But that is not what the Church of God is.  The Church is the Body of Christ, the extension of his own Person in the world.  It is the people of God, united indissolubly with himself.  God is, and therefore must consciously be regarded as being, the be all of the Church and its end all, so that in everything God may be honoured.

And what is true of the Church as a whole must be true also of its individual members.  For the Christian religion is not a matter of leading a respectable life with an interest in Church affairs.  It is a living personal relationship with God through Our Lord Jesus Christ and within his Church.

So once people allow God, through the inward working of his Holy Spirit, to get a grip on their souls, they become different – and obviously different.  No longer do their spiritual lives with God tag along behind – easy-going, comfortable, and ineffective.  Their souls are now filled with fire, with love and with enthusiasm for God which is a reflection of the love which is burning for ever in the Sacred Heart of God’s own Son.

Let each of us ask ourself now what enthusiasm for God we find within our own heart.  Is it glowing strongly?  Fan it to a blaze.  Is it but a glimmer?  Stir it into life and warmth.  Did it die out long ago?  Then plead with God to rekindle it until it is a consuming fire.