Catholic Fire

On Thursday, we celebrated the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary , and on Monday, we will be celebrating the feast of her Holy Name . She has given us so much! She has given us the gift of her maternal love. God calls all of us to be gift-bearers and to share the love that Our Mother has given us, through her virtues of humility, charity, purity, and obedience to God's will. 1. Pray a Litany to her.  The Church celebrates the feast of the Holy Name of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary to instill in us how valuable and beneficial it is for us to invoke her holy name in all our needs. The name Mary means “Star of the Sea.” Like the stars in the sky, she reflects the light of Christ and illuminates the way for us along dark paths. She protects us from evil and guides us safely home.  St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, wrote: “As mariners are guided into port by the shining of a star, so Christians are guided to heaven by Mary.”  As “Star of the Sea”, Mary ...

Your birth, O Blessed Virgin Mary, fills the whole world with a sweet consolation and a holy joy, because of you was born our Jesus, our God, who has taken away from us the curse in which we were plunged by the sin of our first parents, and filled us with all kinds of blessings.  ~ St. John Vianney “The Immaculate Virgin…invites us not to fix our eyes on her but to pass beyond, and as much as possible, to enter into the mystery in which she was conceived: the mystery of God who is One and Three, full of grace and fidelity.”  ~ Pope St. John Paul II The Catholic Church celebrates the birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary on its traditional fixed date of September 8, nine months after the December 8 celebration of her Immaculate Conception as the child of Saints Joachim and Anne. History of this feast day The feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the oldest of the Marian solemnities, was mentioned by the Church Fathers in the early fifth century. ...

On September 7, we celebrate the feast day of Saint Regina (also known as Saint Reine, died in 386), virgin and martyr. Saint Regina is the patron saint against poverty and patroness of torture victims. Tradition tells us that Regina was born in the third century in eastern France. Her mother died in childbirth, and she was left to be raised by her father, Clement Alise, a wealthy pagan. He placed her in the care of a Christian nurse, who secretly baptized her. When her father learned of her Christianity, he threw her out of the house and forced her to live with the nurse who raised her. Due to the family’s poverty, Regina helped out by working as a shepherdess. When she was fifteen, the local prefect, Olybrius, became captivated with her and insisted that she marry him. When she refused, she was arrested as a Christian, tortured, and beheaded. In art, Regina is portrayed as a maiden bound to a cross with torches applied to her sides, imprisoned with a dove appearing on a shi...

Today is the feast of Blessed Thomas Tsuji (circa 1570 - 1627), a Jesuit priest and martyr. Thomas received his early education from the Jesuits in Arima and entered the Society in January 1589. He was ordained a Jesuit in Nagasaki sometime before 1613. He was an excellent preacher and became well known throughout southern Japan. He was transferred to Hakata after he became too outspoken in his condemnation of the scandalous conduct of some Christian Japanese in the city. While exercising his priestly ministry in Hakata, the edict of 1641 which ordered the banishment of all Catholic priests from Japan was enacted. In obedience to the order, Fr Tsuji and the other eighty priests left for Macau and remained there for four years. In August 1618, Fr. Tsuji disguised as a merchant, returned to Japan and secretly resumed his apostolic work. Unlike the European Jesuits who could only minister at night, Fr Tsuji worked day and night, achieving great results disguised sometime as a pros...

Prayer for Success in Work Glorious St. Joseph, model of all those who are devoted to labor, obtain for me the grace to work conscientiously, putting the call of duty above my many sins; to work with thankfulness and joy, considering it an honor to employ and develop, by means of labor, the gifts received from God; to work with order, peace, prudence and patience, never surrendering to weariness or difficulties; to work, above all, with purity of intention, and with detachment from self, having always death before my eyes and the account which I must render of time lost, of talents wasted, of good omitted, of vain complacency in success so fatal to the work of God. All for Jesus, all for Mary, all after thy example, O Patriarch Joseph. Such shall be my motto in life and death. Amen. A Prayer for Workers O glorious Joseph! Who concealed your incomparable and regal dignity of custodian of Jesus and of the Virgin Mary under the humble appearance of a craftsman and provided for...

Today marks the feast day of Saint Teresa of Calcutta - a beautiful servant of God who is one of our most celebrated mothers and a universal symbol of God's merciful and preferential love for the poor and forgotten. She has been widely known as both a model of mercy and of charity. There is no one more renowned for practicing the heroic virtue of charity than Blessed Teresa of Calcutta! A diminutive figure, just under five feet tall, she gave every ounce of strength she had to care for the poorest of the poor with love, prayer, and all the gifts God had given her. Mother Teresa’s parents named her Agnes—or Gonxha in her own language. One of four children born to an Albanian chemist and his wife, Agnes had a comfortable childhood. However, when she was about eight years old, her father died suddenly, which left the family in financial straits.  At the age of twelve, Agnes felt called to religious life to help the sick and the poor, and by the age of fifteen, she had focuse...

1.  September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of four months with a length of 30 days. In September, we say goodbye to summer with the official close of the swimming pools and other summer activities. This first day of September was a gorgeous day here in Wichita, Kansas (sunny, in the low 80's with a light breeze), so I decided to celebrate the new month by going on a picnic with my husband at the park. Here are a few photos I took. 2.   Here's one of my favorite September songs .  Do you remember this? 3.   September Marian Feast Days September 8:   Birth of Mary September 12:  The Most Holy Name of Mary September 15:  Our Lady of Sorrows 4.  Devotion for the Month of September  The Seven Sorrows of Mary 5.  September Poetry In the Days of the Golden Rod Across the meadow in brooding shadow I walk to drink of the autumn's wine­ The charm of stor...

The month of September is traditionally dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of Mary with the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows being commemorated on September 15. The feast of Our Lady of Sorrows commemorates the seven great sorrows which Mary lived in relation to her Son, as they are recorded in the Gospels or through tradition. The Seven Sorrows are: the prophecy of Simeon, the flight into Egypt, the loss of the Holy Child at Jerusalem for three days, meeting Jesus on his way to Calvary, standing at the foot of the Cross, Jesus being taken down from the Cross, and the burial of Christ. Devotion to the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary dates back to the twelfth century, when it was first established in monastic circles under the influence of St. Anselm and St. Bernard. The Cistercians and then the Servites started to spread it. It was widely embraced during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, especially in the Rhineland and Flanders, where Confraternities of the Sorrowful Mothe...

Suscipe Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess, Thou hast given me: I surrender it all to Thee to be disposed of according to Thy will. Give me only Thy love and Thy grace; with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more. Amen. -- Suscipe (from the Latin word “receive”) is a short but powerful prayer attributed to St. Ignatius Loyola. Prayer of Abandonment Father, I abandon myself into your hands; do with me what you will. Whatever you may do, I thank you: I am ready for all, I accept all. Let only your will be done in me, and in all your creatures - I wish no more than this, O Lord. Into your hands I commend my soul: I offer it to you with all the love of my heart, for I love you, Lord, and so need to give myself, to surrender myself into your hands without reserve, and with boundless confidence, for you are my Father. ~ Blessed Charles de Foucauld P...

The saint of the day for August 31 is St. Raymond Nonnatus. He is the patron of expectant mothers, midwives, obstetricians, infertile couples, and newborn babies. Raymond was born at Portella, Catalonia, Spain in 1204, the son of wealthy parents. He was delivered by cesarean section when his mother died in childbirth. Hence his name non natus (not born). In his childhood, he seemed to find pleasure only in his devotions and serious duties. His father, sensing that Raymond was drawn to religious life, ordered him to manage one of the family farms. Raymond readily obeyed but spent his time with the shepherds and workers, studying and praying until his father abandoned the idea of making his son a worldly success. Raymond later joined the the Order of Our Lady of Mercy or the Mercederians, which was founded by St. Peter Nolasco, who devoted to ransoming Christians captured by the Moors. He succeeded Peter as chief ransomer and went to Algeria to ransom slaves. He remained as h...

Feeding Your Family’s Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality by Donna­-Marie Cooper O’Boyle Stressed and exhausted, today’s parents struggle to meet their deadlines and check off their "to do" lists. This often results in well-meaning parents putting off their children’s faith formation for "another time" or relying on others to teach their children.  This book is uniquely suited to come to their rescue! Feeding Your Family’s Soul: Dinner Table Spirituality is a vital tool to enable parents to transform a regular dinner time into a prayerful faith lesson for their elementary school to high school aged children. With 52 fun and creative faith lessons (one for each week of the year), this book will encourage parents and caregivers to seize the opportunity in teaching the Catholic faith to the children (the captive audience waiting to eat!) while gathered at the dinner table, reminding them of the value of coming together as a family to break bread and share heart...

The saint of the day for August 30 is St. Jeanne Jugan (1792 – 1879), also known as Sister Mary of the Cross. During the 19th century, she founded the Little Sisters of the Poor with the goal of imitating Christ's humility through service to elderly people in need. Born on Oct. 25, 1792 in a port city of the French region of Brittany, Jeanne Jugan grew up during the political and religious upheavals of the French Revolution. Four years after she was born, her father was lost at sea. Her mother struggled to provide for Jeanne and her three siblings, while also providing them secretly with religious instruction amid the anti-Catholic persecutions of the day. Jeanne worked as a shepherdess, and later as a domestic servant. At age 18, and again six years later, she declined two marriage proposals from the same man. She told her mother that God had other plans, and was calling her to "a work which is not yet founded." At age 25, the young woman joined the Third Order...

On June 24, we celebrated the birthday of St. John the Baptist; on August 29, we honor the anniversary of his martyrdom, also known as the Passion of St. John the Baptist. After he had baptized Jesus, John the Baptist began to condemn Herod Antipas, the governor of Galilee.  John had the courage to confront Herod and condemn him for the scandal of his illegal union with his sister-in-law Herodias, whose husband was still alive.  John the Baptist stated, "It is not lawful for you to have her."  With those words, Herod threw him into prison. Not only did Herod fear John and his disciples, he also knew that he was a virtuous man, so he did not kill him. However, Herodias was determined to bring about John's death so she contrived a plot to do just that.  Herod gave an eloquent banquet to celebrate his birthday. His full court was present as well as many other powerful and influential Palestinians. Herodias's daughter Salome pleased Herod so much when she dan...

Pope Francis will canonize the former "Mother Teresa" a saint on Sunday, September 4, 2016. Here is her novena, which starts today, August 28. Discerning Hearts has a beautiful novena to Mother Teresa of Calcutta you can pray along with which includes an MP3 and daily text. I highly recommend it.

  1.  Hooray! I was pleasantly surprised to learn that my book, Learning to Love with the Saints: A Spiritual Memoir just won the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval.   2.  Another sweet surprise this week was this movie .  I went to it not knowing whether I would like it or not, as the original with Charlton Heston has a special place in my heart. Unexpectedly, I was moved by it and recommend it. It is a powerful film on redemption and forgiveness. Sure there is violence, but it is there for a reason. I would advise that only mature teens and adults see this due to the violence. 3. CALLING ALL CATHOLIC COLLEGE STUDENTS. Are you a passionately Catholic college student who loves you faith? Do you seek to evangelize through apologetics and personal witness? Do you attend Christendom College, The University of Dallas, Ave Maria University, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Mount St. Mary’s University or a like minded Catholic institu...

August 25 is the feast of St. Louis IX (1215-1270), King of France. Louis IX, son of Louis VIII and Blanche of Castile, was born at Poissy, April 25, 1215. Louis was twelve years old when his father's death made him king.At that time, his mother Queen Blanche of Castile, was declared regent and remained an important influence throughout his life. Louis had tutors who made him a master of Latin, taught him to speak easily in public and write with dignity and grace. But Blanche's primary concern was to implant in him a deep regard and awe for everything related to religion. She used often to say to him as he was growing up, "I love you my dear son, as much as a mother can love her child; but I would rather see you dead at my feet than that you should commit a mortal sin." At nineteen, he married Marguerite of Provence and the couple had eleven children. Louis was a model father and his children received careful instruction from him in the Christian life. ...

Saint John with Saint Bartholomew (right) August 24 is the feast of St. Bartholomew, one of the twelve apostles who is mentioned only a few times in the Synoptic Gospels. While Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Bartholomew as an apostle, John's gospel does not mention him, but refers to a Nathaniel, whom ancient writers and Catholic tradition have identified as Bartholomew. The name (Bartholomaios) means "son of Talmai" which was an ancient Hebrew name. He carried the Gospel through the most barbarous countries of the East (India and greater Armenia), baptizing neophytes and casting out demons. Saint Pantænus testified that Bartholomew brought a copy of the Gospel of Saint Matthew to this vast region in the third century. Saint John Chrysostom said that Bartholomew also preached in Asia Minor and, with Saint Philip, suffered there for the faith. Saint Bartholomew’s last mission was in Armenia, where he was martyred. The manner of his death is uncertain. Some re...

August 23 is the feast of St. Rose of Lima, virgin, who became known for both her piety and her care of the poor. She is the patron saint of embroiderers, florists, gardeners, people ridiculed for their piety, and those who suffer from family problems. Isabella Flores de Oliva was born April 20, 1586 to a family of educated, but impoverished Spanish immigrants in Lima, Peru. At her confirmation, she took the name of Rose, because as an infant, her face had been seen as transformed into a mystical rose. She was pious from an early age. At age five, she built a small chapel for herself in the family garden. When she made her first Confession, she obtained permission from her confessor to make a vow of virginity. Rose had a strong devotion for Jesus and His Holy Mother and spent long hours praying before the Blessed Sacrament. With St. Catherine of Siena as her model, Rose fasted three times a week, offered up severe penances, and when her vanity was attacked, she cut of...

On August 22, we celebrate a beautiful Marian Feast -- the Queenship of Mary. This Liturgical Feast was proclaimed by Pope Pius XII on October 11, 1954 through his Encyclical Letter Ad Caeli Reginam. The Catholic Church made this proclamation based upon the fact that whether in time of peace or in time of war, the faithful have ceaselessly offered prayers of petition and hymns of praise and veneration to the Queen of Heaven. Following the dreadful damage and destruction of World War II, the Church turned its eyes towards Mary, the Heavenly Queen, in the hope of her protection. Mary has never failed those who have sought her intercession in prayer, placing their total trust in her. Mary’s queenship has its roots in Scripture.  At the Annunciation, Gabriel announced that Mary’s Son would receive the throne of David and rule forever. (Luke 1:32 -33) At the Visitation, Elizabeth calls Mary “Mother of my Lord.” (Luke 1:43) As in all the mysteries of Mary’s life, Mary is close...