Flames of Faith

Photo by Tobias Rademacher on Unsplash 

Praise be Jesus Christ, now and forever.  Praise Him!  Praise the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.  Praise Him Who was, is, and is to come.  

Thank You Lord for Your Mercy, for Your Power, for Your Goodness.  Thank You for Your constancy, for Your provision, for Your presence.

We are sorry, God, for the times we have allowed the flames of our faith to die down due to our lack of tending, due to our selfishness, due to our willful ignorance.  Forgive us, Lord, for our forgetfulness and shortsightedness.  We are so sorry we have hurt you!  

I was in prayer today after Mass reflecting on our call to be light to the world.  As I sat to attempt to silence all that runs through my mind and to listen for that still small voice, I could sense the question, “How does your flame burn?”

How does my flame burn?  Is it a smolder? Does the flame burn constantly?  Does it need to be tended often?  Does it require me to add fuel every now and then or does it need constant stoking? Is it raging, easily spreading to those around me?  

My first thought was that I was thankful to have a flame!  Oh how grateful I am to have been brought to the waters of baptism as an infant and that the fire of the Holy Spirit was ignited on that day!  So many are not given that grace-giving gift.  

In my life, the fire of the Holy Spirit was ignited on my baptism.  The flame remained but a smolder for my childhood, kept alive by praying grandparents, a very Catholic culture, and a few very significant witnesses from parents, friends, and family. 

In the early to mid-nineties, I began tending to that smolder as I met regularly with a local priest and eventually joined RCIA.  It was a long slow process that had the flame of my faith flickering, for I was most certainly wavering as I was attempting to make sense of all I was learning.  It was not an easy process, but it was fruitful.  

It would be so poetic to write that my flame raged on the day of my Confirmation , but I cannot make that claim.   For me, Confirmation seemed to feed my flame with the fuel of a steadfast and constant grace that lit the path of my faith life as an adult.  

I have never been a bubbly, vivacious person, so it is difficult to see myself as carrying a fire that would rage and emit embers that could be carried to others.  My personality tends to require others to grow close to me to appreciate the light emitted by my flame of faith, and I pray that others are warmed by the flame of my faith and that warmth is what is shared with others.

Of course, I do not see how God sees, and we may never know how brightly our flame burns or how many embers have been released and spread.  My flame may be raging; at least, I pray it is!  

As August draws near – the month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart – may we consider how to best tend to our flames of faith so that we may live the call to be a light to the world.  

How does your flame burn?  Share, share, share!  You never know who needs to hear your story and what fire you might spark in the lives of others.