“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” These words of Jesus were central to the vision of the founder of my congregation, Fr. Thomas Judge, C.M. Probably every founder, every missionary, every apostle (can’t you see St. Paul responding to those words!) wanted to “set the earth on fire.” They saw what everyone saw and were determined to do something about it. We live in an age which seems to have adopted the philosophy of “you do your thing and I do mine and if we happen to meet, it is beautiful.” As gospel people we can’t just “happen to meet” — we must bring the love, the hope, the mercy of God into our relationships.
