Christ Came to Cast Fire Upon the Earth or Why We Burn Candles at Mass

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49

What did Jesus mean by this statement? Was He talking about a destructive fire or was He talking about the fire of the Holy Spirit?

In a recent homily, Father David Engo, FBM, gave insights into this Scripture verse from Saint Luke. He spoke about the various qualities of fire.

Fire warms.

Fire hardens.

Fire consumes.

Fire dances.

Fire gives light.

Fire spreads.

Fire makes pliable.

Let’s parallel these quality of fire with the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit warms us with the love of God. It gives us the warmth of God’s presence.

The Holy Spirit, when applied to our lives, can make us firm in adhering to the Lord. We  become stronger through the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit intends to consume all of our sins and all of our will so that nothing is left of ourselves but all is for and of God.

The Holy Spirit will make us joyful before God so that our soul dances before Him in praise.

The Holy Spirit shows us the way through life by being a light in the darkness of sin and the flame of love and direction in a world that does not know the Lord.

God wishes the Holy Spirit to spread God’s love throughout the world so that all catch spiritual fire.

For souls hardened in sin and hardened against God, the infusion of the Holy Spirit makes those souls pliable, flexible, open to the love of God and to His plans.

"I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:49

We burn candles at Mass to remind ourselves of these functions of the Holy Spirit in our lives:

To warm us with God's Love, to firm us up, to consume our sins and will totally, to light the way in the darkness, to spread God's love, to make us pliable to God's plans. 

The fire Christ wants to kindle on the earth is a Holy Spirit in each of our souls. Will we let Him set us aflame?