Category: Dispatch
-
Finding Hope in the Fire: A Catholic Firefighter’s Guide to Suicide Awareness and Prevention September marks National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. For firefighters, this month carries a weight all its own. We stand at the frontlines of trauma, facing human suffering in ways most of the world never sees. With that comes a hidden battle…
-
Keeping Watch with Christ: The Liturgy of the Hours for Firefighters Why the Liturgy of the Hours Matters The Catholic tradition calls the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office) the official prayer of the Church. It sanctifies each part of the day—morning, noon, evening, and night—so that the whole rhythm of…
-
The Assumption of Mary: A Call to Catholic Firefighters to Remember, Honor, and Celebrate Each year on August 15th, the Catholic Church celebrates one of the most profound mysteries of our faith: the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This solemnity teaches that at the end of her earthly life, Mary, the Mother of God,…
-
Catholic firefighters live at the intersection of duty and devotion. Whether you’re responding to a house fire at 2 a.m. or tucking your child into bed after a long shift, you carry the weight of multiple vocations—first responder, spouse, parent, provider, protector. The pace is relentless. Long shifts, second jobs, family obligations, and a calendar…
-
Firehouses are more than brick and mortar. They’re brotherhoods forged in heat, sweat, and long nights. And sometimes, within those walls, something even deeper starts to stir—something spiritual. Every now and then, one of our own begins asking bigger questions. Not about tactics or turnout times, but about truth, meaning, and faith. Maybe he’s been…
-
Before anything else, just hear this:God still loves you.The Church still wants you.Christ still died for you. You are not defined by how long you’ve been away. You’re defined by something deeper — by the fact that you’re a son of God. No sin, no silence, no screw-up changes that. Remember the story of the…
-
Trusting God Amid Chaos: A Catholic Firefighter’s Journey after the Idaho Ambush On June 29, 2025, tragedy struck on Canfield Mountain near Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. While responding to what appeared to be an ordinary brush fire, firefighters were deliberately ambushed—the blaze was bait, the bullets real. Two brave souls were killed, a third critically injured…
-
How Do You Recover and Move On From a Mistake at Work? You’re suited up. The tones drop. The adrenaline kicks in. You move fast, you act on instinct, you trust your training—and yet somehow, something goes wrong. A line gets charged too early. A door gets forced when it shouldn’t. You miss something on…
-
Leading Your Children in Faith While Working 24-Hour Shifts Begin With Your Own Interior Life- You can’t give what you don’t have. Your children don’t need a theologian—they need a parent who prays and believes. – Start and end your shift with a prayer, offering your work to God.– Keep a rosary or saint medal…
-
Why I Keep Prayer Under My Helmet I just added this new “Hail Mary…” sticker under the brim of my helmet, right next to the medals of Saint Florian and Saint Michael, tucked against a Saint Benedict crucifix—all carefully glued in place. Most days, I barely notice them. But every time I reach for my…
saintflorianbattalion.org 