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
Wisdom for Parents of Addicted Children
Deacon Tim Sullivan
In 2015, I visited a healing center for young adults suffering from some form of addiction. The center, called Communita Cenacolo, has no counselors. The healing is very real, and it comes from an intensive, community based Catholic lifestyle, almost like a monastery. The community believes that the cross each person lives is connected to everyone else’s cross.
The healing is not just focused on the young adults. Their parents also participate in a healing, growing process. They meet regularly with the parents of other residents and come to the center once a year for an extended weekend. I visited during such a weekend and thought I would share some of the advice the parents received.
The community does not ask the parents who they were, but who they are now and who they want to be. They were told that their adult children strongly desire to see change in the parents. They were told “God loves you as you are but he won’t leave you as you are.” They were asked “How united are you as parents, especially in prayer?”
The parents were encouraged to have a weekly “revision of life meeting.” The meeting should consist of prayer, expressing something positive and then asking “What about me bothered you this week?”
We all have dependencies, chains of some kind. Communita Cenacolo teaches both parents and children that the Christian life in its simplicity and fullness is the true answer to every restlessness in the human heart.
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.”