Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for April 14 is St. Lidwina, also known as Lydwina of Shiedam, a Dutch mystic. St. Lidwina is the patron of skaters and against sickness. In modern times, she is believed to be one of the first recorded cases of multiple sclerosis. Saint Lidwina was born in 1380 in Schiedam, Holland to a poor family, the only daughter of nine children. Lidwina was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed often before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. At the age of 12, she consecrated her virginity to Christ. In 1396, while ice skating, she fell and broke a rib. Although she was treated by physicians, her rib never healed and gangrene set in, followed by many complications. This injury caused her to be an invalid for the rest of her life. For seventeen years, she could not move any part of her body, with the exception of her head and left arm. She ate almost nothing and became blind during the last seven years of her life.  Some of the illnesses whi...

The saint of the day for April 14 is St. Lidwina, also known as Lydwina of Shiedam, a Dutch mystic. Saint Lidwina was born in 1380 in Schiedam, Holland to a poor family, the only daughter of nine children. Lidwina was devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary and prayed often before the miraculous image of Our Lady of Schiedam. At the age of 12, she consecrated her virginity to Christ. In 1396, while ice skating, she fell and broke a rib. Although she was treated by physicians, her rib never healed and gangrene set in, followed by many complications. This injury caused her to be an invalid for the rest of her life. For seventeen years, she could not move any part of her body, with the exception of her head and left arm. She ate almost nothing and became blind during the last seven years of her life.  Some of the illnesses which affected Lidwina were:  headaches, vomiting, fever, thirst, bedsores, toothaches, and muscle spasms. Lidwina heroically accepted her condition and s...

On April 11, the Church celebrates St. Gemma Galgani, virgin, mystic, stigmatist, visionary, and victim soul. Saint Gemma is the patron saint of: pharmacists, loss of parents, those suffering with back illnesses, back injury or pain, those struggling with temptations and those seeking purity of heart. Gemma Galgani was born in Lucca, Italy on March 12, 1878, the fourth of eight children. Her mother, who had been a very caring woman, died at the age of thirty - five when Gemma was only seven. For the next eighteen years the family experienced much grief and misfortune. Gemma looked after her brother who had tuberculosis and who died when he was eighteen. Her father was a prosperous pharmacist but the prolonged illness of others in the family was a drain on his resources and the family was reduced to poverty. To add to this, Gemma's father developed cancer of the throat and Gemma nursed him with great care until his death. Gemma had an immense love for the poor, and helped ...

"Among the founders of the Church of Canada in its spiritual springtime can be numbered Marie Catherine, this Augustinian whose hand, as well as her heart, was nothing other than charity." ~ Pope John Paul II Catherine of Saint Augustine (1632-1668) was an Augustinian Hospitaller Sister of the Mercy of Jesus who cared for the poor and sick in Quebec. Marie Catherine Simon de Longpré was born May 3, 1632 at Saint-Saveur, France. Following the advice of Saint John Eudes, she entered the Augustinian Hospitaller Sisters of the Mercy of Jesus in 1644. At the age of 16, she volunteered for the community's mission in Quebec, Canada, much to the displeasure of her parents. Her father was so strongly opposed, that he even petitioned the French courts to stop her. But Catherine was adamant in her mission to serve the poor and sick of Quebec. She arrived there in 1648. Her father later experienced a change of heart. On her voyage to Quebec, Catherine contracted the plague. She recov...

Today is the feast of my Confirmation saint, St. Catherine of Siena, Caterina di Giacomo di Benicasa (1347 - 1380). As a mystic, activist, reformer, contemplative, and Doctor of the Church, she is one of the most prominent figures in Christian history. “I, CATHERINE, … write to strengthen you in the precious blood of the Son of God, desiring to see you consumed in the fire of his charity ….” That is the way Catherine of Siena, the fiery young lay Dominican of the mid-14th century, might well have chosen to introduce herself to today's 21st century readers. It was typical of this Dominican saint always to think and speak of herself only in connection with Christ and to present herself that way to others. She was a mystic (who had visions beginning at the age of seven) and a doctor of the Church -- a gifted, powerful and highly influential woman of her time. We celebrate Catherine of Siena as an international political figure and a feminist hero. We think of her as Eleanor Roosevelt...