From the responsorial psalm: “But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him, upon those who hope for his kindness, To deliver them from death and preserve them in spite of famine. The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 12:49-53)
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! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.”
After saying this, Jesus goes on to describe the consequences of the division, that household members will be divided against each other. As the Son of God, Jesus comes to “set the earth on fire” and to be baptized according to the Father’s will. This can lead to division and conflict among even the closest relationships. All on earth that can be held in possession, close to the chest, Jesus will set ablaze to give glory to his Father in the final judgment. The peace on earth that Jesus disrupts is temporal peace, not the ultimate and unchanging peace of the risen Christ come again in glory.
God, help me come to know you in the words of your Son. In you there is not division but eternal union of Father and Son through the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “There is a baptism with which I must be baptized.” In knowing and accomplishing your will through his passion, death, and resurrection, Jesus experiences great anguish to see the results of his saving work, to set the world on fire in the cleansing and purifying love between the Father and the Son. Lord, help me understand. “Father, give me your love and your grace,” Saint Anthony Mary Claret said, “and I will be rich enough. My God, my Jesus, and my all!” Saint Anthony Mary Claret, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
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Saint Anthony Mary Claret Edu Tain Daza, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons