Faith and Fire

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today remind us that the fire of Jesus' message may bring our practice of faith into conflict with the beliefs and actions of other people in our environment.

In a Cloud of Witnesses

The reading from the Prophet Jeremiah relates Jeremiah in the Muddy Cistern.

* [38:4] He is weakening the resolve: lit., “he weakens the hands.” One of the Lachish ostraca (cf. note on 34:7) makes the same claim against the princes in Jerusalem.

b. [38:4] Jer 26:11.

c. [38:6] Jer 37:14–15.

d. [38:9] Jer 52:6. (Jeremiah CHAPTER 38|USCCB, n.d.)

Psalm 40 proclaims all who trust God will experience protection.

* [Psalm 40] A thanksgiving (Ps 40:2–13) has been combined with a lament (Ps 40:14–17) that appears also in Ps 70. The psalmist describes the rescue in spatial terms—being raised up from the swampy underworld to firm earth where one can praise God (Ps 40:2–4). All who trust God will experience like protection (Ps 40:5–6)! The Psalm stipulates the precise mode of thanksgiving: not animal sacrifice but open and enthusiastic proclamation of the salvation just experienced (Ps 40:7–11). A prayer for protection concludes (Ps 40:12–17). (Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter to the Hebrews presents a great cloud of witnesses.

* [12:1–13] Christian life is to be inspired not only by the Old Testament men and women of faith (Heb 12:1) but above all by Jesus. As the architect of Christian faith, he had himself to endure the cross before receiving the glory of his triumph (Heb 12:2). Reflection on his sufferings should give his followers courage to continue the struggle, if necessary even to the shedding of blood (Heb 12:3–4). Christians should regard their own sufferings as the affectionate correction of the Lord, who loves them as a father loves his children.

* [12:1] That clings to us: the meaning is uncertain, since the Greek word euperistatos, translated cling, occurs only here. The papyrus P46 and one minuscule read euperispastos, “easily distracting,” which also makes good sense. (Hebrews, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

The Gospel of Luke 12.49-53 presents Jesus as A Cause of Division.

* [12:49–53] Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is a refining and purifying fire. His message that meets with acceptance or rejection will be a source of conflict and dissension even within families.

* [12:50] Baptism: i.e., his death. (Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB, n.d.)

Rev. Andy Alexander, SJ, comments on Fire, Baptism, and Division. Jesus is describing the result of his mission.  It brought division.

Jesus came to be baptized into the mystery that, in God’s Good News, death is the path to life.  He revealed that our baptism into his way of living is a baptism into his everlasting life.  This Good News is the font of our freedom for self-sacrificing love.

Jesus came to offer us light in the midst of darkness, that we might offer light for others.  He came to love and forgive us, so that we might bring healing and reconciliation. Jesus offers us his Spirit to accompany us and to gather us in his deepest prayer, 

Dear Lord, thank you for the grace to recenter my trust in your Word.  In the few opportunities which remain for me, give me the courage to preach your Good News, faithfully.  Fill the hearts of your people with the Joy of the Gospel.  Allow us to enter into dialogue with each other on a path of greater understanding and unity.  Enkindle within us the fire of your love and let us join you in renewing the face of the earth. (Alexander, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The fire of the Gospel and being baptized in the Holy Spirit,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).

"We affirm that the fire that Christ sent out is for humanity's salvation and profit. May God grant that all our hearts be full of this. The fire is the saving message of the Gospel and the power of its commandments. We were cold and dead because of sin and in ignorance of him who by nature is truly God. The gospel ignites all of us on earth to a life of piety and makes us fervent in spirit, according to the expression of blessed Paul (Romans 12:11). Besides this, we are also made partakers of the Holy Spirit, who is like fire within us. We have been baptized with fire and the Holy Spirit. We have learned the way from what Christ says to us. Listen to his words: 'Truly I say to you, that except a man be born of water and spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God' (John 3:5). It is the divinely inspired Scripture's custom to give the name of fire sometimes to the divine and sacred words and to the efficacy and power which is by the Holy Spirit by which we are made fervent in spirit." (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 94) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 12:49-53 comments that at this point in his ministry, even before the agonizing events of Holy Week, Jesus experienced an intense distress of heart and mind. He so ardently wanted to set the earth on fire with his love, he so longed to accomplish redemption through the “baptism” of his passion and death, that he was in anguish until it was accomplished (Luke 12:50).

And it has been accomplished! The results of his baptism are still flowing today. This means that even today, you can experience more of all that Jesus so longed to give you—more mercy, more grace, more love, more freedom. So allow the passion that Jesus expresses in today’s passage move you to seek him out! Believe that as you receive his forgiveness and experience the joy of worshipping him, you are doing more than just reaping the fruit of his passion. You are bringing consolation and joy to his anguished Sacred Heart.

Jesus’ pierced heart yearns for every person he created. Allow that passion to capture your heart!

“Jesus, thank you for loving me so deeply! I want to receive all the mercy you died to give me!” (Meditation on Luke 12:49-53, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler reflects on the texts of today. Jeremiah is trapped in a plot to kill him in the time before the Babylonian Exile. People felt he was to betray them in his warning about the enemy, A foreigner wanted to rescue him but the people wanted to blame Jeremiah. The cloud of witnesses in Hebrews indicates that  we are called to fix our eyes on Jesus at a time of persecution. We should give witness whatever the cost. The Gospel proclaims Jesus' mission of creating a fire of enthusiasm and courage to give witness even when it is dangerous. Friar Jude reminds us that others may reject our message and person citing "martyrdom of pinpricks," of St Therese of Liseau. 

Fr Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that naming any emotion, even if it is negative, as a “sin” is not useful, because guilt and shame, or any sense that “God is upset” with us, usually only increases our negativity and fear—which causes us to close down all the more. In other words, when we try to shut them down, our emotions become more complex, more conflicted, more repressed—and thus less honest “reflections” of reality. If an emotion does not help us read the situation better and more truthfully, we must release it, let it move through us—for our own advantage. 

Most of us are naturally good at attachment, but few of us have training in detachment or letting go. Practicing detachment is one of the great tasks of any healthy spirituality, but, when carried to extreme, it’s counterproductive. (It almost took over in much of early Christianity, which was not helpful.) We must take the risk of legitimate attachment (fully feeling the emotion), learn its important message, and then have the presence and purpose to detach from that fascinating emotion after it has done its work. This is the gift and power of an emotionally mature person. [1] 

To be truly conscious, we must step back from our compulsive identification with our unquestioned attachment to our isolated selves—the primary illusion. Pure consciousness is never just me, trapped inside my self. Rather, it is an observing of “me” from a distance—from the viewing platform kindly offered by God (see Romans 8:16), which we call the Indwelling Spirit. Then we see with eyes much larger and other than our own. (Rohr, n.d.)

We seek the guidance of the Spirit in our proclamation of the fire of love we experience in our relationship with Christ that empowers our faith.

References

Alexander, A. (2025, August 17). Daily Reflection August 17, 2025 | Creighton Online Ministries. Creighton Online Ministries. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-august-17-2025 

Hebrews, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/12?1 

Jeremiah CHAPTER 38|USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Bible Reading. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/Jeremiah/38?4 

Luke, CHAPTER 12 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/12?49 

Meditation on Luke 12:49-53. (n.d.). Word Among Us. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/08/17/1357646/ 

Psalms, PSALM 40 | USCCB. (n.d.). Daily Readings. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/40?2 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Welcoming but Not Clinging. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/welcoming-but-not-clinging/ 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). I Came to Cast Fire upon the Earth. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved August 17, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=aug17 

Fruit and Spirit

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today, Pentecost Sunday, invite us to seek greater understanding of the Holy Spirit that guides the development of the Church and empowers the charism of our gifts to love and care for Creation.

Spirit and Life

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles describes the Coming of the Spirit as tongues of fire.

* [2:1–41] Luke’s pentecostal narrative consists of an introduction (Acts 2:1–13), a speech ascribed to Peter declaring the resurrection of Jesus and its messianic significance (Acts 2:14–36), and a favorable response from the audience (Acts 2:37–41). It is likely that the narrative telescopes events that took place over a period of time and on a less dramatic scale. The Twelve were not originally in a position to proclaim publicly the messianic office of Jesus without incurring immediate reprisal from those religious authorities in Jerusalem who had brought about Jesus’ death precisely to stem the rising tide in his favor.

* [2:2] There came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind: wind and spirit are associated in Jn 3:8. The sound of a great rush of wind would herald a new action of God in the history of salvation.

* [2:3] Tongues as of fire: see Ex 19:18 where fire symbolizes the presence of God to initiate the covenant on Sinai. Here the holy Spirit acts upon the apostles, preparing them to proclaim the new covenant with its unique gift of the Spirit (Acts 2:38).

* [2:4] To speak in different tongues: ecstatic prayer in praise of God, interpreted in Acts 2:6, 11 as speaking in foreign languages, symbolizing the worldwide mission of the church. (Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2, n.d.)

Psalm 104 praises the beauty of creation with awe.

* [Psalm 104] A hymn praising God who easily and skillfully made rampaging waters and primordial night into a world vibrant with life. The psalmist describes God’s splendor in the heavens (Ps 104:1–4), how the chaotic waters were tamed to fertilize and feed the world (Ps 104:5–18), and how primordial night was made into a gentle time of refreshment (Ps 104:19–23). The picture is like Gn 1:1–2: a dark and watery chaos is made dry and lighted so that creatures might live. The psalmist reacts to the beauty of creation with awe (Ps 104:24–34). May sin not deface God’s work (Ps 104:35)! (Psalms, PSALM 104, n.d.)

The reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians proclaims our Unity and the Variety of our charisms.

 * [12:4–6] There are some features common to all charisms, despite their diversity: all are gifts (charismata), grace from outside ourselves; all are forms of service (diakoniai), an expression of their purpose and effect; and all are workings (energēmata), in which God is at work. Paul associates each of these aspects with what later theology will call one of the persons of the Trinity, an early example of “appropriation.” (1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 12, n.d.)

The reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans proclaims our identity as Children of God through Adoption.

Under the direction of the holy Spirit Christians are able to fulfill the divine will that formerly found expression in the law (Rom 8:4). The same Spirit who enlivens Christians for holiness will also resurrect their bodies at the last day (Rom 8:11). Christian life is therefore the experience of a constant challenge to put to death the evil deeds of the body through life of the spirit (Rom 8:13).

* [8:14–17] Christians, by reason of the Spirit’s presence within them, enjoy not only new life but also a new relationship to God, that of adopted children and heirs through Christ, whose sufferings and glory they share.

* [8:15] Abba: see note on Mk 14:36. (Romans, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)

In the Gospel of John, Jesus breathes the Spirit in an Appearance to the Disciples.

* [20:19] The disciples: by implication from Jn 20:24 this means ten of the Twelve, presumably in Jerusalem. Peace be with you: although this could be an ordinary greeting, John intends here to echo Jn 14:27. The theme of rejoicing in Jn 20:20 echoes Jn 16:22.

* [20:20] Hands and…side: Lk 24:39–40 mentions “hands and feet,” based on Ps 22:17.

* [20:21] By means of this sending, the Eleven were made apostles, that is, “those sent” (cf. Jn 17:18), though John does not use the noun in reference to them (see note on Jn 13:16). A solemn mission or “sending” is also the subject of the post-resurrection appearances to the Eleven in Mt 28:19; Lk 24:47; Mk 16:15.

* [20:22] This action recalls Gn 2:7, where God breathed on the first man and gave him life; just as Adam’s life came from God, so now the disciples’ new spiritual life comes from Jesus. Cf. also the revivification of the dry bones in Ez 37. This is the author’s version of Pentecost. Cf. also the note on Jn 19:30.

* [20:23] The Council of Trent defined that this power to forgive sins is exercised in the sacrament of penance. See Mt 16:19; Mt 18:18. (John, CHAPTER 20, n.d.)

The Gospel of John proclaims the role of The Advocate.

* [14:16] Another Advocate: Jesus is the first advocate (paraclete); see 1 Jn 2:1, where Jesus is an advocate in the sense of intercessor in heaven. The Greek term derives from legal terminology for an advocate or defense attorney, and can mean spokesman, mediator, intercessor, comforter, consoler, although no one of these terms encompasses the meaning in John. The Paraclete in John is a teacher, a witness to Jesus, and a prosecutor of the world, who represents the continued presence on earth of the Jesus who has returned to the Father.

* [14:17] The Spirit of truth: this term is also used at Qumran, where it is a moral force put into a person by God, as opposed to the spirit of perversity. It is more personal in John; it will teach the realities of the new order (Jn 14:26), and testify to the truth (Jn 14:6). While it has been customary to use masculine personal pronouns in English for the Advocate, the Greek word for “spirit” is neuter, and the Greek text and manuscript variants fluctuate between masculine and neuter pronouns.

* [14:18] I will come to you: indwelling, not parousia.

* [14:22] Judas, not the Iscariot: probably not the brother of Jesus in Mk 6:3 // Mt 13:55 or the apostle named Jude in Lk 6:16 but Thomas (see note on Jn 11:16), although other readings have “Judas the Cananean.” (John, CHAPTER 14, n.d.)

Kent Beausoleil, S.J. recalls the movie ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ and the wedding speech of Gus Portokalos, who proclaims “In the end, ‘we all fruit’”. 

Jesus comes to us, and the spirit of his love gives us courage, as he shows us that he is one with us, he too has the wounds of life to reveal, and with him we can find our peace, the peace and the power, as fruit together, to share the good news of a love that has a ‘together power’, a power found in one another as community, a power to overcome our differences, to overcome our hate, to vanquish all violence, to vanquish all division.  Yes, we are all different, but we, with the Holy Spirit alive in us and among us, we realize ‘we all fruit’.  And so dear friends, may the fruit you are be turned into the wine of God’s mercy and compassion, the Spirit of light, and of life, and of love.  And indeed, as we share these gifts of the Holy Spirit given to us, the fruits of the spirit alive in us, with one another and for our world, who knows, who knows, WHO KNOWS, what divine wind, will now blow. (Beausoleil, 2025)

Don Schwager quotes “The Holy Spirit at Pentecost,” by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.

"To the Hebrew people, now freed from Egypt, the law was given on Mount Sinai fifty days after the immolation of the paschal lamb. Similarly, after the passion of Christ in which the true Lamb of God was killed, just fifty days after his resurrection, the Holy Spirit fell upon the apostles and the whole group of believers. Thus the earnest Christian may easily perceive that the beginnings of the Old Covenant were at the service of the beginnings of the gospel and that the same Spirit who instituted the first established the Second Covenant." (excerpt from Sermon 75.1) (Schwager, n.d.)

The Word Among Us Meditation on Acts 2:1-11 comments that we need to experience both the mercy and the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to know, intimately and personally, just how forgiving God is. We need to know that nothing, not even the greatest of sins, can overcome the love that he has for us. We also need to experience the powerful rush of his Spirit filling us with confidence in God’s love. That confidence can propel us into the world to share the good news with everyone we meet.

Today, more than any other day, is a great day to ask for a fresh new outpouring of the Spirit. Ask the Spirit to flood you with a personal encounter with God’s mercy. Then ask the same Spirit to give you the courage to proclaim that mercy far and wide.

“Come, Holy Spirit! Fill me and empower me!” (Meditation on Acts 2:1-11, n.d.)

Sister Teresa White belongs to the Faithful Companions of Jesus. A former teacher, she spent many years in the ministry of spirituality at Katherine House, a retreat and conference centre run by her congregation in Salford.

When I started secondary school at the age of eleven, two new languages came into my life. In each of them, the first verb we had to learn by heart was ‘to love’ in the present tense: ‘amo, amas, amat…’ (Latin) and ‘j’aime, tu aimes, il/elle aime…’ (French).

Karl Rahner defines grace as ‘the self-communication of God in love’. Reflecting on this, it struck me that ‘love in the present tense’ is a perfect way to describe the gift, or grace, of the Holy Spirit. Love communicates before being understood: it is the language of the human soul, speaking without words, silent in the face of elusive mystery. And if we wanted to capture the essence of the Spirit’s presence in a single word, then Emmanuel (‘God with us’) would be a good choice. Indeed, if it is true, as Philip Endean SJ once wrote, that ‘… the only God who actually exists is God-with-us’,[ii] then Emmanuel could be considered the ‘family name’ as it were of the three persons of the Trinity: God beyond us, God among us, God within us. These thoughts led me to wonder whether that name, Emmanuel, which many Christians tend to associate almost exclusively with Christmas, should not also hold a pivotal place in our Pentecost vocabulary. Through the indwelling of the Spirit, God is always with us, never absent from our lives, and the Hebrew word Emmanuel verbalises the eternal presence of the divine in the whole of creation. (White, n.d.)

Friar Jude Winkler comments on the account in Acts of the first Pentecost Sunday. On the Jewish feast, the Spirit is crashing through the building enabling speech in different languages healing the Babel Tower. First Corinthians speaks about the charisms, spiritual gifts given as the Spirit wishes for the building up of the Church. The Spirit unites us in One Body. Romans 8 contrasts the flesh and Spirit, concupiscence, death and life. Jesus recalls “Abba” father in John 20. In John 14, on Easter Sunday night Jesus greets the apostles with  “Peace be with You” and the Shalom and the breath of His Spirit. We become a new creation, teaching us how to pray. The Advocate is going to reinforce our faith by sending consoller, councilor, and  Paraclete to teach us and remind us. Friar Jude notes that John, the mystic, for whom time is not important, and Luke, the historian, for whom time is very important, present the anointing with the Spirit in different times.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, encourages us to read the Scriptures by following the model of Jesus and in the company of the Holy Spirit, whose presence the church celebrates today. 

Jesus knows how to connect the dots and find out where the sacred text is truly heading, beyond the lower-level consciousness of a particular moment, individual, or circumstance. He knows there’s a bigger arc to the story—one that reveals God as compassionate and inclusive. Jesus doesn’t quote lines that are punitive, imperialistic (“My country is the best!”), wrathful, or exclusionary.

This is what the Spirit teaches any faithful person to do—read Scripture (and the very experiences of life) with a gaze of love. Contemplative practice helps us develop a third eye that reads between the lines and finds the thread always moving toward inclusivity, mercy, and justice. [1]  

The biblical revelation is about awakening. It’s about realization, not performance principles. We cannot get there, we can only be there, but that foundational Being-in-God, for some reason, is too hard to believe, and too good to be true. Only the humble can receive it, because it affirms more about God than it does about us. To achieve that realization, I invite us to read the Old Testament and the New Testament as one complete book: an anthology of inspired stories, with a beginning, middle, and end. Read it as one Spirit-led text. (Rohr, n.d.)

We invoke the Spirit to fill our hearts and kindle in them the Fire of Love that fulfills our Creation and directs our mission to witness the Spirit renew the face of the Earth.

References

Acts of the Apostles, CHAPTER 2. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/acts/2?1 

Beausoleil, K. (2025, June 8). Creighton U. Daily Reflection. Online Ministries. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/060825.html 

John, CHAPTER 14. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/14?15 

John, CHAPTER 20. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/john/20?19 

Meditation on Acts 2:1-11. (n.d.). The Word Among Us: Homepage. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/06/08/1300439/ 

1 Corinthians, CHAPTER 12. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1corinthians/12?3 

Psalms, PSALM 104. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/104?1 

Rohr, R. (n.d.). Reading with the Holy Spirit. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/reading-with-the-holy-spirit/ 

Romans, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/romans/8?8 

Schwager, D. (n.d.). They Were All Filled with the Holy Spirit! Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=jun8 

White, T. (n.d.). Love in the Present Tense. Thinking Faith: The online journal of the Jesuits in Britain. Retrieved June 8, 2025, from https://www.thinkingfaith.org/articles/love-present-tense