Word on Fire Reflection

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus responds to questions about the end of the world. When will it come? What will happen? Why were the first Christians interested in these questions? The simplest and deepest answer is that they had experienced the end of the world—precisely in the dying and rising of Jesus. … Read moreTuesday, November 28, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus praises the widow who gave all her resources to the treasury: “I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.” She … Read moreMonday, November 27, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel tells of Christ the King administering the final judgment. To those on his right he will say: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.” And to those on his left: “Amen, I say to you, what … Read moreSunday, November 26, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel reports a conversation Jesus had with some of the Sadducees, who held that there is no life after death. We can practically hear their speech on the lips of secularists today.  But Jesus is having none of it. The dead shall indeed rise, he says. Otherwise, how could Moses … Read moreSaturday, November 25, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus cleanses the temple. The temple was the economic, political, and religious center of life. And it was seen as the very dwelling place of God on earth. It was the place where heaven and earth met, where the harmony between divinity and humanity was achieved—at least in … Read moreFriday, November 24, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today we celebrate the national feast of Thanksgiving. Biblical Christianity insists that our lives must be acts of praise and gratitude to the Creator. Such obligations would indeed be burdensome and dehumanizing if they proceeded from a competitive and needy supreme being, but since they come from the one who cannot … Read moreThursday, November 23, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable that demonstrates the significance of a life of goodness and faithfulness. How do we make the all-important judgment about the quality of our lives, one that touches not simply on what we are to do but on who we are to be? How do … Read moreWednesday, November 22, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, the story of Zacchaeus recounted in today’s Gospel is a particularly clear example of one of the most basic principles in the spiritual life—namely, that moral reform follows rather than precedes the arrival of grace. Most of us are in the grip of what Thomas Merton called “the Promethean attitude.” This … Read moreTuesday, November 21, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in today’s Gospel, Jesus heals a blind man. The Lord asks, “What do you want me to do for you?” He replies, “Lord, please let me see.” Jesus tells him, “Have sight; your faith has saved you.” Taking this story as their inspiration, many of the Fathers of the Church said … Read moreMonday, November 20, 2023

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel is the parable of the talents. I want to share the interpretation of Fr. Robert Schoenstene, the best I’ve ever heard. He says that in ancient times a single talent might represent as much as fifty pounds of silver or gold. This heaviness would have brought to the mind … Read moreSunday, November 19, 2023