our mission is to enkindle the fire of faith in catholic men & women and those who are curious about what Catholics believe and do.
The word “enkindle” means to set afire, to incite, rouse, to make luminous and glowing. In the Prayer to the Holy Spirit, we ask the Holy Spirit to enkindle in us the fire of his love.
Our goal is to help Christians become believers of authentic passion, people on fire, filled with a zeal to know God’s will, to know His truth and to live with a sincere desire to obey God in all aspects of life.
We will fulfill our mission with a variety of resources, a frequent blog, podcasts featuring lively interviews, articles and booklets that can be downloaded and links to other resources helpful to Christian men and women.
“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”
“Blessed be God who filled my soul with fire!”
LATEST UPDATES
Families of Light
“All of you are children of the light.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:5
Dealing with Adversity
Deacon Tim Sullivan
A primary responsibility of parents is helping their children constructively handle adversity. For children to mature, they have to know that obstacles are part of life and how to deal with them.
We should tell our children that, as followers of Jesus, we have to pick up our crosses, the challenges in our lives, and carry them as Jesus did. Jesus is always going to be with us and will give us what we need to get through hard times.
So, when confronted with difficulties, we should pray with our children to ask for God’s grace and guidance in overcoming life’s burdens. The next step is for our children to come up with a plan that God would endorse for dealing with a problem. Using Jesus as an example, the goal is to convert the problem into a blessing for all who are involved.
Parents also should turn to prayer for themselves, asking God to lead them in helping their children. Sometimes children need a drill sergeant, other times a cheerleader. God can help them know which approach is best in a particular situation.
If children want examples from the Bible of how faith helped people, there is plenty to choose from in Chapter 10 of the Letter to the Hebrews.
“Consider it all a joy, my brothers, when you encounter various trials, for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3
BLOGS
Our newest blog posting raises the issue of what essential characteristics of the Catholic faith are missing in the lives of many, many Catholics, not necessarily through any fault of their own. Deacon Tim identifies 3 such elements. Some parishes are working to rectify this situation, but there’s a lot of work to be done.
podcasts
Deacon Tim gave a talk on The Most Chaste Heart of Saint Joseph on June 8, 2021. He describes chastity as more than an aspect of sexuality. Chastity is presented as a function of personal integrity. The talk is especially challenging for husbands and fathers. It can be found on Youtube at https://youtu.be/Lcq7Gr097pY.
Is the Acts of the Apostles in the Bible purely historical? Is the Holy Spirit still with us? Do our Catholic parishes resemble the dynamic vitality evident in the earliest Christian community? What’s missing and what can we do about it? Deacon Tim and Cyndi discuss these issues.
RESOURCES/HOMILIES
Two recent and popular homilies:
The Power of Grace. December 12, 2023. Grace as a reality of God’s divine presence in our lives.
Simon and the Eucharist. August 13, 2023. How Simon is a model for preparing to receive Jesus in the Eucharist.
CATHOLIC BOOT CAMP
Deacon Tim has developed a series of from 4 to 6 presentations under the title, “Catholic Boot Camp.” They cover the foundations for living the full Catholic life, and include issues which most Catholics would not list on their job descriptions for being Catholic. The themes of the Boot Camp include the following: 1. Why Jesus? His Mission and Purpose, 2. The Church: Its Mission and Power, 3. The Person: Our Individual Identity, Mission and Purpose, 4. The Bible: Essentials Every Catholic Should Know, 5. The Call To Be Disciples and 6. Evangelization Catholic Style. So far Deacon Tim has presented the Catholic Boot Camp at St. Bernard Church in Tulsa, Saint Mark Church in Pryor, Oklahoma and Saint Joseph Church in Muskogee, Oklahoma.
“Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”