Word on Fire is brought to you by Catholic Cemetery's, serving the Chicago area since 1837.

This is Cardinal Francis George, and I invite you to join me for the next few minutes to

reflect with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire.

Father Barron will challenge 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, who we might speak with

Love about the One who is Love.

The Archdiocese of Chicago through the generosity of Sacred Heart Parish and Winetka now presents

the Word on Fire.

Peace be with you, friends.

I love the parable that Jesus tells in the Gospel for today.

I love it because it's so strange.

It's so puzzling and it's so kind of off-putting, but now that's the thing about parables.

Jesus hardly ever laid his teaching out in what we call doctrinal form.

You know, later on in the tradition, that's fine.

Theologians would express it in doctrinal form.

But that's not the way Jesus typically taught.

Typically he taught in these funny stories that make you kind of scratch your head and

squint your eyes and wonder what he's talking about.

Everything we miss, I think, because we declare these things in such solemn settings is

how funny they are.

But imagine Jesus sitting around with four or five people and he's telling these odd, quirky

...