Catholic Fire

(Vatican Radio) Parents who feed their children on “unclean bread”, earned through bribes and corruption, are starving their children of dignity, because dishonest work robs us of our dignity. These were the words of Pope Francis during his homily at Mass on Friday morning in the Vatican’s Casa Santa Marta. Pope Francis focused his homily on the parable of the dishonest steward, in order to talk about the dangers “of worldliness, of mundane affairs”. Jesus “prayed to the Father that his disciples might not fall into the trap of worldliness”, which is “the enemy”. “When we think of our enemies, we really think of the devil first, because it’s the devil that harms us. The devil enjoys the atmosphere, the lifestyle of worldliness. And this steward is an example of worldliness. Some of you might say: “But this man only did what everyone does!”. But no, not everyone! Some company administrators, some public administrators, some government administrators… perhaps there are not even ve...

 Sick of the lies today’s media moguls heap on teens and young adults, the ladies of Growing Up Lane and Visualize Love   have come together to send a message that many young people today are choosing chastity and have the strength to withstand attacks and misinformation. The result is Project Chaste . What a wonderful idea to promote chastity and abstinence. H/T: Lisa Hendey

Interview: Living the Virtue of Modesty through Dress and Thought

1. Make a firm resolution to be pure and to stop any impure behavior. Decide today to refrain from any behavior or activities that are impure. In 1902, a priest gave instruction on purity to the first Communicants in which he stated, "Purity at All Costs", One of the first Communicants was Maria Goretti, who gave her life rather than offend God. Which do we value more: our eternal salvation or false pleasure which comes from a box of wires - a computer or television? 2. Express Contrition We experience true contrition in our hearts when we realize how much sin offends God, hurts us, as well as others. It is our sins that have caused the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It injures our soul and mortal sin results in spiritual death. Sin also injures our relationship with others, especially with our wife, girlfriend, friends, co-workers, as well as the mystical body of Christ. We should meditate daily on the passion and death of Jesus Christ. 3. Quickly Flee From Temptat...

This week's Carnival is being hosted by Jay at Living Catholicism. As can be expected some of the posts there focus on the Notre Dame scandal, which is a major concern for Catholics now, however, there is so much more. Here is a small sampling of the posts you'll find there: Some Causes . . . at Sanctus Christopher offers up five of those on the path to Sainthood and prayers along with links to more information. I enjoyed this one a lot! 32 Days of Love Beats an Abortion at The Anchoress muses on us allowing life to live. Loud Cries and Tears at Ho Kai Paulos points out that Jesus "learned obedience through suffering" and we, too, must learn bear our cross until we are perfected for God. Social Media, Canon Law and Attacking Clergy at Adoro te Devote discusses the need for charity when criticizing those who God called to be priests and bishops. My contribution to the Catholic Carnival: St. John Climacus: My Favorite Quotes offers quotes that help to promote ...

By Donald DeMarco In 1986, Brother Don Fleischhacker of the University of Notre Dame wrote a letter to Playboy protesting that magazine's fragmented view of human sexuality. Citing "Humanae Vitae," this intrepid Holy Cross religious reasoned that once "the contraceptive mentality is accepted, there can be no coherent objective ground for opposition to homosexual activity." If the unitive aspect of sex becomes an end in itself, he went on to explain, "There is no essential reason why sex should be restricted to couples of different sexes." Recent events have proven that Brother Don was as prophetic as was Pope Paul VI when he penned "Humane Vitae" back in 1968. For Playboy, however, the letter was treated as an object of ridicule and its content irreverently dismissed: "Brother, you sound like St. Thomas' lawyer," wrote the Playboy editor, who went on to bless "both kinds" of sexual relations. This holier-than-thou post...

Alexa is hosting this week's Catholic Carnival at Frank, in a Sense, and Mirth and what a wonderful job she's done there! Great graphics accompany each story in her entertaining theme. Check it out! You'll love it! Here are just a few of my favorite posts: In An Opportunity for Virtue , Denise Hunnell shares an article written by Tony Snow. She focuses on probably the one most important issue his article brings up: that every challenge in life is an opportunity to practice virtue. "Being Human, Part II" ...by Marcel at Aggie Catholics AKA Mary's Aggies is a great pro-life post. Elena at My Domestic Church writes about the feelings she and her husband shared when they went back to Flint, Michigan where her husband was born and raised. Her post is titled, "Sometimes You Really Can't Ever Go Home" . Therese Garcia's post, "Be Fruitful and Multiply ~ Your Many Gifts of Love" . Therese is a guest writer at Heidi Hess Saxton...

Virtues are formed by prayer. Prayer preserves temperance. Prayer suppresses anger. Prayer prevents emotions of pride and envy. Prayer draws into the soul the Holy Spirit, and raises man to Heaven. ~Saint Ephrem