Those who keep His commandments remain in Him, and He in them, and the way we know that He remains in us is from the Spirit whom He gave us.
1 John 3

WHERE WE'VE BEEN

So far this year, we have discovered that we are all made in God’s image and likeness — unique, unrepeatable, with dignity and purpose. We learned that before the Fall we enjoyed three amazing effects:

1. Harmony with God
2. Harmony between body and soul
3. Harmony with the things of this world

Unfortunately, we fell short of our purpose, rejected our dignity through original sin. And this has significant effects on us. After the Fall, we now suffer from what St. John refers to as "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16). In other words:

• What once was harmony between God and man has now been overcome by PRIDE.
• What once was harmony between man’s soul and his body has now been twisted into a LUST OF THE FLESH (a desire for pleasure).
• And what once was harmony between man and the goods of the world, has now been overcome by a LUST OF THE EYES (a desire for things).

Because of original sin, the world is a mess. But we are not hopeless. At Christmas, we were reminded that our Father sent His Son to clean up our mess and to save us.
 

SUMMARY OF THE NIGHT

This month's FIRE night, we spoke about boundaries and rules as our means to staying out of trouble. We said that rules, commandments, laws, and boundaries are to not meant to enslave us but to allow us to live more freely. We immersed ourselves even more deeply in this teaching, asking ourselves -- based on our main struggle -- what Commandment is most likely our most difficult to follow. And then, subsequently, what is our near occasion of sin with regard to this commandment? And how can we avoid this near occasion of sin in the future? Click the button below for the handout of the night. 

Next month, we will dare to ask the questions: What is the point of this pursuit of excellence and virtue? What is the point of rules and commandments? What is the point of all of this? See you in February!
 

FIERY FREE SPACE

Share your "Fiery Free Space" creations, from the middle section of your take-home pamphlet, so we can share them at the next FIRE night! Simply take a picture of the box labeled "Fiery Free Space" and click the button below to email it to us!

RESOURCES FROM THE NIGHT

ADULT HANDOUTTAKE-HOME PAMPHLET




AT-HOME VIDEOS & ACTIVITIES

OTHER RESOURCES