Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel gives us a wonderful story of Jesus performing a miracle, something he still does today. I want to draw your attention to an extraordinary book by Protestant scholar Craig Keener titled Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. The most surprising section of the book contains his reports … Read moreMonday, October 24, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today Jesus tells us of the Pharisee and the tax collector—so, stereotypically righteous and unrighteous people—who both enter the temple to pray. But what a world of difference in their manner of praying! The entire point of religion is to make us humble before God and to open us to the … Read moreSunday, October 23, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel includes the parable of a fig tree that bears no fruit. This is a standard trope in the theological literature of Israel: the tree that bears no fruit is evocative of the moral person who bears no spiritual fruit. Every single person has a mission: to be a conduit … Read moreSaturday, October 22, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, the famous call of the Vatican II fathers to “read the signs of the times” is grounded in Jesus’ exhortation in the Gospel for today. Followers of Jesus are meant to look at the world with clear eyes, to see what is happening, to be attentive. But this attention is of … Read moreFriday, October 21, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus declares his desire to spread eternal life among human beings. He said, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”  What is that fire? His forerunner, John, gave us a clue: “I am baptizing you with water, for … Read moreThursday, October 20, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, the Lord urges his disciples and us to be prudent servants, following his ways in anticipation of his coming again. Theologians often call prudence the queen of the virtues because it is the capacity to reign sovereignly over one’s life, both ordering one’s inner powers and directing one’s … Read moreWednesday, October 19, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our Gospel shows us what Jesus wants his followers to be doing and how they ought to do it. We are a missionary church. We are sent by the Lord to spread his word and do his work. The Gospel is not just something that we are meant to cling to … Read moreTuesday, October 18, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today in our Gospel, Jesus tells of a rich man who has been so successful that he doesn’t have space enough to store his harvest. So he tears down his barns and builds bigger ones. But that very night, he dies—and all of it comes to naught. “Thus will it be … Read moreMonday, October 17, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel exhorts us to pray with persistence. This command is everywhere in the Bible. We see it in Abraham’s steady petition on behalf of the people of Sodom. We see it in today’s account of the persistent widow. We hear it in Jesus’ extraordinary teaching: “Knock and the door shall … Read moreSunday, October 16, 2022

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us how to deal with persecution. When does the Church stop being persecuted? When the Lord returns, and not before.  From the earliest days until the present, the community of Jesus Christ has been the focus of the world’s violence. The Church will announce, until the … Read moreSaturday, October 15, 2022