Many people don’t fully appreciate the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel, so let’s delve into them: “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” (Lk 12:49).  ‘Fire’ refers to God’s judging us, purifying us from sin, awakening faith, and giving the Holy Spirit—Jesus wants these things to happen soon.  Next: “I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under until it is completed!” (12:50).  ‘Baptism’ refers to His crucifixion—He eagerly wants it to happen because He wants to save us.  So, on one hand, Jesus is perfect justice and will judge us at the moment of death based on how we’ve responded to His love.  On the other hand, He’s perfect mercy, and doesn’t want us to be lost.  He goes on, “Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth?  No, I tell you, but rather division!” (12:51).  He’s referring to the importance of making a decision.  You know how some people are indecisive?  Have you ever had someone in your life who doesn’t give a straight answer?  We invite them to something, but they just give excuses.  After a while, we say, ‘If you’re not coming, then say so.’  The same thing happens when a man proposes to a woman.  If she doesn’t give an answer then he can wait, but not forever.  Jesus is the prince of peace, but wants us to decide whether we’ll make Him the center of their lives, and this will cause division.

For example, “From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother…” (12:52-53).  Let’s focus today on our families and our parish community.  If we make Jesus the center of our lives, sometimes there will be divisions in our families.  We’ll try to love our family more than before, but there will be certain things we will no longer do.  Hopefully, our family will appreciate that we’re going to stop lying and swearing; we’re going to show up on time, spend more time with them, be more patient, do more chores, be more cheerful when we don’t feel like it, and we’re going to apologize more readily for our faults.  On the other hand, we won’t get drunk anymore, there are certain things regarding sexuality that we’ll no longer do, and we won’t miss Sunday Mass: For example, if our family is on a trip, we’ll go to Mass while they go eat and we’ll show up late.  That might make people upset.  In the end, hopefully our family will see that the positive changes outweigh what’s negative in their eyes.

This happened in my family.  After 17 years of being away from Mass in order to please my father, my mom returned to Mass.  When she started going, he was okay with it, but at one point, he asked her to give up one Mass for him, which she wouldn’t.  Then I started following Jesus, then our oldest brother did, and then our middle brother.  Some of this caused conflict with Dad.  But I wish I knew then what I know now: I should have loved my father more.  Yes, there was going to be unavoidable conflict, but, as a follower of Jesus, I could have been more intentional in spending time with him, taking time I would spend with friends in order to be with him.

Some of us know the story of Elisabeth Leseur, born in France in 1866.  When she was 23, she met Felix and the two fell deeply in love.  She was a nominal Catholic while he had given up his faith.  Over time, he became more intolerant of her beliefs because he was influenced by secularism.  He would criticize Christianity and the Church, and offer her books justifying atheism.

After seven years of mockery and pressure, Elisabeth gave up following Jesus.  However, one of the books Felix gave her forced her to look more deeply into the faith, which led back to Jesus when she was 33.  With this powerful conversion, she decided to love her husband more, “By the serenity that I mean to acquire I will prove that the Christian life is great and beautiful and full of joy”.  She decided to endure his insults patiently, pray for him, and offer her love to Jesus when she was suffering for Felix’s conversion.  In her now-famous journal, she wrote, “God helps me maintain charity on the inside and remain calm on the outside despite how much I suffer every evening hearing my faith ridiculed, attacked, and criticized.  How much effort and interior anguish this implies!”  She grew tremendously in holiness and prayer, and carried out many works of charity among the poor.  In 1907, she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and Felix later wrote, “I was impressed at the strength with which she was able to dominate both her body and her soul…  She endured her illness with serenity.”

She passed away in 1914 at the age of 48.  Felix then decided to write a book debunking the claims of miracles at Lourdes, but, when he went there, he started rethinking his position and had an experience of his wife’s presence and God’s.  He later wrote, “After Elisabeth’s death, when everything around me seemed to fall apart, I discovered… her journal.  I read and reread it, and a revolution began to occur within my entire being.  I discovered that Elisabeth had made a sort of bargain with God.  She offered Him her life in exchange for my return to the faith.  I remember that one day she said to me with absolute certainty: ‘I will die first.  And when I die, you will be converted; and when you are converted, you will become a religious…’  I came to appreciate the splendor of that faith of which I had seen such marvelous effects.  The eyes of my soul were opened, and I turned toward the God who called me.  I confessed my sins to a priest and was reconciled with the Church.”  Five years after her death, he became a Dominican friar, and four years after that, a priest.

This reminds me of something my dad said.  When I entered the seminary, to his credit, he gave me the freedom to follow Jesus but thought I was going through a phase.  He was saddened when he realized I was serious because he couldn’t understand how I’d be happy not being married.  Anyway, when my brother entered the seminary, he said, ‘One is bad enough.  But two!?’

When he was 54, Dad came back to Jesus through Alpha.  What was also helpful is that we stopped trying to convince him through rational arguments, but loved him, and let him encounter Jesus in his own way.  Mom made the invitation to Alpha and without pressure.  After that, he was finally able to accept that I was happy being celibate.

In our parish family/community, let’s all see if we can do one thing: If we’re with mature Christians and in safe spaces, let’s speak a bit more openly about what’s going on in our individual families.  This way, we can encourage each other and receive advice.  Many of you have solutions that would help others here.

Also, when we do our annual Christ the King Challenge in three months, we ask if we’ve made Jesus the center of our lives.  The Challenge is not meant to force a decision because Jesus wants us to love Him freely.  It’s an opportunity to make a decision.

Jesus loves us perfectly and wants us to love Him in return.  If we do make Him the center, there will be some pain, but He will bless our families a hundredfold.