Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me remain faithful in the fire…

 
Daniel 3, 25-43

 
Fire destroys – there is no doubt about that! Yet when fire is tried by the faithful, that is, when the faithful are tried by fire, it does not so much consume, as it purges and brings out the strength and the brightness of a person’s heart. There is fire that consumes from without that burns bodies, buildings and busts of simple and great people. Then there is the fire that consumes from within, the fire of our passions and pleasures, plans and projects, that comes from within our minds and souls and can destroy all holiness (wholeness) and any human being that stands in its way. Both kinds of fire can be tremendously destructive, and even kill us. But when faithfulness, like that of Daniel and his friends, meets any kind of fire instead of being consumed the person being ‘tried by fire’ can become proof positive of the Mercy, the purity, and the liveliness of God.  When I find myself flung, yet again!, into a fiery furnace stoked by the world, the flesh and the devil, will I have the courage and strength to remain faithful to God and his ways to walk amidst the flames without being consumed or burnt to a crisp? Holy Spirit of Jesus, help me remain faithful in fire.
 
I hear a voice I had not known…”In distress you called, and I rescued you.”  (Psalm 81:7) 
 
I pray to God to give me perseverance, and to deign that I be a faithful witness to him to the end of my life.
Saint Patrick  
 
Listen to St. Patrick’s Breastplate:  https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0zDKuyMgqqCgxYPSSLS5RKEgsKcpMzlYvVkgqSk0sLinISSxJVciozM0DAGicEDw&q=st+patrick%27s+breastplate+hymn&rlz=1C1SQJL_enCA890CA891&oq=St+Patrick%27s+Breas&aqs=chrome.1.0i131i433i512j46i512j0i512j69i57j0i512l6.8566j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:760ce1e9,vid:dWdZ13cH5lU
 
Soli ad gloriam Dei
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