“I have not come to establish peace on the earth…but rather division”, in other words, following Jesus may not always be the popular thing, his truth might contradict popular opinion, you might lose friends because him, your family might not understand you, they might even come to hate you because of him. Hopefully not! But to me, this Gospel always speaks of how counter-cultural being a disciple of Jesus Christ really is.
And the Gospel really hit home as I prepared to meet with the seminary rector, as most of my high school friends were either non-practicing catholic or very critical of the catholic church. Most of my family were lapsed Catholics. Even though I attended a Jesuit University, many of the students and professors seemed quite at odds with Catholic Truth. Would I lose friends over entering the seminary, would I be pressured by family not to enter?
I have a priest friend, in fact, whose parents did kick him out of the house when he said he was going into the seminary. “No son of mine will be a priest” they said. Yet, he chose to enter seminary, even though it would cause division in his family because his call came from God.
So with the possibility that my own choice would cause division, when Father Dragga asked me why I wanted to enter the seminary, I simply recited the beginning of today’s Gospel: “I have come to cast fire upon the earth. How I wish it were already kindled.” The priesthood is at the service of this divine fire.So many of the tragic situations in my hometown, my high school, in our nation, and around the world was due to its alienation from the fire of Jesus Christ. So many broken families, so many young people turning to drugs, even modern art and music seeks to sever itself from what was true, good, and beautiful from God.
I also shared with Father Dragga how I was deeply moved by my visit to the seminary that previous spring. Because there I met this group of young men who felt the same way. It was evident that their hearts had caught fire, as had mine. I felt a particular kinship amongst the kindled. And to this day, my brother priests certainly continue to be a source of inspiration. As do so many of you, who have such a passion for the Truth and Goodness and Beauty of the Christian Gospel.
Members of the Body of Christ are meant to inspire each other and call each other to be ever more faithful. You’ll notice in the bulletin this week a report from our June parish visioning dinner. You’ll notice four pillars of St. Ignatius parish: four aspects of our parish life and history that continues to inspire and draw people to the fire of Jesus. Over the next few months, the parish council and I will explore how we can continue to build on these four pillars.
At the visioning meeting parishioners shared the many different ways how the fire of love for St. Ignatius Parish was kindled in their hearts. For some, the fire was kindled in their early years, attending the elementary school. For some, the fire was kindled the first time they walked into the Church: a church that looks like a church, the cathedral of west blvd, with its inspiring architecture and beautiful liturgies and music. For some, the fire was kindled because they were warmly welcomed by our greeters and friendly parishioners. For some, they were impressed by the service opportunities, the ways we care for the poor and hungry in this neighborhood. We certainly have a mission, don’t we, certainly not just my mission, but our mission, to continue to stoke these fires so that new generations can come to meet Christ in this beautiful place.
Our second reading spoke of the “great cloud of witnesses” who surround us, who inspire to persevere in running the race when things get difficult, who challenge us to serve the divine fire more faithfully, to allow the divine fire to burn away all our sins and selfishness.
The month of August is filled with some of the most amazing, counter-cultural saints, on fire with love for the Gospel. During the month of August we celebrate St. Dominic who traveled throughout Europe preaching the Gospel in the face of a growing heresy called Albigensianism. St. Clare, raised as an Italian noble, gave up her wealth, her social prospects, and consecrated herself to a life of adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross, a young jewish philosophy student whose search for truth led her to the Catholic faith, who was arrested and sent to gas chambers at Aushwitz. Fr. Maximillian Kolbe, also murdered at Aushwitz, who gave up his life for a jewish prisioner condemned to death.
What led these saints to offer their lives in service of the Gospel? What made them willing to engage in such counter-cultural activity? Their hearts were set on fire by Christ. And that fire, they nurtured through prayer, study, and service, and gratitude for the witness of those who had gone before them,. They kept their eyes fixed on the witness and example of the Lord Jesus who is consumed with obedience to His Father’s will. Any fire that we have as Christians can be traced back to the furnace of His Sacred Heart.
So we must each ensure that we do our part in stoking the fire in our own hearts, again through prayer, fasting, study, and service, and to rekindle fires that may have been extinguished through sin by going to Sacramental Confession.
And we must do our part in spreading that fire to others: Inviting the lapsed back to Mass, back to the Sacraments. Inviting them to Holy Hour, to faith formation, to volunteer opportunities, to speak with passion about our faith to those who do not know Christ. Jesus is yearning to set hearts on fire through our words and deeds.
“I have come to cast fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already ablaze” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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