“I have come to set the earth on fire* and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Lk. 12:49)
- Jesus also said: Do you think that I have come to establish peace? No, I have not come to establish peace but rather division. (Lk. 12:51) It is very important for Our Lord, the Prince of Peace, to be very clear about the kind of peace He comes to establish. The peace that Our Lord brings is the peace that has to be rooted in love.
- Our Lord is very clear here. The peace that He comes to bring, the love that He draws us into, is not meant to bring us peace as the world knows it, a kind of comfort and ease that makes everything nice and neat. He grasps hold by the heart and it causes division especially with anyone who does not know this love, who does not know Jesus in that way. They would not understand. They cannot understand. How could THEY? But how could WE?
- If we are honest, we would have to admit we barely taste or believe the love of Christ for us. We just get the merest glimmer of this love that entices us. Often, if we draw close, we get fearful. We think we will have to make some huge change and we think we will not really be happy in getting close to Jesus.
- But Jesus entices us, or we would not keep trying to overcome our reluctances. We would not go in front of Him and gaze at Him in adoration. We would not praise and thank Him there. But something wonderful stirs in our hearts. It is that love that only God can bestow on us. Will we surrender to it? Will we cry tears if they come to our eyes? Will we let our whole being be drawn closer to Jesus so that we can become one with Him?
- Jesus waits for us with His unconditional, everlasting love. Do we know how much He loves us? Do we know that acknowledging His great love for us is the only way we can truly pray: Jesus, I trust in You.
- St. Paul prayed for the Ephesians (Eph. 1:16) and he is praying for us, that we would be rooted and grounded in love, that we would know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge. He invites us into a deep mystery here. We are supposed to know something that we can’t know. We are supposed to know this love of Christ in the Biblical sense of knowing, to have a greater intimacy with Christ, a deeper encounter.
- This is what happens at Holy Mass, we encounter this amazing love of Christ. It is also what happens in adoration of Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist, this love is enkindled within us.
- St. Jose Maria Escriva, Founder of Opus Dei, said: You need a heart that is in love, not an easy life to achieve hap-piness. These two things are usually incompatible: a heart that is in love and an easy life. True love is never easy.
- The Missionaries of Charity have a sign in the homes near a crucifix that says: Love to be true, has to hurt. This love in which we are being rooted and which is being grounded in us is a love that grabs us by the heart and hurts.
- This kind of division sometimes occurs when some young people tell their parents they feel called to give them-selves completely to the Lord by entering the seminary or religious life. A vocation is such a beautiful gift from God.
- When a young person is grasped by the heart and drawn to live a life that is intimate with a life lived in love with Christ, it is hard to believe that this causes such big divisions in families. However, especially in the 21st century, when a young person mentions a possible vocation, it often causes a great controversy within families. One or both parents say: How could you? How could leave us for Jesus? They do not yet know the tremendous love which takes over everything and, in one sense, throws it all away for Jesus.
- Jesus said: I have come to set the earth on fire and how I wish it were already blazing! (Lk. 12:49) He has already set the world on fire and now it is blazing! We can see that fire in His Sacred Heart. We know the image, the Sacred Heart of Jesus burns with love for all mankind, now that a real fire. His Love is true, the truest love the world has ever known.
- Allow Jesus to draw you deeper into the mystery of His love and He will only do things that will help you draw closer to Him. Ask Mary to help you enter into the mystery of Eucharistic Adoration, into the mystery of love and of peace.
- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta was right. Love to be true has to hurt and how it hurts Jesus! How can we expect to have some kind of easy love when we see HIS love poured out at the Mass, and poured out on the Cross, poured out on the altar, spent for us, loving each of us as if each of us were the only person He died for?
- And then the heart of Mary, His Mother! Why did it have to be that way, that a sword would pierce her heart (Lk. 2:35)? Except for love, but because of love, it had to be that way. That she would enter so deeply into the mystery of the love of her Son, that in His saving death, her heart would be pierced –pierced by the sword and enflamed– enflamed with Love.
- Mary’s heart is pierced. In a small way, many of our hearts have been hurt. But we can welcome the healing of Jesus if we let our heart fall in love and grasp Him by the HEART. Now is the time to let go and let Him grasp us by the heart that He might enflame our heart with HIS LOVE and draw us deeper and deeper into the MYSTERY OF HIS LOVE.
- Each of us needs a heart in love in order to heal any heart that hurts. These two things go together. And we keep seeking Christ because we want to love more. We want to know Him more.
- We want to know the love of Jesus that we cannot truly know it in any other way. He does not teach it to us. He shows it to us. He gives it to us. We will receive His love in Holy Communion. Every time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus gives us a little piece of HIS HEART, and His HEART comes to our heart if we open ourselves up to Him.
- Today, especially right now, let us invite Him into our hearts. Today is not a time just for learning. It is not just a time for Our Lord to teach us. It is a time for LOVING, for Him to show us, for Him to give us Himself. It is for us to receive and for us to surrender. HIS HEART is enflamed and He will set the world ablaze by setting all of our hearts on fire with His love.
NOTE: Adapted from a talk by an anonymous Catholic convert.
*God often uses or identifies with fire in the Scriptures. God appeared to Moses in a burning bush (Ex. 3:2). God went before the Israelites as a pillar of fire at night (Ex. 13:21). Sacrifices of lambs were offered daily with fire. (Num. 28:3). Even first fruits offered to the Lord had to be parched with fire (Lev. 6:13). They offered incense burned with fire to the Lord (Ex. 30:7). God is described as a devouring fire (Deut.4.24) and consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). On Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles as tongues of fire (Acts 2:3).