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 and Happy New Year. As we come to this first Sunday of

Advent we come to the beginning of a new liturgical year and Advent you know

like Lent is properly a penitential season. We don't often make that

connection we see clearly in regard to Lent but to enter into Advent to prepare

for the coming of the Savior is to enter into our need for a Savior. Let me

say that again. If we're going to appreciate the coming of the Savior we have to

feel viscerally our need for a Savior because if we don't feel the need well

then Jesus is a interesting figure and yeah great ethical teacher but he

Savior in the measure that we know we got something we need to be saved from. I

often reference the 12-step program because it's so rich spiritually and you

know part of that process for someone who's caught in an addiction is to

recognize that you've hit bottom it's to recognize your need for help. If you're

still convinced that well you're okay you can solve this problem yourself you're

not ready to begin. So I'd say in the spiritual order if we find ourselves

saying I'm basically fine I can solve all this well then I'm not going to be

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