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 and 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 Baron as he preaches

the gospel and shares the warmth and light of Christ with each of us.

Peace be with you. Friends, we come again to the great season of Advent, waiting on

the coming of the Lord. Our first reading puts us squarely in the thought world of one

of the greatest of the prophets, namely Isaiah. The master image that the passage presents

is that of Yahweh's holy mountain. Listen, in days to come, the mountain of the Lord's

house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. I want you

to stay with that image, savoring it in your mind's eye. The mountain question is Mount

Zion, Jerusalem. We know this because Isaiah designated as the mountain of the Lord's

house, which is to say the temple. So this great mountain rising above the other hills,

above the other mountains on the top of it is the temple, the place of right praise.

So here's the first lesson or exhortation from Isaiah. It's a great Advent exhortation.

Is the mountain of the Lord's house really the highest mountain in your life? Is the praise

and worship of God more important to you than anything else? Is it more important than your

job? Is it more important than your friendships? Is it more important even than your own family,

the people you love the most? If not, something is off-kilter in your life. So there's a point

of meditation, everybody. What's the highest mountain for you? We've all got one. A lot of

mountains, a lot of hills, a lot of things that preoccupies, but amidst all of it, there's

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