Friends, welcome to Word on Fire, Catholic Ministries. Word on Fire is an apostolate dedicated

to the mission of evangelization, using media both old and new to share the faith on every

continent and to facilitate and encounter with Christ and His Church. The efforts of

Word on Fire engage the culture and bring the transformative power of God's Word where

it is most needed. Today we invite you to join Bishop Robert Baron as he preaches

the gospel and shares the warmth and light of Christ with each of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, our gospel for this third Sunday of Advent is of extraordinary

importance. For it speaks to us of the transformation or transfiguration of the Self which is unique

to Christianity. I'm speaking about our supernatural elevation into sons and daughters of

God. It's the unique boon, the unique good held out to us by Christianity. Let me

try to explain it by a way of contrast. See, every decent philosophy or social movement

or religion speaks of moral rectitude, usually under the rubric of justice that we're

called upon to be better people, more just we give to the other what is due. So all

decent people recognize that doing the right thing is essential to human flourishing.

So Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, the founding fathers of our country, Sufi teachers, Buddhist

ages, etc. would all speak of moral reform, the great virtues of justice. And I would

say the prophets of the Old Testament are in that same tradition.

Rheed, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Amos, Ezekiel, etc. They all call for justice and for moral

reformation. Now John the Baptist, whom we hear from in our gospel today, is often called

the Last of the Prophets. For he's not only the last chronologically, but he's the figure

who seems to sum up with such consistency and clarity, what is best in the great prophetic

tradition. It is though Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, all of them are gathered together

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