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!”
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Families of Light
“All of you are children of the light.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:5
Sin, Evil and the Devil
Deacon Tim Sullivan
One of the responsibilities of Catholic parents is educating their children on the realities of sin, evil and the devil. The details will change depending on the ages of the children, as very young children need to have a general sense of these realities without graphic details.
Sin is an offense against God arising from disobedience of His laws. Sharing the story of Adam and Eve with our children helps them understand that sin results mostly from human pride and not trusting God. It also gives children an awareness that Satan is a tempter, a deceiver, who has the specific goal of harming our relationship with God.
Children need to know that we will be fighting temptation our whole lives. Satan tempted Jesus, and he will tempt all of us. We have to realize that we can be weak in fighting temptation. We need to pray for the grace to resist sin. We also need to stay away from situations, behaviors and attitudes which can lead us into sin.
A huge problem in our country is the inadequate understanding of evil. Evil is not just a specific act. Evil is contagious. So great evils can result from the accumulation of personal sins. As an example, the fact that there have been over 60 million abortions in the United States leads to other evils that may not seem directly related to abortion.
“Our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.” Ephesians 6:12
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:
Who Are We Missing? May 12, 2024 (The Ascension). The disciples weren’t ready for Jesus to leave them.
Tree Problems. June 9, 2024. Adam and Eve and a house divided. The source of the problem.
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.”