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

 (Luke 12: 49)

The world took a long time to light up. The apostles and their apostles and disciples and teachers had to work hard over more than 400 years of oppression, tribulation, and trial to bring this fledgling faith to life. With each generation the fire was a little brighter and a little stronger, even though at times it did not seem so.

We live in a time when it seems that the flame is going out, where there doesn't seem to be as much faith or life in faith as there once was. But we cannot trust our eyes. Jesus told us that He established the Church and "the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." If so, then we must trust Jesus to have spoken truthfully, and not trust our own uncertain and wavering perceptions of the world.

We are the fire! We are the transformation of the world! We are God's instruments of change! We can and do make a difference in the lives of people around us!

If we see the fire going out, perhaps the first place to look is deep within. Pray that the Lord will feed the flame within us, so that we can contribute to lighting the world on fire with the Love of God. God will prosper the work, but only if we really want it to prosper.