This is Cardinal Francis George. I invite you to join me for the next two minutes to reflect

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

Ministries is a non-profit ministry at the forefront of Catholic evangelization, using

new media to spread the faith and every continent. Father Barron challenges 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 global benefactors of Word on Fire with the support of the Archdiocese of

Chicago now present Word on Fire. Peace be with you. Friends, the typically modern way

to construe freedom is as follows. Freedom from external constraints so as to be free

for self-expression. I am free, the modern person says, in the measure that I have escaped

from all those persons, hang-ups, traditions, and fears that have shackled me so that I can

do finally what I want. I'm free from constraint and now I'm free for expressing myself. Movie

after movie, novel after novel, poem after poem, and contemporary culture celebrates just

this kind of freedom. If you don't believe me, try this exercise. Sit down and watch a series

of films. Sit down and watch a series of TV shows, and I bet you will find celebrated

over and over again precisely this type of freedom. In many ways, it is the monomyth,

the great singular myth of our time. But the Bible construes freedom in an entirely

different way. I might say it as follows. Biblical freedom means freedom from attachment,

so as to find the freedom for doing the will of God. Let me say it again. Biblical freedom

is freedom from attachment, so as to find freedom for doing the will of God. This is why

the Bible never tells stories of self-discovery and self-expression. That's just not the

game in the Bible. It never celebrates someone who's regaled free of tradition and moral

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