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 an 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 Barron as he preaches the gospel and shares the

warmth and light of Christ with each one of us.

Peace be with you. Friends in the gospel for today, someone asked Jesus which

commandment is the greatest and he replied readily without hesitation in the

manner of a pious Jew by reciting the Shema. The Shema is a prayer derived from a

passage in the sixth chapter of the book of Deuteronomy. The church

helpfully couples that passage with our gospel for today. Here is the Shema. I'll

say it in Hebrew. I'll say it probably the way Jesus would have said it. Shema

is a riyal adonai alohanu adonai echad. It means here, O Israel, the Lord our God is

Lord alone. This is the fundamental statement of Israelite religion. Everything

else is a footnote or commentary. Israelite are those who believe in Yahweh the

One God. And there follows from this basic belief a moral imperative and

here's how the Shema goes on and Jesus repeats it. Therefore you shall love the

Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength.

Devout Jews were enjoying to recite the Shema morning and night as they rose and went to bed.

In fact the Christian practice of morning prayer and evening prayer mimics this custom.

They were enjoying to recite it as their last words before they closed their eyes and death.

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