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, so that 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 on this fourth Sunday of Advent, the church speaks to us of the most important

of the Advent characters.

Well, last couple of weeks we've been hearing from Isaiah the prophet and from John the

Baptist, both telling us to prepare the way of the Lord to make ready for his coming.

Now on this fourth Sunday, as we're getting very close to Christmas, we hear from Mary

the Mother of God, the one who is herself, the vessel through which Christ will come into

the world.

The early church fathers often made a comparison between Mary, the Mother of the church,

and Eve, the Mother of all, the living.

In fact, they said that Mary is the new Eve, the one who undoes the damage that was

done by Eve.

Therefore, to understand the importance of Mary and her significance as an Advent figure,

we have to look a little bit at the story of Adam and Eve.

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