This is Cardinal Francis George, and I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to

reflect with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire.

Father Barron 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 Parishing Winnetka now presents

the Word on Fire.

Peace be with you.

Friends we find ourselves once again reading from the remarkable 13th chapter of the Gospel

of Matthew.

Last week we looked at the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

Well this week the church gives us four more brief parables from the Lord.

I told you last week that a parable is by its nature a sort of disturbing story.

It tends to turn around our expectations, turn things upside down, and it keeps generating

meaning over time.

That's a wonderful thing about parables.

You read them once and you get one idea from it.

You might read it the next year and a whole other angle inside of it emerges.

What I want to do today is not just pick out one of them but talk briefly about these

four parables that Jesus tells because each one says something important about the reign

of God, the kingdom of God.

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