The fire in all missioners

French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin said that the discovery and harnessing of fire was one of the great technological discoveries of human history. I was struck by how the Rev. Michael Curry spoke of fire in his homily at the royal wedding.

Fire to a great extent made human civilization possible.
Fire made it possible to cook food, and to provide sanitary ways of eating, which reduced the spread of disease in its time.
Fire made it possible to heat warm environments and thereby marking human migration a possibility even into colder climates.
Fire made it possible — there was no Bronze Age without fire, no Iron Age without fire, no Industrial Revolution without fire. …

Anybody get here in a car today? An Automobile? Nod your heads if you did, I know there were some carriages. Those of us who came in cars, the controlled-harnessed fire made that possible.

I know that the Bible says, and I believe it that Jesus walked on water, but I have to tell you I didn’t walk across the Atlantic Ocean to get here. Controlled fire in that plane got me here.

Fire makes it possible for us to text, and tweet, and email, and Instagram and Facebook and socially be dysfunctional with each other.
Fire makes that possible, and de Chardin said fire was one of the great discoveries in all of human history.

He (Teilhard de Chardin) went on to say if humanity ever harnesses the energy of fire again, if humanity ever captured the energies of love, it will be the second time in the history that will have discovered fire.

Dr. King was right. We must discover love, the redemptive power of love. And when we do that, we will be able to make of this old world a new world.

My brother, my sister, God love you, God bless you. And may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love.

(Text courtesy of AnglicanLink)

I could not help recall the Pope Francis’ dream of the transforming power of a “missionary option”

“I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything,
so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation…  We must admit that the call to review and renew our parishes has not yet sufficed to bring them nearer to people,
to make them environments of living communion and participation, and to make them completely mission-oriented…

To make this missionary impulse ever more focused, generous and fruitful, I encourage each particular church to undertake a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform.” (Synthesis of Evangelii Gaudium 27-33)

I believe this is the dream in the heart of every missioner in whatever state of life.

If you have this fire we invite you to lend your time, talent or treasure the Congregation of the Mission Eastern Province through this webpage.

Related “fire”post: The Explosive Power of Pentecost