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 and Merry Christmas. Friends, the

great gospel that we have for Christmas Day is one of the most magnificent passages in

all the scriptures. And indeed, it's one of the gems of the world's literary tradition.

I'm talking of course about the prologue to the gospel of John. We're familiar of course

with Luke's account of the nativity, but John gives us this sort of theological meditation on the

meaning of Christmas, and that's the gospel for Christmas Day. What I want to do, however briefly,

and this Christmas homily, is simply to meditate on some of the significant passages.

First of all, in the beginning was the Word. What John is doing here is consciously calling to

mind the very beginning of the Bible, which commences with the Hebrew word bear a sheath, meaning

the beginning. What he's going to tell us here is a story of recreation, a story of new beginnings.

That's what Christmas is about. God is recreating a world bereft by sin. Then we hear the word was

with God, and the word was God. All of Christianity in many ways is contained in that line.

What I speak of word, what I'm doing right now, for example, I'm necessarily speaking

something of myself. What I know, what I feel, what I want you to believe, what I've experienced.

So I'm always expressing something of myself when I speak.

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