Today Jesus uses a very strong image to convey the way in which He wanted His message to be spread, He begins with fire, one of the most uncontrolled and hottest, for lack of a better word, substances, we have here on earth.
Yet, as strange as it may sound, it makes sense for Him to use this image of fire.
Yet, as strange as it may sound, it makes sense for Him to use this image of fire.
Because, as obvious as it is, first and foremost, fire casts heat, this means that a follower of Christ, a disciple, should also cast this same heat. For, if Christ is the fire, and it is He who is burning within us, then when someone comes in contact with us, they should feel that heat.
It is said that many people actually fear going near saints or to be in their presence, because, around them, they feel something different, they feel either inadequate or unworthy to be there. Or, if not that, they feel a radiance or an overwhelming sense of peace that they exude. In essence, they feel the heat.
It is said that many people actually fear going near saints or to be in their presence, because, around them, they feel something different, they feel either inadequate or unworthy to be there. Or, if not that, they feel a radiance or an overwhelming sense of peace that they exude. In essence, they feel the heat.
Fire, by its nature, is also difficult to contain, and it can spread almost uncontrollably, burning and enveloping everything in its path. In the same way, when Christ burns within someone, that fire moves from person to person, something we beautifully remind ourselves of at the Easter Vigil, when from the Paschal candle, a symbol of Christ, we light each other’s candles, so that, in essence, it is Christ who is moving from one person to the next.
In fact, sometimes there will even be somebody burning with so much love of Christ that we use a strange phrase for them, saying that they are “On fire for Christ,” which usually means that they are so in love with Christ that their actions seem also uncontrolled (as many saints demonstrated) and those around them may feel the heat or alternatively, in an effort not to get burned, as it were, shy away from them. Because, in essence, this fire is not natural, it’s supernatural, it’s the fire of the Holy Spirit, it’s the Fire of the Blessed Trinity burning within them.
This is why Jesus goes so far as to say that this fire can even cause division, not just among those who may not understand, but among those whom we care about the most, mother, father, sister, brother, daughter and son, to name just a few.
In fact, the greatest pain is when the fire of Christ is snuffed out in their hearts, when they make no effort to reignite it, no matter how many times we offer it to them, which sometimes alienates us from them.
Yet, the final image of fire is also one of the most important, because apart from the heat, its uncontrolled nature, and a source of division it also provides light, it illuminates our path towards Him who is the Way the Truth and the Light. And it is that light that guides us, it is that light that helps us to guide one another.
In fact, in every tabernacle throughout the world, you will find a candle, this is a symbol of the fire that burns within the tabernacle itself, the fire of the very Eucharist that we will receive, a symbol of the light of the flame that we too are to have and to take with us each and every day, in order to give to others.
However, Christ is only ignited and kept burning in our hearts the more time we spend in His presence in the tabernacle and at adoration. By looking to the cloud of witnesses, the multitude of saints who have gone before us, engulfed by the same flame of love and by purifying ourselves in the strongest flame, the flame of the love of God, a flame that can burn so strong and so hot, that we will want nothing more than to resist sin and to do so with such strength, such resolve, such dedication that we may even shed blood itself, because in those fires a double edged sword will have been formed, one that fights to stay close to Jesus and knowing by that alone division, indeed, will result.
In fact, sometimes there will even be somebody burning with so much love of Christ that we use a strange phrase for them, saying that they are “On fire for Christ,” which usually means that they are so in love with Christ that their actions seem also uncontrolled (as many saints demonstrated) and those around them may feel the heat or alternatively, in an effort not to get burned, as it were, shy away from them. Because, in essence, this fire is not natural, it’s supernatural, it’s the fire of the Holy Spirit, it’s the Fire of the Blessed Trinity burning within them.
This is why Jesus goes so far as to say that this fire can even cause division, not just among those who may not understand, but among those whom we care about the most, mother, father, sister, brother, daughter and son, to name just a few.
In fact, the greatest pain is when the fire of Christ is snuffed out in their hearts, when they make no effort to reignite it, no matter how many times we offer it to them, which sometimes alienates us from them.
Yet, the final image of fire is also one of the most important, because apart from the heat, its uncontrolled nature, and a source of division it also provides light, it illuminates our path towards Him who is the Way the Truth and the Light. And it is that light that guides us, it is that light that helps us to guide one another.
In fact, in every tabernacle throughout the world, you will find a candle, this is a symbol of the fire that burns within the tabernacle itself, the fire of the very Eucharist that we will receive, a symbol of the light of the flame that we too are to have and to take with us each and every day, in order to give to others.
However, Christ is only ignited and kept burning in our hearts the more time we spend in His presence in the tabernacle and at adoration. By looking to the cloud of witnesses, the multitude of saints who have gone before us, engulfed by the same flame of love and by purifying ourselves in the strongest flame, the flame of the love of God, a flame that can burn so strong and so hot, that we will want nothing more than to resist sin and to do so with such strength, such resolve, such dedication that we may even shed blood itself, because in those fires a double edged sword will have been formed, one that fights to stay close to Jesus and knowing by that alone division, indeed, will result.
Our prayer then, the Eucharist, the sacraments, these are simply a renewed Baptism of fire that consumes every part of our being and leaves a mark of love upon our hearts and upon our souls.
That tabernacle is an indication of this fire, of a flame that burns first in that candle, then in us, then in the world.
Because, as Jesus beautifully puts it and whose words should always resonate in our hearts: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”
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