Catholic Fire

Today, May 2, is the memorial of St. Athanasius, bishop and doctor of the Church. St. Athanasius (295 - 373) was the Church's greatest hero in the battle against Arianism (a heresy that denied Christ's divinity),which, in his lifetime, earned him the title "Father of Orthodoxy". Athanasius was born into a Christian family in Alexandria, Egypt, where he received a classical education. He was ordained a deacon and later became a priest. Athanasius served as secretary to Bishop Alexander and accompanied him to the Council of Nicea, which officially condemned Arianism. When Bishop Alexander died, Athanasius succeeded him. The next 46 years were filled with constant conflict. Anthanasius was exiled on five different occasions under five different emperors. However, his loyalty to the Church never wavered, his courage never weakened even in the face of cruel persecution. For five years he hid in a deep, dry cistern to be safe from their wrath of the Arians and t...

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning; Rend your hearts, not your garments, and return to the LORD, your God. For gracious and merciful is he, slow to anger, rich in kindness, and relenting in punishment. (Joel 2: 12-13) It's that time of year again -- the time of both internal and external recollection that we are setting out on a journey. On Ash Wednesday, the ashes placed on our forehead invite us to begin a new journey of repentance. They invite us to turn back to God and to receive new life. Once again, we are called to let God penetrate deeper into our lives, for indeed, turning back to Him with our whole hearts is a submission to His holy will. Lent is a time when we permit God to purify our hearts allow Him to unite our wills with His. Lent is a time of interior spring cleaning and obtaining new strength and great graces from God. This is the time of year to take a good look inside of ourse...

Today, September 19, we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of La Salette. On Saturday, September 19, 1846, on the feast day of Our Lady of Sorrows. about three o'clock in the afternoon, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared on the mountain in La Salette, France to fifteen-year-old Melanie Calvat and eleven-year-old Maximin Giraud, two young shepherds. Mary appeared in a resplendent light as a beautiful woman dressed in a strange costume, seated on a stone, her face buried in her hands, crying. The beautiful lady then stood up and crossed her arms. She told the children not to be afraid but reassured them that she had great news to share. She gave them both a public message and asked them to make her message known to all her people. Our Lady called the townspeople to repent of their sins and to turn back to Christ.  The Blessed Mother told them: "If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me ...

Dr. Jem Sullivan explores Lenten themes in sacred art:

WHAT IS LENT? Lent is a 40-day period of preparation for Easter Sunday and one of the major liturgical seasons of the Catholic Church. Signifying the 40 days that Jesus spent in the desert after His baptism, it is a penitential season marked by prayer, fasting and abstinence, and almsgiving. Lent is not necessarily about “giving something up” for 40 days only to return to it on day 41 or afterward, but is a period of ongoing conversion so that we may draw closer to Jesus. When we repent for our sins and then make a permanent- rather than temporary- change in our lifestyle, a spiritual transformation can take place. At the heart of repentance lies the call to conversion. “Repent and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15)! Here's to a happy and holy Lent! Here's a great reading list for Lent , and another to which I would add this wonderful book. You'll find Lenten activities for the whole family HERE. Fr. Robert Barron’s Daily Lent Reflections (E-mail) ( Wa...

It's that time of year again -- the time of both internal and external recollection that we are setting out on a journey. On Ash Wednesday , the ashes placed on our forehead invite us to begin a new journey of repentance. They invite us to turn back to God and to receive new life. Once again, we are called to let God penetrate deeper into our lives, for indeed, turning back to Him with our whole hearts is a submission to His holy will. Lent is a time when we permit God to purify our hearts allow Him to unite our wills with His. Lent because it is a time of interior spring cleaning and obtaining new strength and great graces from God. This is the time of year to take a good look inside of ourselves and take inventory. What bad habit or sin can I work on permanently eliminating in my life? What sin am I really attached to that I can work on removing – not just during this Lenten season, but permanently? Is this sin really that necessary for my survival in this world? What virt...

Archbishop Raymond L. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, delivered a speech on September 8 discussing how to advance the culture of life in the U.S. and how to rectify the “scandal” of publicly known Catholics who confuse and distort Church teaching. At the 14th Annual Partnership Dinner of InsideCatholic.com, Archbishop Burke said that t hose who have publicly espoused and cooperated in gravely sinful acts lead people into confusion and error about “fundamental questions.” Just as their dissent was public, their repentance must also be public. “The person in question bears a heavy responsibility for the grave scandal which he has caused. The responsibility is especially heavy for political leaders,” the archbishop added. Repairing the damage done by such scandal “begins with the public acknowledgment of his own error and the public declaration of his adherence to the moral law. The soul which recognizes the gravity of what he has done will, in fact, understand immediate...

An excellent reflection by Fr. Leo Clifford, O.F.M. on handling our failures. He uses St. Peter and St. Paul as examples and also includes G.K. Chesterton, Francis Thompson, St. Margaret of Cortona, St. Augustine in his brief inspirational talk. Includes Psalm 63. Tune in to EWTN TV and radio for more of Fr. Clifford's "Reflections". You can also find 36 of Fr. Clifford's reflections online here.

Operation Rescue has released the most up-to-date list of abortion clinic workers employed by George R. Tiller at his late-term abortion mill, Women's Health Care Services, in Wichita, Kansas. The list includes twenty-two people, including three out-of-state abortionists who travel to Kansas to do abortions, including late-term procedures that are illegal in their home states. "We are releasing this list of abortion workers in order to expose them to the community, and to elicit prayers for their repentance," said Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger. "As Christians, we are concerned about them as people, and understand that sometimes it takes 'tough love' to help someone see the destructive path they are taking, so that they can make the changes necessary to have a better life," Sullenger said. "Most people who quit the abortion industry tell us that they are relieved to be out of that business, and say that leaving improved thei...

As he celebrated Mass for a congregation of over 45,000 people in a Washington baseball stadium, Pope Benedict XVI emphasized the virtue of hope-- the subject of his encyclical Spe Salvi-- and the call to repentance and conversion. Greeted by thunderous applause when he arrived at Nationals Park, the Pope presided at a liturgical celebration that featured music drawn from a wide variety of sources, prompting one television commentator to describe the liturgy as "consciously multicultural." In his homily the Pontiff observed that the American people have always valued the virtue of hope, preserving their confidence even in times of trial. That confidence is tested today, he said, as "we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations" of our culture. He exhorted Christians to approach this crisis with a firm reliance on the power of faith. In the Christian understanding, the Pope said, hope is based on the realization that Christ has brought man the...