Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. When the existence of God is widely doubted, it just seems unscientific to believe in spiritual beings. And yet, they are prominently mentioned in the Bible; they are amply discussed by the Church Fathers; and the Catechism of the Catholic … Read moreFriday, September 29, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, we see Herod interested in and perplexed by Jesus.  Political rulers don’t come across well in the New Testament. In Luke’s Christmas account, Caesar Augustus is compared very unfavorably to the Christ child. And in Matthew’s account, that child is hunted down by the desperate Herod. Later, Herod’s … Read moreThursday, September 28, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus sends his disciples on mission. He “summoned the Twelve . . . and he sent them to proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” As members of the Mystical Body, we share the mission of evangelization. In accord with the subjectivism of our culture, … Read moreWednesday, September 27, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus identifies his disciples as his family. I want to say something about our becoming disciples in his family. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away.  As I’ve argued many times before, every one of us has something … Read moreTuesday, September 26, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel is the parable of the lamp, which, placed on a lampstand, gives light to all. Light obviously isn’t for itself. Rather, we see things by it. It illuminates things upon which it shines.  We are light by which people around us come to see what is worth seeing. By … Read moreMonday, September 25, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, the parable of the vineyard that Jesus tells in today’s Gospel is one of the most disturbing of all. Keep in mind that upsetting us is one of the main purposes of parables, stories that invent new worlds by inverting this one. We know the outline of the story well: a … Read moreSunday, September 24, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the purpose of the parables: “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.” The use of the … Read moreSaturday, September 23, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our Gospel today celebrates the female disciples of Jesus. One of the principal marks of Jesus’ teaching is the overturning of social conventions. In service of what he calls the kingdom of God, God’s way of ordering the world, he says and does all sorts of outrageous things.  And one of … Read moreFriday, September 22, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the call of Matthew. Jesus tells the tax collector, “Follow me.” The call of Jesus addresses the mind, but it moves through the mind into the body, and through the body into the whole of one’s life, into the most practical decisions. “Follow me” has the sense of … Read moreThursday, September 21, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus observes that the people of his generation criticize him as “a friend of tax collectors and sinners.”  Jesus came as God’s own self into our dysfunctional world. He came to bring the light of God’s presence and love to the far country of sin and death. Accordingly, … Read moreWednesday, September 20, 2023