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, after the Advent Christmas season, we return now to ordinary time.

So we're the second Sunday of ordinary time.

But something very interesting to me, the way the church is composed of the liturgy, the readings. So last week

was the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. So we heard St. Matthew's account of the baptism.

And I told you, in all the Gospels, you're compelled to see Jesus through the lens of John

the Baptist, and that's true. So today now, the church is like we didn't have enough

time to reflect on the meaning of the baptism, so it's asking us again to think about it. But this

time in light of St. John's account of the baptism of the Lord, which is distinctive. Let me read

you the first couple lines here. John the Baptist

saw Jesus coming toward him. So there's John in the banks of the River Jordan, and people

are coming to him. And so he sees Jesus. And he says, behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Now, you recognize that line because at the Mass, right, when we hold up the consecrated elements,

and the priest says, Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.

He repeats John the Baptist words here.

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