Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel passage is one of the most shocking in the New Testament. Those who heard it were not only repulsed intellectually; they were disgusted, viscerally. For a Jewish man to be insinuating that you should eat his own flesh and drink his blood was about as nauseating and religiously objectionable … Read moreSunday, June 11, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus praises the poor widow’s generosity. We know that such generosity is patterned on God’s profligate, grace-filled giving. Christianity teaches that all people are sinners and hence deserving of punishment but that God, out of sheer generosity, gives them what they don’t deserve. Think of one of the … Read moreSaturday, June 10, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in our Gospel today, Jesus quotes a Psalm where David calls him Lord. It calls to mind a question: Do you also recognize Jesus as Lord?  Is Christ commanding your life in every detail? Is he the Lord of your family life? Of your recreational life? Of your professional life? Is … Read moreFriday, June 9, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord says that the second greatest commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. Love is not primarily a feeling or an instinct; rather, it is the act of willing the good of the other as other. It is radical self-gift, living for the sake of the … Read moreThursday, June 8, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus confronts the Sadducees, who did not believe in resurrection from the dead. They proposed a conundrum that they thought would disprove resurrection: If a woman married seven brothers, all of whom died, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Notice how Jesus deals with this little … Read moreWednesday, June 7, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus enunciates a principle that is an implicit resolution of the vexing problem of religion and politics: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.”  God is the deepest source and inspiration for everything in life, from sports to law to the … Read moreTuesday, June 6, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel tells of the landowner who planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants. This vineyard stands for Israel, but it could be broadened to include the whole world. Like the landowner, God has made for his people a beautiful and productive place, a place where they can find rest, … Read moreMonday, June 5, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel gives us the famous assurance that God gave his Son that we might have eternal life. There is a terrible interpretation of the cross that holds the view that the bloody sacrifice of the Son on the cross was “satisfying” to the Father, an appeasement of a God infinitely … Read moreSunday, June 4, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders approach Jesus and ask him, “By what authority are you doing these things?”  The first witnesses of Jesus were astonished by the authority of his speech and his actions. This wasn’t simply because he spoke and acted with conviction and … Read moreSaturday, June 3, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, at the heart of today’s Gospel is the cleansing of the temple. Jesus entered the great temple in Jerusalem—which for a Jew of that time was everything—and began to “drive out those selling and buying there.” Precisely because the temple was supposed to be so holy, Jesus was flabbergasted at what … Read moreFriday, June 2, 2023