Jim Crampsey SJ reflects on the presence of the spirit in our encounters. How often do we have an encounter with someone, and afterwards we say to ourselves, that must have been meant?
St Ignatius famously said "Go forth and set the world on fire," a allusion to Luke 12:49 where Jesus says, "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing." Peter Knott SJ asks whether this hasn't been misunderstood. Sending fire and talking of division can be used as an excuse for our own indignation. Instead, the fire that Jesus talks about, he says, is that of Pentecost - the fire of charity, joy, peace, goodness, understanding, and forgiveness.
