Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus’ hometown rejects him as a prophet. And I want to say a word about your role as a prophet. When most lay people hear about prophecy, they sit back and their eyes glaze over. “That’s something for the priests and the bishops to worry about; they’re the … Read moreMonday, March 13, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman. Throughout the Old Testament, wells are trysting places. Abraham’s servant found a wife for Isaac by a well; Jacob met his wife, Rachel, by a well. Therefore, when St. John tells us that Jesus encountered a woman at Jacob’s well, we should expect … Read moreSunday, March 12, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, at the core of today’s Gospel is a portrait of our God, who is prodigal. The father stands for the God whose very nature is to give, the God who simply is love. And the younger son stands for all of us sinners who tend to misunderstand how to access the … Read moreSaturday, March 11, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our Gospel today recounts the parable of the landowner who planted a vineyard and leased it to tenants. God is the landowner, the vineyard is his creation, and we are the tenants, responsible for caring for it. In Jesus’ telling of the story, the servants that the landowner sent to obtain … Read moreFriday, March 10, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel tells the story of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, at his gate. God is not pleased with this kind of economic inequality, and he burns with passion to set things right. Even though it makes us uncomfortable—and God knows it does, especially those of us who … Read moreThursday, March 9, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the mother of James and John asks Jesus in their name that they be honored in his kingdom. Jesus patiently attends to their request and tries to clarify and redirect it. Then his final answer comes: “But to sit at my right and at my left, this is … Read moreWednesday, March 8, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel exposes the pride of the Pharisees and concludes with the prescription of humility. I want to reflect on this virtue. St. Augustine said that all of us, made from nothing, tend toward nothing. We can see this in our frailty and sin and mortality. St. Paul said, “What do … Read moreTuesday, March 7, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus charges us to be merciful and to stop judging others. But we cannot perform such behaviors on our own strength—we need God’s assistance. In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, Jesus tells his followers: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” The perfection that … Read moreMonday, March 6, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel celebrates the Transfiguration. Christ came not just to make us nice people or morally upright folks, but rather to give us a share in his divine life, to make us denizens of heaven, people capable of living in that new environment. What gave the first Christians this conviction? The … Read moreSunday, March 5, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today, in the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord commands us to love our enemies. What is the test of love? Jesus couldn’t be clearer in the discourse he delivers the night before he died: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” If … Read moreSaturday, March 4, 2023