Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus corrects the Pharisees with this theme of his ministry: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Every saint had a past, and every sinner has a future. That is key to Catholic spirituality. In the lives of every one of these heroes of the faith, there is some conversion. … Read moreFriday, July 21, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord offers to relieve us of our burdens. He is identifying everyone who feels oppressed by the world: by sin, worries, suffering, injustice, the death of a relative or friend, the fear of death—whatever it may be. Relief comes when we submit to his kingship, his new … Read moreThursday, July 20, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reveals his intimate relationship with his Father: “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.” There is something absolutely remarkable and peculiar about Jesus. Like Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, … Read moreWednesday, July 19, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus reproaches the unrepentant towns where he performed most of his mighty deeds. The idea of Jesus as judge is one with which we are distinctly uncomfortable, yet even the most cursory reading of the New Testament reveals its unavoidability. Indeed, it has been said that in front … Read moreTuesday, July 18, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord explains what it means to become a disciple. Once we make the decision to follow Jesus, then every other claimant to supremacy must fall away. Every one of us has something that we consider greatest. Perhaps it is money, material things, power, the esteem of others, … Read moreMonday, July 17, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the parable of the sower. “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil . . . and it withered for lack … Read moreSunday, July 16, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples not to fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Through the power of his being, he has linked us to the creative source of all existence. And in that “place,” loved in the Spirit by the Father and the Son, … Read moreSaturday, July 15, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus predicts the persecution of his followers. A vast army of martyrs have in the course of Christian history given their lives for the sake of Christ and his Gospel. They are from every culture, country, language, and background.  This is the army that stands opposed to worldly … Read moreFriday, July 14, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus sends the Twelve to evangelize the countryside. To evangelize is to proclaim Jesus Christ crucified and risen from the dead. When this kerygma, this Paschal Mystery, is not at the heart of the project, Christian evangelization effectively disappears, devolving into a summons to bland religiosity or generic … Read moreThursday, July 13, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus summons Apostles whom he shapes and sends on mission. Priests, through the centuries—from Augustine and Aquinas, to Francis Xavier and John Henry Newman, to John Paul II—are the descendants of those first friends and apprentices of the Lord. They have been needed in every age, and they … Read moreWednesday, July 12, 2023