“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

Jesus gives us the Spirit. But how does the Holy Spirit act? He fills us with love and he wants us to keep this love burning in our hearts.

What kind of love is it? It’s not an earthly, limited kind of love. It’s the love of which the Gospel speaks. It’s a universal love, like that of the heavenly Father who makes the sun rise and the rain fall on the good and the bad, including enemies (See Mt 5:45).

It’s a love that doesn’t wait for others to take the first step, but that always takes the initiative by loving first.

It’s a love that makes itself one with everyone: suffering and rejoicing with them, sharing their worries and hopes. And when needed, it does so tangibly, with deeds. So it’s not simply a sentimental love expressed with words alone.

It’s a love directed to Christ in our neighbor, mindful of his words: “You did it for me” (Mt 25:40).

It’s a love that leads to reciprocity, to loving one another.

Because this love is a visible, concrete expression of our life based on the Gospel, it emphasizes and gives witness to the word — a witness we can and must offer in order to evangelize.

“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

Love is like fire — what is important is to keep it lit. And fire must always burn something. Above all, it must consume our selfishness, and it can do this because by loving, we are projected outside of ourselves: either toward God, by carrying out his will, or toward our neighbors, by helping them.

Even a small fire, if it is fed, can become a large blaze — that blaze of love, peace and universal brotherhood that Jesus brought on earth.

Chiara Lubich