Catholic Fire

November 20, 2012. (Romereports.com) Cardinals are the Pope's main advisers.  They are also the ones who choose a new Pope in a conclave during the so called “Sede Vacante” period. The word derives from the Latin 'cardo' meaning hinge, or fulcrum. They are appointed directly by Pope and not always because of any particular merits. In fact that's why the verb 'made' is often used to describe their elevation to cardinal. CARD. JOSÉ SARAIVA MARTINS Prefect Emeritus, Congregation for the Causes of Saints “Cardinals make up a group of bishops who work in directly and in a very special way with the Holy Father, in what is basically the government of the Universal Church. Cardinals are the Pope's direct and immediate advisers.” The occasion when the Pope officially elevates the new cardinals is called a Consistory of Cardinals. And at the ceremony they are given a ring and red biretta. CARD. JOSÉ SARAIVA MARTINS Prefect Emeritus, Congregation for the ...

November 20, 2012. (Romereports.com) In his latest book, Benedict XVI takes on a new approach to write about the infancy of Jesus. The Pope relies on the historical information found in the Gospel and then explains those details through the lens of faith. He says the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem is not a children's story, but rather a story that's still quite relevant for modern times. The volume was presented at the Vatican. Even though the Pope didn't attend the ceremony, his personal secretary, Georg Gänswein did. Also there was Angelo Becciu, from the Secretariat of State. Interestingly the book begins with Pontius Pilate asking Jesus, who He is and where He comes from.  The Pope then recounts episodes of the birth of Jesus, the slaughter of the innocent and the visit of the three Wise Men. CARD. GIANFRANCO RAVASI President, Pontifical Council for Culture “The origins of Christ are not just about these historical coordinates. The origin is quite deeper than th...

Today we commemorate Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti (Anna Felicia Viti), a Benedictine nun who spent more than 70 years in the monastery. Blessed Maria Fortunata Viti was born on February 10, 1827 in Veroli, Italy as Anna Felicia Viti.Her father was a gambler and a heavy drinker. After her mother died when she was 14 years old, she cared for her eight younger siblings. She also worked as a servant to support the family. Anna joined the Benedictines in Veroli, Italy on March 21, 1851 at the age of 24, taking the religious name of Sister Maria Fortunata. She spent more 70 years in the monastery, always faithful to the Rule of "Prayer and Work" and to her personal motto: "Oh, the power and love of God." Her work consisted of simple tasks: spinning, sewing, washing, mending. Sister Maria never learned to read or write and she never held a position in her house, but she had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. Her prayers were very powerful, and she had a spec...

November 19, 2012. (Romereports.com) It was 16 years ago, when John Paul II met Fidel Castro at the Vatican. The year was 1996 and the groundbreaking meeting was closely followed by the international media. That meeting paved the way for John Paul II's historic visit to Cuba back in 1998. Most recently Benedict XVI visited the island on March 2012. He met with the country's current leader, Raúl Castro and he also spoke briefly with his brother Fidel.

Today, November 19, is the feast of Saint Agnes of Assisi (Catarina di Favarone) according to the Franciscan calendar .  She is the younger of sister of Saint Clare of Assisi, and Abbess of the Poor Ladies of Assisi, and co-foundress of the Poor Clares.  Born in Assisi, Catarina was the youngest daughter of Count Favorino Scifi and Countess Hortulana (now Blessed). Catarina was later named Agnes by St. Francis of Assisi when she became a nun. Catarina was a beautiful girl who was gentle, prayerful, and kind. On March 18, 1212, Clare renounced her inheritance and family and founded the Poor Clares, the Franciscan cloistered Order. Catarina joined her sixteen days later at the Benedictine cloister of St. Angelo in Panso, where they received their initial training. Her father, Count Favorino, sent armed men to carry her away. She was badly beaten but was not taken back to her father because of the miraculous efforts of Clare. Catarina was accepted by St. Francis, who gave...

St. Gertrude the Great St. Gertrude was born in Eisleben, Germany in 1256. As a five year old, she was received into the monastery of the Cistercian nuns in Helfta. She was an intellectually gifted student with a gentle disposition who applied herself to her studies, concentrating on literature and philosophy. At the age of 26, Gertrude had the first of many visions of Jesus which brought about a deep interior conversion, drawing her into the innermost recesses of His Sacred Heart. Her heart symbolically united in a vision to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, she was a precursor of the later devotion to the Sacred Heart. She also advocated frequent reception of the Eucharist and devotion to St Joseph.  Similar to other mystics, such as St. Teresa of Avila, the Passion of Christ was her favorite devotion and when she meditated on it, or on the blessed Eucharist, she was often unable to control the torrents of tears which flowed from her eyes. She frequently went into ecstasy ...

Today, November 15, the Church celebrates the optional memorial of St. Albert the Great, "the light of Germany", named "Doctor Universalis" because of his vast knowledge and writings. Albert was born in Lauingen on the Danube, near Ulm, Germany in 1206. As a young man, he studied at the University of Padua and there he met Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the Dominican who made the rounds of the universities of Europe, drawing the best young men of the universities into the Dominicans. At age 16, Albert entered the Dominican Order. After several teaching assignments in his order, he came in 1241 to the University of Paris, where he lectured in theology. While teaching in Paris, he was assigned by his order in 1248 to set up a house of studies for the order in Cologne. In Paris, he had gathered around him a small band of budding theologians, the chief of whom was Thomas Aquinas, who accompanied him to Cologne and became his greatest pupil. This young religious, alr...

The saint of the day for November 14 is St. Lawrence O'Toole . St. Lawrence O'Toole was born around 1128 in County Kildare, Ireland. His father was the chief of Hy Murray, and his mother one of the Clan O'Byrne. At the age of 10, Lawrence was given up as a hostage to King Mac Murehad of Leinster, who treated him with such inhumanity that his father obliged the King to turn him over to the Bishop of Glendalough. St. Lawrence grew to be such a model of virtue, that at the young age of 25 he was chosen to replace the Bishop as abbot upon the Bishop’s death. He governed his community with virtue and prudence, and was unanimously chosen to fill the new See of Dublin in 1161. In 1171, St. Lawrence visited King Henry II of England to handle affairs of his diocese. While approaching the altar to officiate at Mass, the Archbishop was violently attacked by a maniac. Everyone present thought he was mortally wounded, but Saint Lawrence came to, asked for some water, blessed it ...

Tiller's abortion mill in Wichita, Kansas has been purchased and is scheduled to reopen soon. On Saturday, November 10, a pro-life rally was held there. Here are some photos and audio of  that rally. Speaking is Father Eric Weldon, from the Diocese of Wichita. His talk is excellent!

Memorial November 13th Image Source St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, commonly known as "Mother Cabrini", was the first American citizen to be canonized a saint. Born in Lombardy, Italy in 1850, (one of thirteen children), she founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1880 and established many hospitals, schools, and orphanages. In 1889, she set out for the United States and arrived in New York, where she and six other Sisters worked with the poor, especially with Italian immigrants. Over the next 28 years, she founded numerous schools, hospitals, and orphanages. Mother Cabrini was not a strong person physically, but she had a great inner strength. She had an unbending belief and trust in God. Throughout her life and in all her many undertakings, she always knew that God would provide for her and the many schools, hospitals, orphanages, and missions which she founded. In 1909 Mother Cabrini became an American citizen. She died in Chicago on December...

1. Saint Dymphna – Many Catholics who are anxious are familiar with Saint Dymphna, the patroness of those afflicted with nervous disorders and anxiety. According to tradition, she was born in Ireland (in the 7th century) to a pagan father and a Christian mother. When Dymphna’s mother died, her distraught father traveled in vain searching for a new wife. Eventually he reached the unimaginable conclusion that he would take Dymphna as his wife! At the urging of a priest, she took flight and was ultimately located and murdered by her father. It’s easy to see the kind of emotional stress that this young girl was under and equally understandable to see why she became known as the patron saint of those who suffer from anxiety. Many miracles are reported to have taken place at her shrine in Belgium, located near the place of her death. 2. Saint Jude Thaddeus – If there’s one saint that Catholics turn to when all looks bleak, it’s Saint Jude Thaddeus. One of the twelve Apostles, he is kno...

Via the National Catholic Register: VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI is to publish a new encyclical on faith sometime during the first six months of 2013, the Vatican has confirmed. “The Pope is preparing a new encyclical on the subject of faith, to be published in the first half of next year, during the Year of Faith,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the Register this morning. The encyclical will be the Pope’s fourth; he has already written two encyclicals on the other two theological virtues of hope and charity. In 2006, he published Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), followed by Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope) in 2007. Both were also related to his third “social” encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), published in 2009. Many have, therefore, long speculated the Holy Father would address the third theological virtue of faith and, more recently, that such an encyclical would coincide with the Year of Faith. Read the full story.

Today the Church celebrates the memorial of St. Josaphat, a Ukrainian Basilian monk. Saint Josaphat was born in the Ukraine of Orthodox parents about the year 1580 and given the name John at baptism. He entered the Basilian monastery of the Trinity at Vilna in 1604, taking the name Josaphat. He was ordained priest in 1609 and was chosen bishop of Polock in 1614. Josaphat was a famous preacher who worked to bring unity among the faithful, and bring strayed Christians back to the Church. In a sermon, he himself spoke of his death as imminent. When he visited Vitebsk (now in Russia) on November 12, 1623, his enemies attacked his lodging and murdered a number of his companions. Meekly the man of God hastened toward the mob and, full of love, cried, "My children, what are you doing? If you have something against me, see, here I am." With furious cries of "Kill the papist!", they rushed upon him with gun and sword. Josaphat's body was thrown into the river b...

Today the Church celebrates the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome, the Mother Church of Catholicism . The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. This is not St. Peter's, but it is the Pope's cathedral. Also called the Church of Holy Savior or the Church of St. John Baptist, it was the baptism church of ancient Rome. It was built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput) as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter. The foundation of the Lateran Basilica goes back to the time of Constantine, the time of the last persecutions. The palace of the Laterani, on the Coelian Hill, belonged then to Constantine's wife Fausta. After his conversion, the Emperor gave it to the Pope as his private residence an...

The saint of the day for November 8 is Blessed John Dunus Scotus, Franciscan priest and theologian of the thirteenth century. The Birth and Childhood of Bl. John Duns Scotus Bl. John Duns Scotus was born in Duns, Berwickshire, Scotland, around 1265. He was immediately baptized after birth and was named after St. John the Evangelist. He grew up a good boy, healthy and pure like a little angel. He received a solid Christian formation from home and from the parish priest. He frequented the Cistercian Abbey of Melrose for his catechism lessons. There, he absorbed the ardent love for the Mother of God which St. Bernard had left as a patrimony to the Cistercians. As a little boy, Bl. John suffered very much from the obtuseness of his intellect. He wanted to read, to write and to study the profundity of the truths of the faith, but his mind just could not manage to learn or understand anything. By means of with prayers and sighs, he had recourse to Mary, the Seat of Wisdom, asking ...

November 7, 2012. (Romereports.com) With the instability in Syria, Benedict XVI had planned on sending a delegation to the country's capital. But high tensions have made this trip impossible. During the general audience, Benedict XVI announced that instead, he sent Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum' as his representative. BENEDICT XVI “From now until November 10th, he will be in Lebanon to meet with Pastors and faithful of the Church that have a presence in Syria. He will visit refugees from that country and will chair the coordination meeting of Catholic charitable institutions to which the Holy See has called for a special aid of the Syrian population inside and outside the country.” The Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum' is the Vatican's department that's in charge of the charity. On this visit to Lebanon, Cardinal Sarah has brought a donation of one million dollars to help rebuild the country and help the victims. ...

November 7, 2012. (Romereports.com) The Pope continued his catechesis on the Year of Faith, by explaining that by definition, people are religious beings. Even though society often tends to discredit the Divine, the Pope explained that as part of their nature, humans seek to connect with God. BENEDICT XVI “Thanks to this innate religious sense, we can open our hearts to the gift of faith which draws us ever closer to God, the source of all good and the fulfillment of our deepest desire.” The Pope explained that despite love and friendship, there is always an inner void...a yearning for something greater and Divine. Benedict XVI said people need to develop liking for higher values. BENEDICT XVI “It is necessary to promote a kind of pedagogy of desire. Developing a taste for real satisfactions in life in the continued search for higher values. This does not repress desires, but rather it  purifies and releases it, so it can reach a high depth.” Before closing, the Pope m...

St. Engelbert , was born in Berg around the year 1185 to Engelbert, Count of Berg and Margaret, daughter of the Count of Gelderland. He studied at the cathedral school of Cologne and, while still a boy, was made provost of the churches of St. George and St. Severin at Cologne and of St. Mary's at Aachen, as it was a common abuse in the Church at the time to appoint the children of nobles to such positions. In 1199 he was elected provost of the cathedral at Cologne. He led a worldly life, and in the conflict between  two Archbishops, Adolf and Bruno, he sided with his cousin Adolf, and waged war for him. Consequently, he was excommunicated by the pope along with his cousin. After his submission he was reinstated in 1208 and, to atone for his sin, joined the crusade against the Albigenses in 1212. On Feb. 29, 1216, the chapter of the cathedral elected him archbishop by a unanimous vote. The mendicant orders of the Franciscans and the Dominicans settled in his realm while he wa...

The saint of the day for November 6 is St. Leonard of Noblac or of Limoges. Leonard (who died in 559), was a French nobleman in the court of Clovis, the first king of France. He was converted to Christianity along with the king by Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims. Leonard secured the release of a number of prisoners. He entered a monastery at Micy near Orléans, under the direction of Saint Mesmin and Saint Lie. Then, he became a hermit in the forest of Limousin, where he attracted a number of followers. Saint Leonard was noted for his sanctity even more than his nobility. Through his prayers the French queen safely delivered a son, and, she rewarded him with royal lands at Noblac, near Limoges, where he founded the abbey of Noblac, around which a village grew, named in his honor (Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat). In the eleventh century his cult spread rapidly. Bohemond, a charismatic leader of the First Crusade, visited the Abbey of Noblac, where he made an offering in gratitude ...