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, on this fifth Sunday of Easter, we have these marvelous readings that are linked in a really interesting way,

but I think you've got to be attentive to a somewhat hidden theme that runs like a golden thread through them.

And the theme is the temple. The temple

in Jerusalem was the focal point of Jewish life. It was everything. Political, cultural, and of course,

religious center of the country. It was seen in an almost literal sense of the dwelling place

of God on earth.

The temple dominated their consciousness.

And to understand the New Testament text, we have to see the importance of the temple.

Well, look at the first thing now.

Reading one is from the Acts of the Apostles.

The first part of it's all about the choosing of deacons.

As I record these words,

I'll be ordaining deacons here shortly, and we'll, I'm sure, read this reading. But I want to

draw attention to what happens now at the very end. It says, the word of God continue to spread,

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