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 and 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, 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 of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, the story of the healing of blind Bartomeus is a spiritual

icon of enormous power. Now, first of all, as Richard Bauchum was one of my favorite Bible

scholars, and many others have argued, that the very use of this man's proper name is

a strong indication of the historicity of the event. So, people who are encountering

Jesus aren't always named, think of the rich young man, for example. But here, Bartomeus,

son of Taimeus, is clearly named. See, people vividly remembered what Jesus did and keep

in mind that it was carried on by an oral tradition before it was written down. And Bartomeus

himself might have survived until the writing of the first gospel. He would have been around

to confirm the story. My point here is, this is a real event. Nevertheless, in the artful

telling of Saint Mark, the story emerges as an icon, as a symbolic itinerary of the spiritual

life. That's why it behooves us to look at it in great detail. The setting of the narrative

is Jericho. Now, you're a first century Jew, and a story is set in Jericho, immediately

as meant to trigger associations in your mind. Joshua fought the Battle of Jericho. As the Israelites

come into the Promised Land, they have to deal with this enemy city. Remember, they march

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