Set the Earth on Fire

October 23, 2008

Thursday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

May [God] grant you in accord with the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3: 16-19

I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Luke 12:49

Piety

Let us pray that the Lord works through the 117th Men’s Cursillo to set the participants on fire with the love of God. Strengthen the team through the workings of the Holy Spirit so that each participant will see how Christ dwells in their heart – so that they, too, will make room for Christ in each of their hearts. Now to the Lord who is able to accomplish far more than all we ask or imagine, by the power at work within us, may the 117th Cursillo be dedicated to the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Study

Can we not ask for a more perfect measure of Sacred Scripture this week as the 117th Men’s Cursillo unfolds at Missionhurst? Starting tonight, we pray that the love of the Lord will set the hearts of all the candidates on fire in a quest toward a life filled with Piety, Study and Action.

Although Jesus talks of division, what does that mean? We heard of the division in the series of Gospels on the vineyard. Some of us will accept our job in the vineyard and some of us will not. Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will use this weekend to bring the candidates together as one in friendship with Jesus through the common ideals they pursue as laypersons in the church.

We know that division is spurred by the temptation toward sin. By overcoming the obstacles to a life lived in God’s grace and grandeur, the Lord will follow through on his promise to help each of the candidates experience a conversion to live as leaders showing the way through Christian community in action.

Just as we know what causes division, we also know what brings unity. Earlier this week, St. Paul’s letter to Ephesians remind us, “You were at that time without Christ,
alienated from the community of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have become near by the Blood of Christ.” So just as Christ’s presence can accentuate our difference, accepting his friendship can speed our unity.

Action

Pray for the Lord to work through this weekend to build a strong and unified community in action among the men at Missionhurst for the Cursillo.

Light a candle today and help that flame remind you that the Holy Spirit is not only still at work in your heart from when you experienced his love, but also that the spark of that light will ignite a fire in each of the candidates.