Word on Fire is brought to you by Catholic cemeteries, 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 Baron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire.

Father Baron 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 in Winnicka, now presents the Word on Fire.

Peace be with you. Friends, last week I had the privilege to be in Rome.

I was giving a paper at the North American College, and I stayed for about three days afterwards just to enjoy the city.

My room was spectacular. I was at the North American College, which is on the Janiculum Hill, just adjacent to St. Peter's.

When I opened my window in the room in the morning, I could see the huge dome of St. Peter's right there.

So St. Peter was very much on my mind last week.

At one point, I was standing on the roof of the North American College, which has a beautiful panoramic view of the whole city of Rome.

And with me was a priest who was a kind of expert in Roman history and culture.

I said to him, you know, we all know where St. Peter died over on the Vanneck and Hill.

But when Peter came to Rome, where would he have lived? Where did he stay?

So this priest pointed to a peculiarly shaped dome across the city.

He said, you see that dome there? I said, yeah. He said, well, that's the Jewish synagogue, the main synagogue in Rome.

And that's in the Jewish quarter, which was the Jewish quarter back in the Middle Ages and even back into classical times.

So he said, when Peter came to Rome, that's probably where he stayed, somewhere in that vicinity.

My mind drifted back to that time, an extraordinary time. Rome was the center of the world.

And to the great city of Rome came this simple man, this Galilean fisherman.

He came because of a kind of inner compulsion.

He came because he wanted to proclaim Jesus Christ risen from the dead.

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