Welcome back to the Word on Fire show. I am Brandon Vot, the content director at Word

on Fire in the host of the show, and joining me fresh off of his retreat with all the

other American bishops at his old stomping grounds.

Monday line seminary is the great Bishop Baron, Bishop Baron. Good to talk with you.

Brandon always joy to be with you.

Hey, catch us up a little bit. So we haven't talked really since Christmas, so maybe tell

us a little bit about you went home to Chicago for Christmas.

I did. Yeah, I saw my family because my mom is back there. My brother and sister and

a lot of family and friends and people I've not seen for a long time. So I spent pretty

much that week, you know, right after Christmas. My car, I keep a car that I have when I

was in Chicago, my sister now, you know, uses it. So I when I home when I'm home, she lets

me use it again. And using it in that I just went around and visited lots of different

people, mostly my family, my mom, who's in assistive living right now. So I spent,

you know, time, good family time with them. And then it also just happened to work out

that Pope Francis requested all the American bishops have this retreat and they planned

it in Chicago right after Christmas. So you were already there. You got to go on this

retreat. It was at Monday line where you have spent many, many years of your life. Give

us a little taste of what the retreat was like. You know, it was good. A lot of people

came. I was about 250 bishops, which is a pretty good compliment. That's probably what

we usually get at the November meeting every year. Very good mood, I'd say, the retreat,

people enjoyed the camaraderie. We don't get together in that prayerful way all that

often. Usually when we get together, it's for a business meeting. So to be in that environment

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