Catholic Fire

Today, October 18, is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is believed that St. Luke was born a Greek and a gentile. A physician at Antioch, and a painter, St. Luke became a convert of Saint Paul and afterwards his fellow-laborer. Luke was the writer of the Gospel and its "companion volume," the Acts of the Apostles and has been identified with St. Paul's "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Saint Luke shared the shipwreck and perils of Saint Paul's voyage to Rome, and was with him in his last days. He later died a martyr's death in Achaia. After St. John, St. Luke's writings (both his Gospel and Acts of the Apostles) are my favorite part of the New Testament. Although Luke was not an eye witness, he was a historian who carefully researched his material and obtained details from eye witnesses. As a physician, Luke emphasizes the miracles and the merciful love of Jesus, which heals his children and welcomes all into his arms --...

August 11 is the memorial of St. Clare, one of my favorite saints. She was the first woman to follow the life of radical poverty practiced by St. Francis of Assisi and is the co-founder of the Poor Clares. Although I am not a Franciscan, I have had Franciscan friends, clergy, and spiritual directors instruct me on the beauty of St. Clare's spirituality. I have also learned a great deal from reading about her over the years. Clare and Francis (2007) is a film which depicts the fascinating story of her dramatic conversion and surrender to the will of God. St. Clare is the patron saint of television. She is also the patron of eye disorders, embroiderers, good weather, and telephones. The Contemplative Life The Lady Clare was born into a noble family in Assisi in 1193 and was admired for her great beauty. When she heard Francis of Assisi preach his Lenten homilies at the Church of San Giorgio, she was captivated by his words. At age eighteen, she heard him say: "When the...

The saint of the day for July 20 is St. Apollinaris, an illustrious second century bishop and a great apologist for his time. Born in Antioch, Turkey, he became the first bishop of Ravenna, in Italy, where he shepherded his flock for twenty-six years. He addressed a defense of the Christian religion to the emperor Marcus Aurelius, who, shortly before, had obtained a signal victory over the Quadi, a people inhabiting the country now called Moravia. One of his legions, the twelfth, was composed chiefly of Christians. When the army was perishing for want of water, the soldiers of this legion fell upon their knees and invoked the assistance of God. The result was sudden, for a copious rain fell, and, aided by the storm, they conquered the Germans. The emperor gave this legion the name "Thundering Legion" and mitigated his persecution. It was to protect his flock against persecution that St. Apollinaris, who was bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia, addressed his apology to the...

St. Agnes of Montepulciano April 20 is the feast of St. Agnes of Montepulciano, a Dominican abbess and foundress in medieval Tuscany. Seventy years after Agnes died St. Catherine of Siena made a pilgrimage to the shrine of this famous Dominican foundress.  As St. Catherine bowed to kiss Agnes’ foot, the saint raised it up toward her so she would not have to bend so far. Catherine may not have been completely surprised, as miracles surrounded Agnes’ life. This holy virgin was born in 1268 in a little village near Montepulciano, Italy to the affluent De Segni family. When she was born, mysterious flashing bright lights illuminated the house where she was born, announcing her birth. At age six, Agnes was already pleading with her parents to let her enter the cloister. When they told her that she was too young, she begged them to move to nearby Montepulciano, so she could make regular visits to the monastery there. The family did not move, but they did allow Agnes to make vi...

On February 3, we commemorate St. Blaise, a physician and Bishop of Sebaste, Armenia in the 4th century. He lived in a cave on Mount Argeus and was a healer of men and animals. Legend tells us that sick animals would come to him on their own for help, but would never disturb him at prayer. As bishop, Blaise became a healer of souls and taught his people how to live a holy life by his example. His great virtues and sanctity were confirmed by many miracles.  Crowds came to him for the cure of both bodily and spiritual afflictions. Agricola, the governor of Cappadocio, came to Sebaste to persecute Christians. His hunters discovered Blaise praying while seeking wild animals for the arena and arrested him as a Christian. Blaise was taken to prison, but on the way there he interceded to God on the behalf of a child who was choking to death on a fish bone. The child was cured, which led to the blessing of throats on Blaise's feast day. Thrown into a lake to drown, Blaise stoo...

By Jean M. Heimann January 6th is the feast of St André Bessette, a religious brother and a humble doorkeeper who was deeply devoted to prayer.  He compassionately comforted the sick and afflicted. Through his intercessory prayers to St. Joseph, many were miraculously healed. One-half million cures have been attributed to his prayers. Saint André was born on August 9, 1845, near Montreal, Canada as Alfred Bessette. The son of a woodcutter, her was the eighth of twelve children. His father died in a work-related accident and his mother died of tuberculosis. He was adopted at age 12 by a farmer who insisted that he work to pay for his keep. After working as a farmhand, he labored at various trades: shoemaker, baker, and blacksmith -- all failures. He was a factory worker during the Civil War. At age 25, he applied to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross, but was initially refused due to his poor health. He latter gained the support of Bishop Bourget, and was fina...

By Jean M. Heimann December 10 is the feast day of Our Lady of Loreto, which commemorates the house in which Mary was born and where the Annunciation occurred. Tradition tells us that in 1291 this house was transported from the Holy Land to Dalmatia (present day Yugoslavia) by a band of angels! In Dalmatia, shepherds discovered the sudden appearance of a little house in a field. They informed the local priest, a cripple, who visited the house. While there, he received a vision about the house and was healed of his physical handicap. He was informed that St. Peter put the altar in the house and the figure of Mary (now known as Our Lady of Loreto) was carved by St. Luke.  A commission sent to the Holy Land learned that the house of Mary had, indeed, vanished, and the foundation left behind measured exactly the length and width of the house in Dalmatia which had miraculously appeared out of nowhere.     Angels moved the house two other times to protect it from pl...

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...

Today the Church honors St. Catherine of Laboure, the humble Daughter of Charity to whom Mary appeared, requesting that the Miraculous Medal be struck so that all who wear it would receive great graces. Saint Catherine Laboure was born in Burgundy, France on May 2, 1806. The ninth of eleven children born to a farm family, she felt a call to the religious life from an early age. Catherine entered the community of the Daughters of Charity, in obedience to a vision of Saint Vincent de Paul, telling her that God wanted her to work with the sick. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Catherine Laboure, who was then a 24-year-old novice, three times. On July 18, 1830, the first apparition occurred in the community's motherhouse. St. Catherine saw a lady seated on the right side of the sanctuary. When St. Catherine approached her, the heavenly visitor told her how to act in time of trial and pointed to the altar as the source of all consolation. Promising to entrust St. Catheri...

The Visionaries -- Lucia, age 9, Francisco, 8, and Jacinta, 6 By Jean M. Heimann On Sunday in October 13, 1917, at midday, a crowd of approximately 100,000 spectators gathered on a rainy day in a wet, soggy field to witness the miracle that was about to take place. The people had gathered there because three shepherd children had predicted that at high noon Our Lady who had appeared to them several times would perform a great miracle in a field near Fatima, Portugal called Cova da Iria. “Silence, Silence, Our Lady is coming!” Lucia shouted out, over the din of the crowd, as she saw the bright flash of light in the sky over the holm oak tree. Everyone grew quiet; a holy hush came over the crowd as they instantly fell to their knees. It was as if there was an electrically charged current running through the crowd, as they waited in eager anticipation of the miraculous appearance of the Mother of God. Suddenly, she appeared. Our Lady was dressed all in white with brilliant...

September 23 is the memorial of St. Pio of Pietrelcina (1887-1968). St. Pio is one of my favorite saints. Miracles happened everyday of his life. He was a priest, a mystic, and a stigmatist who possessed many rare and mysterious gifts. He was bi-locational, that is, he appeared in two places at one time. He was able to communicate with others through mental telepathy. When he thought of them, they began to smell the scent of violets, which they associated with him. In the Confessional, he was able to tell people their sins in detail, even those which they did not confess to him. Through the simple means of touch, he was able to heal others. God had blessed him with an abundance of gifts that he used wisely to build up the body of Christ and to convert sinners. Padre Pio was born in 1887 in the small village of Pietrelcina in southern Italy, the son of a shepherd. His baptized name was Francesco (Francis) Forgione. He joined the Capuchin friars at the age of 16 and was ordained ...

The saint of the day for September 10 is St. Nicholas of Tolentino, a simple priest and Augustinian friar whose life influenced many. His powerful preaching and practice of the virtue of charity brought many to Christ. His life of prayer, penance, and austerity shaped his holiness. He is known for his strong devotion to the poor souls in purgatory. Nicholas was born in 1245 in Sant’Angelo in the diocese of Fermo in Italy. His middle-aged parents named him in thanksgiving to St. Nicholas of Myra, to whose shrine they had made a pilgrimage after being childless for several years. Nicholas showed early signs of piety. At age seven, he hid away in a nearby cave and prayed there like the hermits whom he had observed in the mountains. He became an Augustinian friar at age eighteen and was ordained at twenty-five. Nicholas had visions of angels reciting "to Tolentino" and took this as a sign to move to that city in 1274, where he lived the rest of his life. Tolentino ...

August 11 is the memorial of St. Clare of Assisi, the first woman to follow the life of radical poverty practiced by St. Francis of Assisi and co-founder of the Poor Clares. The Contemplative Life The Lady Clare was born into a noble family in Assisi in 1193 and was admired for her great beauty. When she heard St. Francis of Assisi preach his Lenten homilies at the Church of San Giorgo, she was captivated by his words and became deeply determined to live the gospel in a radical way. On the evening of Palm Sunday, at the age of 18, she secretly left her paternal home with her cousin Pacifica, never to return. In the dead of night lit only by torches, Clare met Francis and his friars at the ‘Portiuncola’. There, in the little chapel of ‘Mary of the Angels’, Francis cut her long blond hair and Clare laid aside her fine clothes, clothing herself in a simple dress of sackcloth and a thick veil. She vowed from that moment on to give herself totally to God, her eternal spouse. Clare...

By Jean M. Heimann 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 in Lisbon, Portugal and was baptized Fernando Martins de Bulhões. His parents sent him to be educated by the clergy at the Cathedral of Lisbon.  At the age of 15, he joined the Canons Regular of St. Augustine.  At 17, he transferred to the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Coimba. For a period of eight years, he devoted himself to study and prayer. When he was 25, Fernando met five Franciscan friars who were on their way to Morocco to serve as missionaries.  Five months later, when the bodies of these five were brought back from Morocco, he expressed an intense desire to suffer martyrdom in a similar manner.  Stirred by their h...

Today is the feast of St. Conrad of Piacenza, a Third Order Franciscan hermit celebrated for his piety and miraculous cures at Noto in Sicily. St. Conrad was a noble, born at Piacenza, Italy. As a young man, he married the beautiful Euphrosyne, daughter of a nobleman. One day while hunting, Conrad made a fire that quickly spread throughout the area. The wind carried the flames to nearby fields, forests, towns and villages. An innocent peasant was arrested as an arsonist and condemned to death, but Conrad stepped forward to admit his guilt in the matter, saving the man's life. Consequently, he had to sell his possessions to pay for the damages. He and his wife gave everything they owned to the poor in recompense. Conrad and his wife then decided to enter the religious life. She became a Poor Clare, and he entered the Franciscan Third Order as a hermit. Conrad went to Noto, in Sicily, where he lived the next three decades at St. Martin's Hospital and in a hermitage ...

Today is the memorial of St Andre Bessette, who struggled with illness for much of his life, humbly devoted his life to prayer, and served the Lord by comforting the sick and afflicted. Through his intercessory prayers to St. Joseph, many received God’s healing graces. Saint Andre was born on August 9, 1845, near Montreal, Canada as Alfred Bessette. The son of a woodcutter, her was the eighth of twelve children. His father died in a work-related accident and his mother died of tuberculosis. He was adopted at age 12 by a farmer who insisted that he work to pay for his keep. After working as a farmhand, he labored at various trades: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith -- all failures. He was a factory worker during the Civil War. At age 25, he applied to join the Congregation of the Holy Cross, but was initially refused due to his poor health. He latter gained the support of Bishop Bourget, and was finally accepted. Alfred entered the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1870, taking the name ...

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe -- one of my favorite Marian feast days. Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, brings hope into our lives. She covers us in the folds of her heavenly mantle and cradles us. She is the Mother who tenderly consoles us and protects us from evil. She is the one who carries Divine Life within her and crushed the head of the wicked serpent. She brings us life and love; hope and healing. She brought conversion to Mexico and will renew the Americas again if we pray for her intercession. History Five centuries ago, in the country now known as Mexico, senseless human sacrifices were performed. Between 20,000 and 50,000 human beings were murdered a year in the Aztec empire. Most of them were slaves and included men, as well as women, and children. An early Mexican historian estimated that one out of every five children in Mexico was sacrificed to the gods. The climax of these ritualistic killings came in 1487 when a new...