Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for February 7 is St. Colette, virgin, reformer of the Franciscan order of Poor Clares, and unifier of the Church. She is also the founder of the Poor Clare Colettines. Colette was a miracle baby, born to parents over sixty years of age, who had been praying for a child to Nicholas of Myra. Born at Corbie in Picardy, France in 1380, Nicolette was named in honor of St. Nicholas and was known by her nickname, Colette. Quiet and hard-working, Colette was a pious child who demonstrated a sensitive and loving nature. When Colette was 17, both of her parents died and she was left her in the care of a Benedictine abbot. She distributed her inheritance to the poor and initially joined the Beguine and Benedictine orders, but neither one worked out for her. Instead, she became a third order Franciscan. At age 21, she renounced the world in order to spend her life alone in penance and prayer as an anchoress - walled into a cell whose only opening was a grilled window i...

Today we commerorate St. Henry. Henry II, successively Duke of Bavaria, King of Germany and Emperor, devoted himself to the spread of religion by rebuilding churches and founding monasteries.  Henry II, son of Henry, Duke of Bavaria, and of Gisella, daughter of Conrad, King of Burgundy, was born in 972. He succeeded his father as Duke of Bavaria, and in 1002, he was elected emperor. In 1014, he went to Rome and received the imperial crown at the hands of Pope Benedict VIII. Henry worked hard to establish peace in Europe. However, to defend justice, he had to fight many wars. He was honest in battle and insisted that his armies be honorable too. Henry married a gentle and loving woman named Cunegund (or Kunigunda) around 998. She, too, has been proclaimed a saint. The couple remained childless. Some sources claim the two lived chastely, but there is no proof of this. Emperor Henry was one of the best rulers of the Holy Roman Empire. He promoted needed reforms in the mon...