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. Friends, the

gospel for this weekend is breathtaking. First, in what it says about Jesus, and

second, for what it says about us. So turning to the crowd following him, Jesus

blindly says, if anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and

children, brothers and sisters, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now

other versions of this in other gospels revise it slightly but keep the same

meaning. Unless you love me more than your mother and father, more than your

very life, you're not worthy of me. Now I'm going to suggest let's all perform a

little thought experiment. Could you seriously imagine any other religious

leader or religious founder saying such a thing? We can imagine crazy people say

such a thing, but seriously do a thought experiment. Can you imagine any other

religious leader or founder who's saying saying such a thing? Could you honestly

imagine Mohammed saying well no, no, no, he might say unless you love the

Quran and it's teaching more than your mother and father. Could you honestly

imagine the Buddha saying no, no, no, he might say unless you love my teaching, the

Aful Path that I've discovered more than your mother and father, etc. Could

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