Catholic Fire

The saint of the day for October 21st is Blessed Charles of Austria. Charles was born in 1887 in Lower Austria to Archduke Otto and Princess Maria Josephine of Saxony. He grew up in a Catholic family, received a solid Catholic education, and developed a strong devotion to the Eucharist and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He took on the motto: “I strive always in all things to understand as clearly as possible and follow the will of God, and this in the most perfect way.” In 1911, he married Princess Zita of Bourbon and Parma, and they had eight children. The assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand on June 28, 1914 triggered World War I. At this point, Charles became the presumptive heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Two years later, upon the death of his great-uncle, Emperor Francis Joseph, Charles became emperor and king of Hungary. He saw his office as a mandate from God and as a way to implement Christian charity and social reform. He worked to end the war an...

Today in the dioceses of the United States the Church celebrates the optional memorial of Sts. Issac Jogues and John de Brébeuf (priests and martyrs) and their companions (martyrs). They were Jesuit missionaries who died martyrs in North America, where they preached the Gospel. French Jesuits were the first missionaries to go to Canada and North America after J. Cartier discovered Canada in 1534. Their mission region extended from Nova Scotia to Maryland. Isaac Jogues, John de Brebeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Noel Chabanel, Charles Garnier, Anthony Daniel, Rene Goupil and John de Lalande (the first six Jesuits, the last two laymen) preached the gospel to the Iroquois and Huron Indians, and after being tortured, they were martyred in the area of what is now Auriesville, New York. The martyrdoms took place between 1642 and 1649. Ten years after the martyrdom of St. Isaac Jogues, Kateri Tekakwitha was born in the same village in which he died. These martyrs are co-patrons of Canada. The...

The Vatican Film Library is home to some unique cinematic treasures and demonstrates that the popes have always embraced new forms of communication.

(Vatican Radio) At his morning mass on Friday Pope Francis reflected on the later life challenges of three biblical figures, Moses, St. John the Baptist and St Paul. He said none of the 3 were spared anguish at the end of their lives although the Lord never abandoned them. The Pope also urged the faithful to remember and visit the many elderly priests and sisters living in their nursing homes because they are true shrines of holiness In his homily, the Pope looked at the vigour and enthusiasm displayed by the young Moses, St. John the Baptist and St Paul at the beginning of their apostolate and compared it with the solitude and anguish they endured at the end of their lives. The Pope said the apostle St Paul “has a joyful and enthusiastic beginning” but is not spared a decline in his later years and it was a similar situation with Moses and St. John the Baptist. “Moses, when young, he continued, was “the courageous leader of the People of God who fought against his enemies” to s...

Vatican City, Oct 18, 2013 / 04:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Benefactors of the Vatican Museums who have recently gathered in Rome stressed that art is pivotal in the task of bringing God to secular society. “A message given by the artist which many times is a very strong religious, theological message can then penetrate into the soul,” Fr. Mark Haydu told CNA in an Oct. 17 interview. Fr. Haydu is the international director of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums – a worldwide community dedicated to the restoration and conservation of artwork within the Vatican Museums through the financial adoption of various projects. The priest reflected that art and beauty play “an essential role” in evangelization today, because “we live in a very image driven culture, as we know, and a throw away culture, so a lot of what is beautiful lasts over time.” Read more.

Today is the feast of St. Luke the Evangelist. It is believed that St. Luke was born a Greek and a gentile. A physician at Antioch, and a painter, St. Luke became a convert of Saint Paul and afterwards his fellow-laborer. Luke was the writer of the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles and has been identified with St. Paul's "Luke, the beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14). Saint Luke shared the shipwreck and perils of Saint Paul's voyage to Rome, and was with him in his last days. He later died a martyr's death in Achaia. Next to St. John, St. Luke's gospel writings are my favorite part of the New Testament. Although Luke was not an eye witness, he was a historian who carefully researched his material and obtained details from eye witnesses. As a physician, Luke emphasizes the miracles and the merciful love of Jesus, which heals his children and welcomes all into his arms -- especially the sinner, the outcast, the gentile. Luke shows us the compassion of J...

October 17, 2013. (Romereports.com) These black and white photographs, are much more than just artistic shots. They make up a photographic biography of St. Gregory the Illuminator. This exhibit in Rome, shows both his life and his deeds.   VARTAN KARAPETIAN Armenian Embassy to the Holy See “There are so many St. Gregories in the Catholic Church, but the surprise will be to discover the Armenian St. Gregory.” The Armenian St. Gregory is remembered for his role in converting the nation to Christianity back in the year 301. In fact, Armenia became the first nation to adopt Christianity as its official religion. But getting to that point wasn't easy. During a pagan ritual, the king discovered that Gregory was Christian. As punishment he was tortured and sent to this underground well where he lived for over a decade. After miraculously healing the king, he was set free. VARTAN KARAPETIAN Armenian Embassy to the Holy See  “After he was released. He baptized the Armeni...

(Vatican Radio) If a Christian “becomes a disciple of the ideology, he has lost the faith.” This was the theme of Pope Francis’ homily during his Thursday morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae Marthae. During his homily, the Pope warned Christians against behaving as though the “key is in [their] pocket, and the door closed.” He reiterated that without prayer, one abandons the faith and descends into ideology and moralism. “Woe to you, scholars of the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge!” (Luke 11: 52)Pope Francis referred back to this passage from Thursday’s Gospel in his homily, moving from Jesus’ warning. He warned: “When we are on the street and find ourselves in front of a closed Church,” he said, “we feel that something is strange.” Sometimes, he said, “they give us reasons” as to why they are closed: They give “excuses, justifications, but the fact remains that the Church is closed and the people who pass by cannot enter.” And, even worse, the Lord cannot be close to...

By Joel Brind, Ph.D. In Part II of this series of articles on the link between abortion and breast cancer, I described how the "reporting bias" or “response bias” argument has been systematically used by the most prominent medical research authorities in the western world to deny the reality of the ABC link. It is as hugely important to critics as it is demonstrably false. The argument goes as follows: When you compare the reproductive histories of breast cancer patients to healthy women (these are called "retrospective" data-based studies), the cancer patients will be more truthful about their past abortions than healthy women. If true, this would result in breast cancer falsely appearing to be more common among post-abortive than non-post-abortive women, thus incorrectly indicating an increased risk with abortion. The argument continues: To prove whether there is a reporting bias that results in an ABC link, studies are needed which do not rely on...

Today, October. 17, the Roman Catholic Church remembers the early Church Father, bishop, and martyr Saint Ignatius of Antioch , whose writings attest to the sacramental and hierarchical nature of the Church from its earliest days. Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians celebrate his memory on Dec. 20. In a 2007 general audience on St. Ignatius of Antioch, Pope Benedict XVI observed that “no Church Father has expressed the longing for union with Christ and for life in him with the intensity of Ignatius.” In his letters, the Pope said, “one feels the freshness of the faith of the generation which had still known the Apostles. In these letters, the ardent love of a saint can also be felt.” Born in Syria in the middle of the first century A.D., Ignatius is said to have been personally instructed – along with another future martyr, Saint Polycarp – by the Apostle Saint John. When Ignatius became the Bishop of Antioch around the year 70, he assumed leadership of a local ch...

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday in St Peter’s Square. During his catechetical remarks, the Holy Father focused on the Church’s Apostolic character and nature. Addressing thousands of pilgrims and visitors gathered Wednesday morning in St Peter’s Square under a suddenly brilliant October sky, Pope Francis spoke of a threefold sense in which the Church is Apostolic: through the chain of leadership from Peter and the 12 that has remained unbroken down to the present day and that shall remain unbroken until the end of time; through the Church’s care for and transmission of the whole teaching of Christ; through the Church’s accomplishment in history of the mission of teaching and baptizing all nations, with which Christ entrusted the Apostles and their successors. Departing from his prepared text, Pope Francis explained that praying is the first task of the Apostle, who is one sent to continue the mission of Christ in history. “The second,” he...

The saint of the day for October 16 is St. Margret Mary Alacoque. St. Margaret Mary Biography The Twelve Promises of the Sacred Heart Two Sacred Heart Prayers by Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque My Favorite Quotes from St. Margaret Mary: "What a weakness it is to love Jesus Christ only when He caresses us, and to be cold immediately once He afflicts us. This is not true love. Those who love thus, love themselves too much to love God with all their heart." "The Divine Heart is an ocean full of all good things, wherein poor souls can cast all their needs; it is an ocean full of joy to drown all our sadness, an ocean of humility to drown our folly, an ocean of mercy to those in distress, an ocean of love in which to submerge our poverty." "Love keeps Him there [in the Blessed Sacrament] as a victim completely and perpetually delivered over to sacrifice for the glory of the Father and for our salvation. Unite yourself with Him, then, in all that you d...

Helen Alvaré  comments on the Holy Father's address at a conference for the Pontifical Council for the Laity on October 12, in which he outlined two dangers to the vocation of women. Related: Pope Francis: Women called to service, not servitude

October 15, 2013. (Romereports.com) During his daily morning Mass, Pope Francis talked about the dangers of idolatry and hypocrisy. He explained that Christians must stay away from these two dangerous sins. To overcome them, he recommends charity.     POPE FRANCIS “Jesus gives us advice: Don’t look at appearances, go directly towards the truth. A plate is a plate, but what is important is what’s on the plate. The meal. But if you are vain, if you are a careerist, if you are ambitious, if you are a person that always puts yourself before or likes to advance yourself, because you think you are perfect, give a little bit of alms and that will heal your hypocrisy.” The Pope also added that this path will lead to God, despite the challenges that may arise. SUMMARY OF POPE'S HOMILY Source: Vatican Radio “It is an idolatry, the Pope said, that “stifles the truth of the Faith” in which “is revealed the righteousness of God. But since we all have need to worship – because ...

Venerable Marie Elisabeth Turgeon A Canadian religious woman is on her way to sainthood. Pope Francis recognized the heroic virtues of Servant of God Marie Elisabeth Turgeon. The Quebec-born religious founded the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of St. Germain in Rimouski Quebec. The order dedicated itself to teaching and training other women to become teachers. She died in 1881 in Rimouski, Quebec. The Congregation of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary is still active today in Quebec, Labrador, the United States, Honduras, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. The Canadian nun will now be known as Venerable Marie Elisabeth Turgeon. Read the Catholic Register story about her life .

Today is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582), virgin and Doctor of the Church. She helped reform the Carmelite order and founded 17 monasteries. Teresa de Ahumada y Cepeda was born in Avila, Castile, Spain, on March 28, 1515.  Her family was prominent, as her father was a wealthy merchant.  Teresa was the "most beloved" among her nine brothers and sisters.  From her youth, she showed great zeal and piety, as well as courage.  However, the one trait of Teresa that stood out the most was her strong will.  When she was seven years old, St. Teresa ran away with her brother to the land occupied by the Moors in hopes of attaining the crown of martyrdom.  However, they only made it a few miles down the road. Teresa was considered by all those around her to be exceptionally beautiful. She also had an irresistible charm, a sharp wit, a kind nature, and was lively and animated. She was extroverted and sociable. Everyone loved to be around her.  S...

October 14, 2013. (Romereports.com) Pope Francis expressed his concern for people who are leaving the Church. Speaking before the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, the Pope highlighted the importance of being professional, and leading by example when it comes to catechesis.   POPE FRANCIS “In our time, we often witness an indifference towards faith, no longer considered to be important in the life of man and woman. The new evangelization means reawakening the faith in the hearts and minds of our peers.” Pope Francis went on to say that the Church must fight against “illiteracy” of the faith. He emphasized the role the family plays in the new evangelization. Specifically, he singled out the parents as a child's first teachers. POPE FRANCIS “It's important for us Christians to show how to live our faith concretely through love, harmony, joy and suffering. Because that prompts us to ask questions, like at the beginning of the Church's p...

Rome, Italy, Oct 14, 2013 / 07:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A new documentary produced by the Knights of Columbus traces the background of Pope Francis, offering insight into his life and thought through the words of those who knew him best. “This documentary introduces people to Pope Francis in a very accessible way,” said Andrew Walther, one of the documentary’s executive producers. “Most people know something about our Holy Father,” Walther told CNA, “but through his own words and the interviews with those who worked with him in Argentina, as well as with key Catholic figures in the United States, this film will help give viewers an in depth understanding of the pope's thought, life and work.” Entitled “Francis: The Pope from the New World,” the hour-long program will air on the FOX Business Network on Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Read more.