This is Cardinal Francis George. I invite you to join me for the next two minutes to reflect

with Father Robert Barron on the Word of God, which is the Word on Fire. Word on Fire Catholic

Ministries is a non-profit ministry at the forefront of Catholic evangelization, using

new media to spread the faith and every continent. Father Barron challenges 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 global benefactors of Word on Fire with the support of the Archdiocese of

Chicago now present Word on Fire.

Peace be with you. Friends, I recently came across a quote from an Anglican bishop. He said

this, whenever Paul preached, there were riots. When I preach, they serve me tea. It's a sad

commentary, I think, on the declension, not only in our preaching, but in our entire sense of

just how explosive the message of Jesus is meant to be. When you read through the Acts of the

Apostles, especially the second half of the text, chapters 13-28, you're just overwhelmed by

the stories of Paul's raucous journeys through Palestine, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. He's

met practically everywhere he goes by violent opposition. When he reaches Philippi, for example,

he is promptly thrown in jail. When he preaches in Lystra, he's stoned by the crowd and left for

dead. When he preaches in Athens, the people are a bit gentler. They just scoff at him. In Thessalonica,

the crowds complain, these people are turning the world upside down. When he preached in Ephesus

against idolatry, indeed a riot broke out. Now, I mentioned all of this because our first reading

is taken from the 13th chapter of Acts, and it puts us right in the middle of all this tension.

Paul's in Antioch. He's gone into the synagogue, as was his want, to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah.

But then he added that Jesus was the Messiah, not just for the Jews, but for the Gentiles as well.

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