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, our gospel for today features one of Jesus' most

beloved parables, that of the mustard seed. So here are the famous words. To

what shall we compare the kingdom of God? It is like a mustard seed that when it is

sewn in the ground is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth, but once it is

sewn it springs up and becomes the largest of plans. How does God tend to work?

What does the building up of the kingdom typically look like? The answer from

the very small to the very great and usually by a slow gradual process. God it seems

tends to operate under the radar on the edges of things quietly, clandestinely,

not drawing attention to Himself. And so famously in the city of God the great

St. Augustineau pines that the people of God moving through history are a bit like Noah's

ark as to say a small ship bouncing on the rough seas of history. Maybe not the

the biggest boat, maybe not the thing that will get your attention, but like a little

ark making its way through the rough seas. As the great empires come and go as

the dominant personalities rise and fall as the waves of history crash noisily against

the shore, God's kingdom is quietly advancing, unnoticed usually but inevitable. One of my

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