In today's Gospel, Jesus says that the reason He came was to set the earth on fire, and He wishes it were already blazing! What is this fire that he came to set? It's the fire of God's love, of Christian virtue, of the Christian way of life that burns out hate, injustice, prejudice, and oppression. It's the fire of faith and hope that burns through unbelief and despair and brings people's lives back onto the path of meaning and fulfillment. It's the fire of love for one's neighbor that can build a culture of life and a civilization of love. 
But twenty centuries later, we know that many areas of our world are still not "on fire" with God's love.  There are many parts of our world that are still dark and cold. Other places that used to be blazing with faith are now only smoldering. One thinks of many parts of Europe that used to be on fire with a living faith and have now become empty shells of Christian life. We can also see many of our parishes, families, and neighborhoods that used to be alive with faith have now only a flicker.  Perhaps we can even look at our own individual lives and recognize that, where there once was a burning zeal for living our faith, we now have only a lukewarm practice of doing just the minimum required. 
We need to fan the flames! Jesus gave us the mission statement; we need to fulfill it. Jesus came to start the blaze burning, but He needs each of His baptized followers to fan the flame into a blazing fire. If we want to see our world become more of a place of love and peace, then we must commit ourselves to set the world on fire. We can only do that if we ourselves have a burning faith.  Jesus wants to set our hearts on fire, but He cannot do that unless we are willing to step into the flame. 
There are so many ways to do this. As we get ready to start a new school year, it's a perfect time to make some resolutions about our faith life. Just as students are busy getting new school clothes, supplies, and books, so we need to get ready to deepen our faith. We can make some resolutions now that will certainly produce a more blazing faith life if we follow through. For example, we might resolve to read our Bible for 15 minutes everyday and pray for another 15 minutes (or longer). We might resolve to read a few pages every day from the Catechism (or the Compendium) of the Catholic Church.

We might resolve to attend one or more of the many

classes, workshops, and
enrichment opportunities
offered by our parish. We might resolve to sign up for a weekly hour of adoration in our Perpetual Adoration Chapel (or stop in more often).

We might volunteer for one or more of the service opportuni

ties that will be presented at our Ministry Fair coming up on the weekend of September 8/9. We might decide to be brave and sing out in Church during Mass (You'd be surprised how doing that will give courage to those around you!). We might resolve to go to Confession once a month and do a daily examination of conscience.
We might ask the Lord in prayer if He is asking us to tithe (giving 10% of our income), and step out in trust that God will provide for our needs. And there's so much more we might do to step into the flame. 
Jesus came to set the earth on fire, but He needs us to keep the flame burning. And we can't expect the earth to be on fire if we ourselves are cold and complacent. Let's ask the Lord today to light a match wherever it's needed.

... is back! This  Fallfest Game will consist entirely of donations from the parish. Please fill jars and bottles with various "fun items" that would mostly appeal to children. Each bottle should be thoroughly washed clean and have a lid intact. The dollar amount on the contents of each bottle is left up to the discretion of the donor, but should be worth at least $1 and not to exceed $5.  Cost to play the game will be $2 or two tickets. Questions? Call Mary Anne Bennek at (651) 633-8333, ext. 1220. Thank you. 

DRAMA CLUB THIS FALL! The production for October 12 & 13 will be the "OZ." There will be a table in the cafeteria at Meet My Teacher Night to checkout a script ($5 deposit returned when script is returned). Parents will need to sign a permission slip. Auditions for 3^rd - 8^th graders, September 5 & 6. Contact Mary Skubal at (651) 697-1732 or vocoptions@sprynet.com  for more information.