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A Soul on Fire!
Jesus said to his disciples: “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!” Luke 12:49–50
What a powerful image! Jesus declares His desire to set the earth on fire—not just a small fire, but a fire that is already blazing. A small fire gives warmth and light, but a blazing fire consumes everything in its path. Jesus is speaking of the purifying and transforming fire of divine love. This image is a metaphor for the interior union of the soul with God and reveals how divine love, when ignited within us, burns away all that is not of God and sets the soul aflame with holy charity. Through souls ablaze with divine fire, the whole earth can be set spiritually aflame.
When Jesus says, “I have come to set the earth on fire,” He is speaking about hearts and souls. He desires that His love so penetrate our being that it radiates outward, illuminating and transforming the world. Saint John of the Cross, one of the greatest mystical doctors of the Church, develops this metaphor beautifully. He teaches that the soul is like a log of wood. At first, the log is cold, hard, and damp. But once it is placed into the fire of God’s love, it begins to change.
At first, the fire may cause pain. It crackles and smokes as it purges moisture and impurities. This stage corresponds to the purification of the senses and spirit. The soul must be stripped of worldly attachments and disordered affections. The fire burns away sin, imperfections, and even the soul’s self-will. This purification is necessary for deeper union.
As the burning continues, the log becomes more and more like the fire itself. Eventually, the log glows, radiates heat, and becomes one with the flame. So too, the soul that has been purified by grace is gradually transformed into God by love. It no longer only receives God’s love, it becomes love, fully united with the divine will, shining with the radiance of the Holy Spirit.
This is what Jesus longs for: not lukewarm souls, but souls so fully inflamed with divine charity that they become living flames, blazing across the earth, igniting other souls, and glorifying the Father.
Saint John calls the perfection of this deepening conversion the Living Flame of Love, which not only transforms the soul but delights and glorifies it as it becomes an instrument of God’s own life and action in the world. In this state, the soul no longer lives for itself but for the divine will alone. It is in this fire that the saints are forged.
When you look into your own soul, what do you see? Is there a spark of faith, struggling to remain lit? Do the winds of the world, the temptations of the flesh, and the pressures of daily life overpower that flame within you? If so, fan the flame of faith so that it grows and becomes more intense. This is done by entering into the “baptism” into which Jesus was baptized—His sacrificial Passion and Death. By dying with Him, we turn from the selfishness of sin that waters down the fire God sets in our souls. By turning from sin, especially those sins that are hard to overcome, our souls become primed to burn brightly with God’s grace.
Reflect today on the fire that Christ came to cast upon the earth. Is your soul burning, smoking, or still untouched by that flame? Are you willing to be set on fire and to undergo the purifications necessary to become one with the divine flame? Allow the Word of God, the Sacraments, and deep prayer to be the sparks that enkindle your soul. Say “Yes” to this baptism of fire, and let your soul become a light to the world.
My Lord of blazing Love, You desire to consume me with Your purifying fire, burning away all impurities from my soul, so that I may become one with You and radiate Your warmth and light. Please set me ablaze, dear Lord, not only for my own good, but for the good of others, so that through me, this world may be set aflame with Your glory. Jesus, I trust in You.
Image: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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