Dear Friends in Christ,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks words that are both passionate and a little surprising:

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

When we hear the word “fire,” we often think of danger or destruction. But Jesus isn’t talking
about a fire that harms — He’s speaking about the fire of God’s love, mercy, and kindness. This fire warms cold hearts, brings light into darkness, and purifies us from selfishness and sin.

The fire Jesus desires to see blazing in our world is the love that forgives even when it’s hard, the mercy that reaches out to those in need, and the kindness that lifts up the lonely and the forgotten. It is a fire that begins in each of our hearts. But like any flame, it needs to be cared for. We feed it through prayer, through the sacraments, and through daily acts of generosity and compassion.

Jesus makes it clear that this fire will sometimes unsettle things. It may challenge our comfort or even create tension when we choose to live by God’s ways instead of the world’s. But this is the same fire that can transform our families, our parish, and our community.

Imagine a world where the fire of God’s love truly blazed — where grudges are replaced with
forgiveness, gossip with encouragement, and indifference with care. That’s the world Jesus is
longing for, and it begins with us.

Let us each take one step this week to keep that fire burning: a kind word to someone who’s
struggling, a visit to a neighbor who is lonely, or a moment of prayer for someone we find hard to love. The more we tend this fire, the brighter it will shine — until Christ can look at us and say, “Look, it is already blazing.”

With you in Christ’s love,
-Fr. Jeff