Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for February 21 is St. Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, who was one of the Church's greatest reformers in the Middle Ages. Peter was the youngest child born to a large family in Ravenna, Italy in 1007. His parents both died when he was young and he was placed in the care of one of his brothers, who treated him like a slave. His oldest brother, a priest in Ravenna, rescued him and sent him away to study. Peter was brilliant and excelled in his studies (theology and cannon law), later returning to Ravena as a professor. Unable to endure the scandals and distractions of university life, he joined a group of Benedictine monks living in northern Italy. There he became a prior at the young age of 36: a position he held unto his death. While at the hermitage, Peter performed austere penances to the extent that he developed near permanent insomnia and was forced to modify them. Although living in the cloister, Peter kept close watch on the Church ...

Today, June 6 the, Catholic Church honors Saint Norbert of Xanten, who began his adulthood as a  worldly cleric, but was transformed by God’s grace into a powerful preacher and an ardent reformer of the 12th century Church. He is also the founder of the Norbertines. Norbert was born around the year 1080 in Xanten near Cologne, Germany. He was the son of minor nobility and by his birth was entitled to join the high ranking offices within the Church, the state, or both, including one as a Canon of the Cathedral of Xanten.  As an adult, he began a career at the Court of the Emperor Henry V. Although a cleric, Norbert lived as a "playboy" for many years. A religious vocation was far from his mind until he experienced a dramatic conversion, similar to that of St Paul on the road to Damascus. The decisive change took place suddenly in 1115. While riding one day, he was overtaken by a thunderstorm and nearly killed by a lightning bolt.  His frightened horse threw him an...