VEYM LEAGUE OF CHAPTERS
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel is the parable of the two sons, a story about obedience to God. To live the good life is not finally a matter of autonomy but of obeying commandments. The obedience that Jesus desires is a surrender to the one who wants what is best for the surrenderer. The … Read moreTuesday, December 13, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the great feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. What followed the apparition of Mary at Tepeyac is one of the most astounding chapters in the history of Christian evangelism. Though Franciscan missionaries had been laboring in Mexico for twenty years, they had made little progress. But within ten … Read moreMonday, December 12, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist asks if Jesus is “the one . . . or should we look for another?” When this inquiry is conveyed to Jesus, the Lord does not respond theoretically but rather by pointing to things that are happening. “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind regain … Read moreSunday, December 11, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel passage identifies the appearance of John the Baptist with the expected return of the prophet Elijah. John, the herald of Christ, appears in the desert. Here he stands for all of us in the desert of sin, the lifeless place. It is as though John purposely went there to … Read moreSaturday, December 10, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus says, “The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, ‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’” The Passover meal was decisively important in salvation history. God commanded that his people share a meal to remember their … Read moreFriday, December 9, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In 1854, Pope Pius IX declared the dogma of the Immaculate Conception—the truth that Mary, through a special grace, was preserved free from original sin from the first moment of her conception. Were this not the case, … Read moreThursday, December 8, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus offers to free us from the burden of our pride. What is it that makes our lives heavy and weighed down? Precisely the burden of our own egos, the weight of one’s own self. When I am puffing myself up with my own self-importance, I’m laboring under … Read moreWednesday, December 7, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus asks: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine in the hills and go in search of the stray?” Well, of course not! No self-respecting shepherd would ever think of doing that. If you were a … Read moreTuesday, December 6, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our Gospel for today tells that wonderful story of the healing of the paralytic. People gather by the dozens to hear Jesus, crowding around the doorway of the house. They bring him a paralyzed man, and because there is no way to get him through the door, they climb up on … Read moreMonday, December 5, 2022
Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel presents John the Baptist as a revolutionary. Advent is best understood as a preparation for a revolution. The liturgical readings for this time of the year—focusing on Isaiah, John the Baptist, Mary, and Jesus—positively crackle with energy and electricity. When we seek to understand them on their own terms … Read moreSunday, December 4, 2022