Catholic Fire

The Visionaries -- Jacinta, 6, Francisco, 8, and Lucia, 9 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 brillia...

“Mankind will not have peace until it turns to the Fount of My Mercy.” -- Words from our Lord to St. Maria Faustina Kowalska WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 3, 2016 – Today the world faces unprecedented global financial crises, record-breaking natural disasters, global terrorism and the greatest exodus of refugees to Europe since World War II. Our world is also under great threats from countries like Iran, North Korea and China. With the closing of Pope Francis’ Jubilee Year of Mercy, and to help combat these grave threats, a grassroots coalition of Catholic organizations worldwide is mobilizing for the 24th International Week of Prayer and Fasting (IWOPF), from Oct. 2 – 10, 2016. This year the Coalition is joining together with the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy and Priests for Life and other groups. They are uniting to pray and fast for the following goals: Conversion of peoples and nations To build a culture of life To defend the sanctity of marriage and family life For pe...

Pentecost – the great birthday of the Church is only nine days away! Are you getting excited? If not, you should be. This is a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of the great graces and gifts that the Holy Spirit wants to bestow upon us. Now, more than ever, we need these graces in our lives. We need the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit to stand strong in our faith and to be able to witness to the world. How can you prepare for the feast of Pentecost this year? 1. Pray the novena for the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit . These are gifts that will not break or shatter. They are lasting gifts that, when used, will bear much fruit. 2. Gather together as a community (with your family, friends, prayer group, or bible study) in prayer and wait for the promise of the Father to send the Holy Spirit.  Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Pray, “Come Holy Spirit.” Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our country. Pray specifically for your own persona...

1. Attend daily Mass and the sacrament of Reconciliation with your family as often as possible. 2. Attend fewer Christmas parties and spend more time in prayer. Pray the Rosary with the family or spend an hour each week in Eucharistic Adoration together. Light a candle for the Blessed Virgin Mary on her feast days. 3. Laugh. Find humor in the events of your everyday life. Watch classic comedies with clean humor. 3. Buy fewer Christmas presents for family. Instead teach them the real meaning of Christmas by giving more of your time, talents, and money to those who need it. Volunteer at the soup kitchen or the homeless shelter. Collect food, toys, coats, and other articles for the needy. 4. Use an Advent calendar and a wreath to mark this time of preparation. Pray Advent prayers with the family when you light up the candle on the wreath. Sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" throughout Advent. Pray the Rosary or the Chaplet of Divine Mercy at this time. 5. Take prayer...

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...

October 7 is the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary. This feast was instituted by Pope St. Pius V in thanksgiving for the great naval victory over the Turks at the battle of Lepanto on this day in the year 1570, a favor due to the recitation of the Rosary. This victory saved Europe from being overrun by the forces of Islam. Lepanto, perhaps the most complete victory ever gained over the Ottoman Empire, on October 7, 1571, is commemorated by the invocation "Help of Christians," inserted in the Litany of Loretto. At Belgrade the Turks were defeated on the Feast of Our Lady ad Nives in 1716. A second victory gained that year on the Octave of the Assumption determined Pope Clement XI to command the Feast of the Rosary to be celebrated by the universal Church. Leo XIII added the invocation "Queen of the most Holy Rosary, pray for us," to the Litany of Loretto. The Feast is in reality a great festival of thanksgiving for the signal and countless benefits bestowed on Ch...

Mark Your Calendars Now! August 15 through October 7, 2015 Join hundreds of thousands of people of all ages in prayer across America Mark your calendars & spread the word A Message of Hope in response to the spiritual crisis in our culture and nation What: Pray the rosary for 54 straight days for the Novena Intentions 27 days in petition from August 15 through September 10, 2015 27 days in thanksgiving from September 11 through October 7, 2015 Where:  Pray the rosary individually or as a family in your home or as part of your parish community Primary Novena Intention:  “For the Family & Marriage” including for peace, human life and religious freedom Visit the website for more information www.54days.org A Hearts United Campaign of the Rosary Evangelization Apostolate Bishop Kemme (Wichita diocese) makes a request for our participation in this prayer campaign:

The Dominican Sisters of Mary in Ann Arbor, Mich., have released a new music album centered on the rosary. These Sisters have such heavenly voices!

Catholic Fire is a part of the MARY of NAZARETH Blog Tour/Rosary Crawl, of which we are delighted to be a part of, along with many other inspiring bloggers. To learn more, visit the Rosary Crawl Itinerary HERE . Second Mystery of Light: The wedding feast of Cana. "On the third day there was a marriage at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; Jesus also was invited to the marriage, with his disciples. When the wine failed, the mother of Jesus said to him, 'They have no wine.' And Jesus said to her, 'O woman, what have you to do with me? My hour has not yet come.' His mother said to the servants, 'Do whatever he tells you"' (Jn 2:1-5). "On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign ­at his mother's request - during a wedding feast: The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that th...

Ongoing Miracle of the Eucharist in SnnBtarem By Guest Blogger Janet Moore Thoughts of the mighty and miraculous power of God kept coming into my prayer yesterday, while begging God to stop the black mass scheduled to take place in Oklahoma City September 21st. Particularly, thoughts of the Eucharistic Miracle of Santarem that occurred in 1255, whose miraculous Presence continues to this day.  It is a true story of a woman who obtained a consecrated Host in order for it to be used for evil purposes. The Host started bleeding profusely as the woman was taking the Host to a sorceress. People on the streets thought something terrible had happened to her as blood poured forth from the veil in which she was concealing the Sacred Host. Scared, she went home and hid the Host in the bottom of a trunk.  That night, a brilliant light began to emanate from the trunk -- the light was so dazzling that it awakened the woman and her husband. The woman then proceeded to tell her husb...

May 30, 2013. (Romereports.com) On Friday, May 31st, at 8pm, Rome time, Pope Francis will pray the Rosary in St. Peter's Square, along with thousands of pilgrims. He will then give a reflection on why the Virgin Mary is important not only to the Church, but to him.   It's no secret that the Pope feels a strong devotion towards Our Lady. The day after he was elected, he went to the Basilica of St. Mary Major to pray before an image of the Virgin Mary. Then most recently, when he met with Catholic lay movements, he explained exactly why he likes to pray the rosary on a daily basis. POPE FRANCIS “The Virgin Mary is our mother. She knows everything. So, it's important for us to pray to Our Lady, so that she, as a mother, can give us strength. It has to do with our weakness, at least in my experience. One thing that gives me strength, is praying the Rosary to the Virgin Mary every day.  I feel it. I pray to her and I feel strong.” Precisely during the Rosary prayer on ...

Global prayer effort set for October 16th - 18th MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE (September 29th, 2009) - The October 16th - 18th WORLDWIDE ROSARY FOR UNBORN BABIES i s being held to pray for an end to the surgical and non-surgical killing of unborn human persons. People wanting to participate will pray the Rosary for this intention on either October 16th, 17th, or 18th. In addition to participating, it is hoped many people will let other persons know about this pro-life effort(people may contact family members, priests, school personnel, friends, etc.). The Saint Michael the Archangel Organization, coordinator of this pro-life effort, has recently been contacted by people from various locations. Some of the information received includes the following: * A family from Australia will be praying the Rosary on October 16th. * Parishioners and friends at a Catholic church in Tennessee will be invited to pray the Rosary on October 18th after the 10:30 a.m. Mass. * A lady from London, ...

Paris, France, Aug 10, 2009 / 01:24 pm ( CNA ) .- As part of the International Marian Festival that will take place in Paray le Monial, France, August 14-19, the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary will be prayed on the world’s five continents beginning at 5 p.m. (Paris time) on Sunday, August 16. According to a press release, the Rosary will be prayed “with the Word of God, assisted by meditations from John Paul II at the time of his arrival in France” in 1986, when he consecrated the world to the Virgin Mary. “John Paul II will entrust our important prayer intentions to the intercession of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary close to the Father,” organizers said. The purpose of the worldwide Rosary will be “to pray for peace, for the Church, for France, for the world and for the mission of each one of us in particular.” Those who wish to join in the prayer should note that 5:00pm Paris time is 11:00 a.m. Eastern time and 9:00 a.m. Pacific. More information can be found at: http://www.f...

What a pleasant surprise! Go here to learn more. H/T: Esther

Celebrations are being held to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Servant of God Fr. Patrick Peyton, CSC, the “Rosary priest” who popularized the phrase “The family that prays together, stays together.” Father Peyton was born in County Mayo, Ireland on January 9, 1909. Later, upon becoming a priest, he devoted 51 years of ministry to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Rosary and to families. He conducted 40 Rosary rallies worldwide, drawing 28 million people, and produced more than 600 radio and television programs which featured hundreds of Hollywood stars. More ~ Via catholicnewsagency

... is up at Just Another Day of Catholic Pondering . Sarah has once again done a fabulous job of hosting and organizing all the posts there. My contribution to this week's Carnival: The Feast of the Holy Innocents, Martyrs, and Our Innocents Today looks at the significance of the Feast of the Holy Innocents, including how it is similar to what is happening in our culture today and what we can do to help put an end to the massacre of the innocents. A few of my favorite posts there include: Christine's Planned Parenthood Abortion Funding Requests in Obama Memo Top $4.6 Billion , which tells us all about how Planned Parenthood sends Barry their Christmas list. Joe's Love and Freedom , which examines the real meaning of love and how it both confines and frees us at the same time. Sarah's A Few of My Favorite Things gives you a tour of her favorite rosaries, complete with their stories. But don't stop here, be sure and read all the great posts at this week's Cath...

Christine at A Catholic View is this week's hostess and she has done a terrific job! Here are a few of my favorite posts there: Loretta from Island Breezes shares "Father Elijah" - Prophetic? , --which contains an article from American Thinker that proposes what changes Americans and the world may be in for and she suggests that "Father Elijah", the novel by Michael O'Brien , discusses the same theme. Seth from Catholicland! reminds us that 40 days for Life is still going on. He shares his reflections after praying at the 40 DFL vigil. Seminarian Matthew from A Catholic Life give us some good information for the election and reminds us to Vote November 4th . Sarah from just another day of Catholic pondering shares two wonderful posts: Big Day , which is a reflection on marriage in preparation for a family wedding and from Behold your Mother, Mary Moments: Rosary Edition , which is The October Mary Moments carnival focused on the rosary, and is a compi...

*Fr. Corapi calls for a Rosary Novena between October 27th and Election Day

Today in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917, the sixth apparition at Fatima -- the marvelous miracle of the sun --took place in the sky before 70,000 witnesses. On October 13, 1917, the three children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, went to the field called the Cova da Iria as Our Lady had instructed. There was a huge crowd gathered even though it was pouring rain. They were there to see the miracle. They had come from all over Portugal. The press was covering this story and it appeared in the European papers. Our Lady spoke "I want to tell you that a chapel is to be built here in my honor. I am the Lady of the Rosary. Continue always to pray the Rosary every day. The war is going to end, and the soldiers will soon return to their homes. Do not offend the Lord our God any more, because He is already so much offended. "Then, opening her hands, she made them reflect on the sun, and as she ascended, the reflection of her own light continued to be projected on the sun itself. At this time t...