Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for February 23rd is St. Polycarp (69 A.D. - 155 A.D.), a disciple of the apostles, bishop of Smyrna, and a friend of St Ignatius of Antioch. He is one of the earliest Christians whose writings still survive. St. Polycarp is the patron saint against ear aches and dysentery. St. Polycarp was one of the immediate disciples of the Apostles, in particular St. John the Evangelist. He embraced Christianity very young and was named bishop of Smyrna, a post which he held for 70 years. He was greatly respected by the faithful, wrote many letters and formed many holy disciples. His epistle to the Philippians - the only one to be preserved - demonstrates his apostolic spirit, his profound humility and meekness, and his great charity. St. Polycarp fought against heresy. He was a staunch defender of orthodoxy and an energetic opponent of heresy, especially Marcionism and Valentinianism (the most influential of the Gnostic sects). He also taught that Christians must ...

By Jean M. Heimann Today is the feast day of Blessed Miguel Pro, a celebrated Christian hero of the twentieth century. This courageous young Jesuit priest was martyred by the Mexican government in 1927 for performing his priestly responsibilities. Miguel Agustin Pro was born January 13, 1891 in Guadalupe Mexico. He was the eldest son of eleven children born to Miguel Pro, an affluent mining engineer, and Josefa Juarez, a holy and loving mother. Miguel had an extraordinary empathy for the poor and the working classes. He was known for both his playfulness and his piety. He had a wonderful wit and a great sense of humor. At the same time, he had a strong prayer life and was zealous in living out his faith. In 1909, at the age of twenty, Miguel Augustin Pro joined the Jesuits as a novice in Mexico. One year later, a revolution broke out and by 1914 the Jesuits were forced to flee. Miguel received his seminary training en route to Belgium, where he was ordained in 1925. Father...

The saint of the day for February 16 is St. Gilbert (1083-1189), founder of the Gilbertine order, which consisted of a double monastery of canons regular and nuns. Gilbert was born at Sempringham, near Bourne in Lincolnshire, the son of a wealthy Norman knight and land-owner. Unable to become a knight due to a physical deformity, Gilbert was sent to the University of Paris to study theology. When he returned home, he served as a clerk in the household of Bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln and started a school for the children of the poor in Sempringham. He was ordained as a priest at the age of 40.  When he was offered the archdeaconship of the largest diocese in Europe at the time, he declined, humbly choosing to serve the poor in Sempringham. When his father died in 1131, Gilbert returned to the manor and became lord of the manor and lands. He began to spend his inheritance by founding Benedictine and Augustinian monasteries, and by providing for the poor. That same year, h...