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The living God is a 'Holy Fire', blazing with love in our sanctuary, it seems, as we gather to offer Him honour and praise in His house of prayer, through the Holy Mysteries. Christ is Present; with His Angels and Saints, enfolded in the glory of the Father: glory into which we hope to plunge at death, having been purified in the Sacred Liturgy. Our reverent attention should be drawn towards God, for Whose glory this Church was built.

To receive Christ in Holy Communion, with His Divine life and light and love, is to receive Fire from Heaven: a transforming fire from the heart of the God-man. How foolish we are if we rush away straight afterwards. How foolish is the priest who does not pause in prayer and recollection, but rushes towards the end of the Mass.

God is a spiritual fire of love, and all who have become like living flames of love, in earthly life, transformed by God at their consent through prayer and penance, can enter God in peace when they die, because they are like Him. Those who have refused to be changed, are so unlike Him that His nearness brings only torment. Having finally turned away from God they suffer forever, in Hell.

The Godhead is like a pure, holy Fire of love; and all who have been purified can enter that love, after death, without pain or fear. They have been so transformed by Christ, and through prayer and penance, that they resemble God; and in their union with God they experience the bliss and peace of heaven.

When the Catholic Faith is taught in its fullness, and is practiced, there are plenty of vocations; and a great fire of praise soars up to Heaven. Where only half a gospel is preached, and where there is lukewarm faith, with much dissent, there are few vocations. Such an area is like a patch of gangrene on healthy tissue, and emits a bad smell before Heaven.

In His Divine nature, God is like a blazing Fire of Love, which would terrify us, were we unprepared, but which the just shall enter and experience bliss, when they enter Heaven, which is life-in-God.

People in Government, in any country, who promote legislation which encourages abortion or sexual immorality, or other serious evils, will find themselves moving along the 'broad road' to Hell, unless they repent before they die. In Hell, there is no love, peace, purity or joy but only fire, terror, noise, anger and pain.

To be near the tabernacle, where Jesus Christ is substantially Present, hidden under the appearance of bread, is to be close to Christ's Divine Life and power. It is as if a fire burns, at the tabernacle, just as in the heart of the bush, as Moses looked on, long ago, when the Lord told him that where he stood was 'holy ground'.

By fervent prayer, we can withstand evil spiritual assaults. When we share the truths of the Gospel with new fervour, or in new ways, we can find that we have stirred up the anger of the evil one, who tries to distract or disturb us in prayer, by horrible sights of the fires of Hell, or by problems in ordinary life; but we must remember that Jesus is stronger; Jesus is Lord, and we are right to trust in Him and to feel safe in His love.

The souls in Purgatory are faithful people, some of whom are still marred by attitudes unworthy of Heaven - hence the need for the purification wrought in each person by the Holy Spirit. No-one can enter Heaven unless full of gratitude, joy and humility. No-one can go in, still thinking, about his health in earthly life, or other matters: "Why should I be treated like this? I deserve better".

The souls in Purgatory are faithful people, some of whom are still marred by attitudes unworthy of Heaven - hence the need for the purification wrought in each person by the Holy Spirit. No-one can enter Heaven unless full of gratitude, joy and humility. No-one can go in, still thinking, about his health in earthly life, or other matters: "Why should I be treated like this? I deserve better".

St. Michael the Archangel swoops down in a great fire of charity to help or rescue those endangered friends and followers of Christ who have called upon him for protection against the evil one's assaults, or for help in overcoming temptations. He prays for us, and offers reminders of God's goodness, and of the hope of Heaven.

Just as people who deliberately choose to ignore all warnings, and walk around the rim of the crater of a volcano, are in danger of falling into the fire, through their own foolishness and pride, so, those people who deliberately defy God by acting against His moral law are in danger of falling into Hell, through their own fault, unless they repent before they die.

It is astonishing, how careless we are, in the face of danger. What the Lord allows us to picture as the fires of Hell are only images; but they represent a terrible reality, which is that there is no greater torment than alienation from God, forever. Christ often warned us about Hell. He has done so, through His Church, for 2000 years; and so He wants us to see that if we deliberately walk towards those flames, by refusing to repent and to live in His love, we are foolish as well as disobedient. For people who die in their sins, Hell never ends.

Each Saint in Heaven is like a flame of pure praise in a great fire of praise of the Father. We hope to join them, and to be reunited with friends and relations, who have loved God. The truth about Heaven is that whoever does not love God, and does not want to praise Him, does not enter - by the free choice he has made to exclude himself.

The love of God is like a great flame that encloses all who trust in Christ. By our Baptism, we are made members of the Church and children of God. We already share in the life of God, and can be confident that our prayers are heard, and confident that, if we do not leave that state of grace, we will be carried across the Abyss when we die, to be brought towards Heaven: carried in the love of God, with no fear of being lost.

Everyone has a desire to pray, unless it is stifled by false teaching. Almighty God sees and hears everything that is said or done by people on earth. He loves everyone; yet those who have freely chosen to repent and to believe in His Son and to share His life through Baptism can be confident that God hears them because they already live 'in Christ', as if enclosed in a great flame of Divine charity which has reached out across the Abyss which separates earth from Heaven. Children of God should be confident in prayer.

There is nothing more important in our lives as Catholics than the Mass, where God praises God in God. In ancient times, God revealed Himself as fire, to His chosen people. In Christ, He has fully revealed Himself; and Christ, the Son of God, is truly, substantially Present on the altar, at every Mass.

What happens at Mass surpasses even those theophanies of the Old Testament times. God revealed Himself as fire in the burning bush, and on Mount Sinai, and in the desert, as Moses guided the chosen people. But we who are God's people today are privileged to have God Present with us: Jesus Christ, God-made-man, bodily Present, hidden under the form of bread and wine.

God has revealed Himself to His people in ancient times; yet from the first Mass, Christ has been made Present amongst His friends; and it is His love, His prayer, and His Sacrifice on our altar, that seem like a pillar of fire: a fire of love that reaches as far as Heaven. We who love Him and offer ourselves with Him, can be sure that our prayers reach Heaven.