Page:SermonsFromTheLatins.djvu/377

 love, is  called  by  St.  John  "  a  consuming  fire  ";  the Holy Ghost  came  in  tongues  of  fire;  and  we  often beg Him  to  enkindle  in  us  the  fire  of  divine  love. Christ came  to  cast  fire  on  the  earth,  and  He  shows us how,  in  the  two  disciples  of  Emmaus  who  exclaimed: "Were  not  our  hearts  burning  within  us whilst  He  expounded  the  Scriptures! "  A  good heart is  heat  not  only  to  the  dead  but  also  to  the  sinfrozen,  thawing  out  the  Lord's  vineyard  and  starting up the  fonts  of  human  sympathy. Its tendency,  like fire, is  ever  upwards,  drawing  all  things  with  it. Human nature clings  to  the  earth  like  the  mists  before the dawn,  but  when  the  incarnate  love  of  the  Son  of Justice  rises,  shines  on  them  and  is  exalted  from  the earth, He  draws  all  to  Himself. This explains  the wondrous constancy  of  the  early  saints  and  martyrs, whose onward  march  after  Christ  was  as  invincible as a  mighty  conflagration. This explains  that  fire that so  filled  the  heart  of  St.  Francis  of  Assisi  that  it burst  through  his  hands  and  feet  and  side. This explains the  patience  of  all  good  Christians  under  cold and hunger  and  privations,  because  they  have  the heat of  the  love  of  Christ  in  their  hearts. For, mind you, love  and  fire  differ  in  this  that  whereas  fire  is fomented  by  oil  and  extinguished  by  water,  love  on the  contrary  is  diminished  by  oil,  that  is,  luxury,  and augmented by  water,  that  is,  privation,  according  to the  Psalmist:  "Many  waters  could  not  extinguish charity." And as  fire  separates  the  rust  from  the metal, so  love  removes  sin  from  the  sinner  and  the just from  the  wicked,  according  to  Christ's  words: