Sermons - Word on Fire

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, Happy Easter! We’ve come to the high point of the Church’s liturgical year, the reason why we’re Christians at all.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we come now to Palm Sunday, also called “Passion Sunday” because we read, in its entirety, one of the Passion narratives from the Synoptic Gospels.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, this Lent, we’ve been journeying through some marvelous stories in John: the woman at the well two weeks ago, the man born blind last week, and now the climactic story of the raising of Lazarus.

Bishop Robert Barron As he walked along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, on this Third Sunday of Lent, we hear the story from John’s Gospel of the woman at the well—a kind of master class in evangelization.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, on this Second Sunday of Lent, our first reading about Abraham and Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration orient us to a basic biblical principle.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, today’s Gospel tells of the Lord’s temptation in the desert.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, this Sunday, right before the commencement of Lent, the Church is giving us something of great moment to reflect on—namely, the centrality of freedom and choice for the good at the center of the spiritual life.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, a great professor of mine at Mundelein Seminary, Dr. Richard Issel, once said, “If you want to be happy, stop worrying about being happy and get on with becoming fulfilled.”

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, for the next several weeks, we’re going to be reading in our Gospel from the primal teaching of Jesus: the Sermon on the Mount.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends for this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, our first reading from the prophet Isaiah and our Gospel from Matthew both have a section that’s a little weird.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we return now to Ordinary Time, and the Church asks us again to think about the baptism of the Lord, this time in light of Saint John’s distinctive account.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we come to this wonderful feast of the baptism of the Lord. And the first thing to know is that this was a profoundly embarrassing event for the first Christians.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, why has the story of the Epiphany—the three wise man paying homage to the Christ child—so captivated us over the centuries?

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, the great feast of the Holy Family follows immediately upon Christmas—a very interesting juxtaposition with a deep theological significance.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our readings for the fourth and final Sunday of Advent are all about maybe the central motif of the spiritual life.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our readings for this Third Sunday of Advent help us understand what to do while we wait for the Lord. An Advent spirituality of waiting is part of Christian life; our entire life, in a way, is waiting.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, our first reading for this Second Sunday of Advent, taken from Isaiah 11, describes the Messiah’s arrival: He “shall sprout from the stump of Jesse,” and “the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him.”

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we come to the New Year celebration of the liturgical year: the First Sunday of Advent.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we come to the final weekend of the liturgical year and the celebration of the Solemnity of Christ the King.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, we come to the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, which means that next Sunday is the final Sunday of the liturgical year.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, this Sunday we’re celebrating, with the whole Church, the dedication of the great cathedral of Rome: the Lateran Basilica.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, All Souls Day, November 2, falls on a Sunday this year, so we can really spend some time reflecting on this wonderful feast, which means so much to Catholic people.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, for this Thirtieth Sunday of Ordinary Time, we are treated to the wonderful and deeply challenging parable of the Pharisee and the publican from Luke 18.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, when something tragic happens and people offer their prayers, you’ll often hear now, “I've had it with thoughts and prayers.

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, in our second reading this Sunday, Paul writes to Timothy, “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David: such is my gospel.”

Bishop Robert Barron Friends, this Sunday, I want to talk to you once again about faith. As I’ve said before, faith is the most misunderstood word in the religious vocabulary.