Purifying Fire

A Reflection on the First Reading for November 16th, 2025:
​Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Malachi
​4.1-2

“See, the day is coming, burning like an oven,
when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble;
the day that comes shall burn them up,” says the Lord of hosts,
“so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.

“But for you who revere my name
the sun of righteousness shall rise,
with healing in its wings.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Have you ever been so fed up that you just want to “burn it all down” — maybe not literally, but at least metaphorically? There is something satisfying about starting from scratch after your first attempt did not go as planned — to begin with a clean slate with nothing to remind you of your past mistakes. The fire of the Holy Spirit can be a purifier like that. God has the power to give us a clean slate each time we ask for His forgiveness. However, as we can see in Sunday’s First Reading, starting fresh is not always a painless experience. 

In this passage, Malachi depicts fire as an end-of-the-world purifier for humanity. It “burns like an oven,” hot and all consuming, leaving behind nothing that isn’t righteous. It is so complete that “neither root nor branch” of any evil will be left. While I look forward to living in a reality where evil does not exist, I have to be honest with myself: this purifying experience will also burn away parts of me. After all, I am a sinner. Malachi alludes to this, saying that all who are left will be exposed to the “sun of righteousness, with healing in its wings.” We can conclude that this purifying experience will leave us with painful burns, ones that require healing. 

While the process of purification and healing during our earthly lives may not be as extreme as the process that will take place at the end of the world, there is no question that God presents us with multiple opportunities for purification. I know I can shy away from them. Sometimes I struggle to see past the painful part, the part that requires me to sacrifice to the fire anything that doesn’t serve God. What if I can’t handle how much it hurts? What if the healing takes too long? Still, in my experience, the version of myself after this process is much closer to the woman God wants me to be. Although experiencing the oven may be an inevitable part of life, we get to choose whether we go in following a path of destruction or a path of righteousness. 


​Ronnie Noonan-Birch

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