Catholic Fire

With the way our culture disregards life sometimes, it is easy for the question “Is life worth living?” to surface. In this video, Fr. Mike Schmitz emphatically states that not only is life worth living—it is sacred. If there are any feelings of doubt about life’s worth in your heart, take courage in Fr. Mike’s words here. If there is anyone you know who is weary of life, reach out to them and show them they are wanted.

Chris Picco with Baby Lennon (Photo credit: Ashley Picco Memorial Fund ) In a viral post, BuzzFeed features a musician father singing the Beatles’ “Blackbird” to his newborn son. Before the recording, the wife and mother of this little family had died after an emergency c-section. Chris Picco shared many precious moments in the four days he had with his tiny son, Lennon, before Lennon also died. Chris was able to “focus completely” on his son and honor the memory of his wife, Ashley, while he did this. Lennon – who had been born premature at only 24 weeks – died in his father’s arms. Chris wrote about the inestimable worth of Lennon’s life – before and after his birth. Read more.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday reiterated human life is sacred and inviolable during a meeting with Italy’s Pro-Life Movement (Movimento per la Vita), adding every civil right is based on the “first and most fundamental right,” the right to life: which is not subordinate to any condition, neither qualitative, nor economic, much less ideological. The Holy Father said one of the most serious risks of the present age is the divorce between economics and morality, so that as the market gives us every technical innovation, it neglects more and more elementary ethical standards. “It is must be therefore reiterated the strongest opposition to any direct attack on life, especially innocent and defenseless life, and the unborn child in the womb is the most concrete example of innocence,” said Pope Francis. “Let us remember the words of the Second Vatican Council: From the moment of its conception, life must be guarded with the greatest care while abortion and infanticide are unsp...

Fr. Joe Koterski describes the teaching of the Catholic Church as it relates to end of life suffering.

He’s a very serious scholar. The German professor Uwe Siemon-Netto holds advanced degrees in theology and sociology. He is director of the Center for Lutheran Theology and Public Life. So I was not prepared for his answer when I asked him how he organized a protest demonstration outside Planned Parenthood in St. Louis. “We needed to attract attention,” he said, “so, why not go in drag?” I burst out laughing. He meant, of course, not seminary professors dressed up as women, but learned profs marching for life in their full, flowing academic gowns. And what a public display they made! They took part in the Forty Days of Life movement during the last Lenten season. Dr. Siemon-Netto wanted especially to show Ph.D.s demonstrating their concern for unborn children. These Lutherans processed from Concordia Lutheran Seminary, where pastors are trained for The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Monsignor Theodore Wojcicki from the Catholic Kenrick Glennon Seminary of the Archdiocese of St. ...

Statement of The Most Reverend John J. Myers, Archbishop of Newark, On Notre Dame & Obama It pained me to hear that one of the symbols of Catholic education in our nation, Notre Dame University, had extended an invitation to President Obama to speak at its commencement. Not all people believe what the Church teaches, and in our society today we sometimes must work on issues of importance with people who do not agree with us on the primacy of the sanctity and dignity of life -- a moral issue on which there can be no compromise. When we extend honors to people who do not share our respect and reverence for life in all stages, and give them a prominent stage in our parishes, schools and other institutions, we unfortunately create the perception that we endorse their public positions on these issues. We cannot justify such actions, and the Bishops have stated so clearly and strongly. If the president of Notre Dame University truly wishes to show that his institution is rooted in Catho...

(CNA).- The Paraguayan Catholic weekly “Cristo hoy” published the moving story of Carolina Ramirez who, like Eluana Englaro, has also been in coma for 17 years, after being injured in a car accident in 1991. Her mother says their faith sustains them and that her daughter “is the most beautiful thing I could have.” When Carolina, or Carol, as her friends and family members affectionately call her, suffered her car accident she was studying accounting at college. She was very athletic and often spent time at the gym. Every day since she fell into a coma, her parents have been at her side thanking God for her life. They find the reasons for the death of Eluana in Italy to be incomprehensible. Carol’s mother Ketty said their faith is what sustains their lives. “My daughter is the most beautiful thing I could have.” “I feel especially chosen by the Lord,” she added. Although her daughter will never be normal again, Ketty is grateful for the 21 years she was able to spend with her daughter a...

Via CNA: House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s photo-op with Pope Benedict XVI turned sour when the Pontiff used the 15-minute meeting to reaffirm the teachings of the Catholic Church on the right to life and the duty to protect the unborn. No photo of Nancy Pelosi and the Pope will be forthcoming, since the meeting was closed to reporters and photographers. The two met in a small room in the Vatican just after the Pope's weekly public audience. Immediately after the meeting, the Holy See’s press office released a statement saying, "following the general audience the Holy Father briefly greeted Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage." "His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church's consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception to natural death which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists and those responsible for the ...

By Fr. Frank Pavone National Director, Priests for Life One of the Christmas songs you'll hear on the radio during these days is called "Grown-up Christmas List." It speaks of the fact that age does not stop us from dreaming, and that as life goes on, our wishes at Christmas are not for ourselves, "but for a world in need." The list begins, "No more lives torn apart, that wars would never start...that right would always win." Do we dare to hope for these things, just because the calendar says December 25 is approaching? Indeed, the question for a Christian is, "How we can dare not to hope for these things?" Christmas lists, after all, spring from Christmas hope, and Christmas hope is based on an historical fact: God has already given us everything in His Son. St. Paul asks, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Rom. 8:32). We look for good...

Name one thing in the universe more precious than a human life. ~ Via francisxcc .

Excerpt from the Plenary Session Address by Cardinal George at the 2008 Fall General Assembly: "In working for the common good of our society, racial justice is one pillar of our social doctrine. Economic justice, especially for the poor both here and abroad, is another. But the Church comes also and always and everywhere with the memory, the conviction, that the Eternal Word of God became man, took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, nine months before Jesus was born in Bethlehem. This truth is celebrated in our liturgy because it is branded into our spirit. The common good can never be adequately incarnated in any society when those waiting to be born can be legally killed at choice. If the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision that African Americans were other people’s property and somehow less than persons were still settled constitutional law, Mr. Obama would not be president of the United States. Today, as was the case a hundred and fifty years ago, common ground cannot be f...

Rosaries for Life is on the Air! The Novena starts today! I will be adding this new site to my blogroll.

This presentation brings up some questions that we all need to reflect on, especially as we prepare to vote in this upcoming Presidential election.

Read Wichita's Bishop Jackel's beautiful address to his flock about voting . Here's my favorite part: "As a consequence of our belief, whether or not a candidate gets our vote should depend on their positions on issues related to the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. A candidate can make attractive promises on the economy or the environment, but those should take second place to a candidate’s positions related to the sacredness of human life and the dignity of the human person. A candidate who is indifferent to or worse yet antagonistic to these preeminent positions is not worthy of consideration." What a wonderful advocate for human life he is!

Sarah gives a rousing speech at a rally in Johnstown PA. Read the transcript of her speech. What a motivating and enthusiastic leader she is! She is so authentic and real -- the antithesis of the phony, deceptive Obama. She certainly doesn't need to rely on a teleprompter to talk! Sarah gets me fired up!

Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. today said that people cannot lose sight of moral priorities in the face of economic stress. "No doubt, these are troubled times," said Dr. King, "but it's in troubled times that we especially need to remember what's important. What the current economic meltdown should teach us is that our hope is not in the things of this earth, but in God." "If financial pressures cause us to stop loving our neighbors, to think only of ourselves, we have lost much more than money," added Dr. King. "If we stop giving to charity, cease donating our time to help others, or, in the extreme, abort a baby for financial reasons, we literally sacrifice the eternal for the temporary." "Ultimately, what bring us the greatest rewards or the worst scars are the choices we make that have spiritual consequences," said Dr. King. "In the end, we don't...

Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput and Denver’s Auxiliary Bishop James D. Conley have issued a statement insisting that Catholic teaching holds that human life is sacred from the moment of fertilization, calling claims insisting otherwise, reportedly made by the governor of Colorado, “bad theology and bad public policy.” Governor Bill Ritter, who is Catholic, on Tuesday commented on the Colorado ballot measure Amendment 48, which would define personhood as beginning at conception. He reportedly said: “My understanding is that there are things about calling a fertilized egg a person that do not square with Church doctrine.” “This is false,” Denver’s bishops said in a Wednesday statement. “Catholic teaching holds that human life is sacred from the moment of fertilization, commonly called ‘conception,’ to the moment of natural death. “Separating a ‘fertilized egg’ from the dignity of human personhood is bad theology and bad public policy. And Catholic public officials should know bet...

Pro-lifers around the nation are called to give a voice to brothers, sisters, and friends we will never know because they were killed by abortion. October 6 is National Pro-Life Memorial Day. To learn how you can help, go to Go to www.ProLifeMemorialDay.com

Knights of Columbus spot features beating heart of 10-week-old unborn child A 30-second radio spot encouraging people to “vote pro-life” in the November elections began running on radio stations around the United States Sept. 23 It will continue to air until the Nov. 4 election. The ad features the sound of an unborn baby’s heartbeat at 10 weeks, and the voice of a woman saying, “Listening to this makes me wonder – why would anyone question that her life has begun?” It concludes with the words, “Vote your heart. Vote Pro Life.” “The fact that the child whose heartbeat we hear is alive is simply a matter of science,” Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson said in announcing the beginning of the ad campaign. “We believe that it is vital that America’s pro-life community make it clear that they will reserve their votes for candidates of either party who are committed to protecting life from conception to natural death.” A similar ad is planned for broadcast in Canada, where general elections...

~ Via John Francis Borra, SFO Used with permission. By guest blogger, John Francis Borra, SFO Barack Obama wants us to believe his words matter. And why not? Other than a brief voting record, he has nothing else to offer. Unfortunately, what figures most prominently in that record is unwavering support for killing our most vulnerable citizens: the unborn, newborn and disabled. It's a sobering comment on our society that someone as contemptuous of human life as Adolph Hitler, Margaret Sanger or Osama bin Laden may well become the next president of the United States. In a country whose majority claims to be Christian, this contest should not be close; indeed, Barack Obama should not even be in the running. Yet ours is a society lost in a pother of relativism, in which the term Christian is applied as easily to the most appalling of today's passing heretics as it is to the Apostles. Contrast Obama's objectification of people with Sarah Palin's affirmation of them. Never h...