This is Archbishop Blaise Supich, Archbishop of Chicago.

Today, I invite you 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-for-profit apostolate dedicated to the mission of evangelization that utilizes media

both old and new to share the faith on every continent and facilitate an encounter with Christ

in its church. The efforts of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries engage the culture and bring the transformative power of God's Word

where it is most needed.

This is an invitation to open our hearts

to the Word on Fire,

which is God's Word of Love for each of us.

When our hearts are open,

the Lord changes and transforms us so that we in turn begin to share the warmth and light of Jesus Christ, who is the Word on Fire.

The global benefactors of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, with the support of the Archdiocese of Chicago now present Word on Fire.

Peace be with you. Friends, our gospel for today is taken from the seventh chapter of the great

gospel of Mark. It has to do with Jesus' healing of a deaf man who also has a speech impediment.

Now, as always with such stories, we have to look at the surface and at the depth.

Jesus is indeed performing a physical miracle.

He was a physical healer.

One of the major reasons why people originally paid attention to him, why they followed him, was his reputation as a healer. So this story reflects

undoubtedly a real event in the ministry of Jesus.

But, as St. Augustine said, since Jesus is the word made flesh, every one of his actions is also a word. That means every one of his actions should also be read symbolically so as to uncover a deeper spiritual meaning.

And so we read this story on the surface and at the depth.

What do we see now as we try to decipher the spiritual significance of this story?

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