Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus describes the transforming power of the kingdom of God by comparing it to a mustard seed and yeast. The Church is the Body of Jesus, the living organism that makes present Christ’s mind and will in the world. It is his love made flesh throughout the ages, … Read moreMonday, July 31, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, Jesus speaks in today’s Gospel of the treasure buried in a field that a man stumbles upon. And he sells everything he has in order to buy that field. Could the field be the human heart, the treasure be the imago of Christ, and the selling of everything be the surrendering … Read moreSunday, July 30, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” Jesus came primarily as a warrior whose final enemy is death. It is easy to domesticate Jesus, presenting … Read moreSaturday, July 29, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus explains the parable of the sower. This parable is reminiscent of another well-known story of Jesus: that of the shepherd and the lost sheep.  “What man among you,” asks Jesus, “having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert … Read moreFriday, July 28, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus explains that he speaks in parables to baffle the crowds, who “look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” The parables of Jesus are often exercises whose purpose is to confuse and confound the hearer, overturning her expectations and upsetting her theological … Read moreThursday, July 27, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our Gospel for today is the parable of the sower and the seed. It has to do with the growth and development of the kingdom of God. We hear that Jesus “went out of the house and sat down by the sea” and that large crowds gathered around him. This is … Read moreWednesday, July 26, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the mother of James and John asks Jesus in their name that they might play leading roles in his kingdom. This Gospel reveals that the brothers are in a bad spiritual place. We have to move from the play that we are writing, directing, and starring into the … Read moreTuesday, July 25, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord tells his opponents, who asked for a sign, that no sign will be given except the sign of Jonah—that is, the Resurrection. According to the early Church Fathers, Christ’s coming precipitated a warfare with the powers that hold the world in their sway.  In bringing God’s … Read moreMonday, July 24, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel features one of Jesus’ most beloved parables: that of the mustard seed. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.” How does … Read moreSunday, July 23, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the Feast of St. Mary Magdalene, the first witness of Christ’s rising, who declared the Resurrection to the Apostles. In point of fact, the Easter declaration, properly understood, has always been and still is an explosion, an earthquake, a revolution. For the Easter faith is that Jesus of … Read moreSaturday, July 22, 2023