Rise.' I got up and went into the kitchen, where my husband asked me what I was doing. I told him: '...

The Italian media is reporting that a panel of theologians has approved a second miracle attributed to Blessed John Paul II. USCA News reports: A panel of theologians has approved a miracle attributed to Blessed John Paul II, according to the Italian news service ANSA. If the report is accurate, the approval could pave the way for the canonization of John Paul II this year—possibly in October, in time for the 35th anniversary of his election to the papacy. ANSA reports that the theologians appointed by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to study a reported miracle have given their approval. Earlier this year a panel of doctors found that the cure was medically inexplicable. The Vatican has not confirmed the approval by either panel, and the nature of the reported miracle has not been disclosed. If the miracle has been approved by both doctors and theologians, the only remaining steps would be the formal approval of the cardinals who make up the Congregation for the C...

A premature newborn in Australia, born along with his twin sister at just 27 weeks’ gestation and weighing in at only two pounds, was pronounced dead by his physician after medical staff tried for twenty minutes to revive him. Jamie Ogg, now a little over three years old, is alive today only because of the undying love and affection of his mother. Read the story.

My family has started praying for a miracle for my sister-in-law, Betty, who has an aggressive cancer.  Please join us in praying for a miracle through the intercession of Venerable Father Emil Kapaun . Prayer for Intercession Father Emil Kapaun gave glory to God by following his call to the priesthood and thus serving the people of Kansas and those in the military. Father Kapaun, I ask your intercession not only for these needs which I mention now. . .but that I too may follow your example of service to God and my neighbor. For the gifts of courage in battle and perseverance of faith, we give you thanks O Lord. Recite one Our Father, one Hail Mary, and one Glory Be.

Colorado Springs, Colo., Apr 3, 2013 / 04:03 am (CNA).- The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration are thrilled at the approved beatification of their German founder, Mother Maria Theresia Bonzel, after a Vatican-recognized miracle in Colorado. “We are enthusiastically surprised,” Sister Clarice Gentrup, the congregation's vicar general, told CNA April 2. “After all these years, we’re coming closer and closer to beatification and canonization, possibly.” Pope Francis approved the 19th century nun's beatification on March 27. The ceremony will be celebrated at the Catholic cathedral in Paderborn, Germany on Nov. 10 and her hometown of Olpe will host an event on Nov. 11. The miracle attributed to Mother Maria Theresia involves the healing of a Colorado Springs boy named Luke Burgie. In September 1998, at the age of four, he began suffering from a severe viral infection that caused chronic diarrhea. Many doctors and specialists could not cure him. “Nobody coul...

This is an awesome video!

Steven and Michelle Wilson were told to expect to lose both their girls after the death of Ellie at 30 days. But Chloe has defied the odds and has gone from strength to strength in hospital. Mr Wilson, 24, of South Hetton, County Durham, said: "We have waited 16 weeks for this and it feels fantastic. "It feels just right having her here in her home rather than hospital. I think we must be the only parents who are looking forward to being woken in the night." Go Here For The Full Story...... ~ Via Covenant News.

As a pro-life activist, I have had a strong devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe, patron of the unborn, for many years. I have taken her image with me to the abortion mills and have witnessed the power of her presence in saving human life. However, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 2005, I experienced my own personal miracle. It was on that day that my husband and I venerated the miraculous image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which had been touched to the original image. We attended Holy Mass, and then blessed our rosaries and medals by touching each one to the image of Our Lady. We also wrote our prayer petitions on a paper, touched them to her image, and left them with her. We surrendered our hearts and entrusted our concerns to our Mother, placing ourselves in her tender, loving care, just as St. Juan Diego did. We felt very much at peace on that day. We felt her presence and were reassured by her comforting words. One week later, our prayers were answered. For us, it was a personal...