Dear Friends in Christ

Fire is frequently used in the bible as a symbol of the love of God, a love which works to cleanse mankind of its impurity. Jesus says in the gospel of the Mass this Sunday that He has come to cast fire upon the Earth and that He wished it were already kindled. Love finds its ultimate expression in Christ himself for God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. The Lord wants the fire of His love to set alight our hearts, to light them up completely. He loves each one of us with a personal love, as if each one of us were the only object of His love. The fundamental truth of our existence is that God loves me. Everything else pales in importance. We show our love for God in many ways and the Holy Spirit will give us many inspirations as to how we can do this. There are so many times when we say no to love, perhaps without paying much attention. It is then that we learn how to make acts of sorrow for our lack of love. One of the ways we show love for God is precisely by seeking out his divine mercy especially in the sacrament of Confession. Saint Thomas Aquinas says: he who does not truly repent, does not truly love; obviously, when we love another person we suffer at having offended them. This is one of the effects of real love. Most of all, in front of the Tabernacle, when we adore Christ, we will receive light and strength to love and to be sorry. Do we speak to Jesus about what we love in our life, those who are precious to us, our family and friends, and about our work and our life? No one ever goes away from Jesus empty-handed.

We have just celebrated last Thursday, the great solemnity of Mary’s Assumption into Heaven; we look to her and with her towards Christ as she draws us into deeper union with him. May God bless you all!

Msgr Kevin Hale

Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
The Sunday Homily is available as a podcast at LourdesLeigh.org