Good morning, this is Cardinal Francis George, and I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to reflect with Father Robert Baron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire.

Father Baron will challenge us to open our hearts to the Word on Fire, which is God's Word of Love for each of us.

If our hearts are open, the Lord can change and transform us, so that we might speak with love about the one who is love.

The Archdiocese of Chicago, through the generosity of Sacred Heart Parish and Winetka, now presents the Word on Fire.

Peace be with you. Friends, I want today to continue what we've done the last couple of weeks, which is look at this magnificent and strange and wonderful book of Revelation.

I think I said a couple of weeks ago that when a novelist or poet really wants to send the ultimate message, he'll put it in the final chapter or the final stanza, summing up what he wants to say.

Well, the book of Revelation is God's last word to his people, it's the last book in the Bible.

And in some ways you could say, even if the whole Bible were lost and only the book of Revelation remained, in some ways you'd have the whole message.

Because in this book we have symbolically expressed the heart of the Christian thing, the heart of the Christian idea.

We saw last couple of weeks that the risen Christ is the key to history.

He appears to say, John, luminous with a great two-edged sword coming from his mouth that means Christ is the light in which we understand things.

His word is the sword which battles evil, the sword that rules history.

We also saw last week that Jesus is the lamb standing as though slain.

Do you remember as John looks into the throne room of heaven?

He sees the scroll that stands for the meaning of history.

The scroll is sealed by seven seals. Who will open it? No one comes forward in heaven or on earth to open it.

And then finally comes this lamb standing as though slain.

This weak, powerless, and wounded animal symbolizing Christ crucified is in fact the key to history.

He's the one who opens the scroll.

Now, what I want to continue with today, and we'll just touch on a few highlights of this wonderful book.

I'd encourage you to read it. It's not that long. It would take you just a couple of sittings probably.

But read the book of Revelation. I'll just touch now on a few more highlights.

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