Fr. Andrew Fisher - Blood of the Martyrs - IHM National Conference Notes

Father Andrew Fisher was a new-to-me speaker at IHM's National Conference.  He gave a multi-media talk entitled, The Blood of the Martyrs is the Seed of the Church.  He repeated that phrase reverently after descriptions of each saint who died for the faith. 

As one who believes words need pictures, I was thrilled to see his presentation of artwork and photographs of these role models of Catholic conviction.

*  They are a witness and in greek martyr means witness. 

*  They are teachers of the faith. Heros. Never lost. Treasured.

*  The martyrs summarize what Christ taught. Victory over death. Centuries later they are still teaching.

What will today's Catholics be challenged with in regards to our faith, I wonder? How will we be called to witness?  These stories of courage are ones we need to hear and be reminded of.

 To hear this talk of Saint stories in its entirety, on and after August 1st  you can find  audio of it HERE, along with other talks from this 2-day Catholic homeschooling/parenting conference.

Fr. Andrew Fisher is a native of northern Virginia, and played Division I baseball in college as a pitcher. He attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1998. He has served as parochial vicar in St. William of York parish (Stafford), Queen of Apostles parish (Alexandria) and the Cathedral of St. Thomas More (Arlington). Fr. Fisher also served for six years as the Director of Liturgy at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C.. Currently, he serves as pastor of St. Ambrose (Annandale).

As priest, Fr. Fisher still gets to play baseball as a pitcher for the DC Padres.