Welcome back to the Word on Fire show. I'm Matthew Petrusick, Senior Director of the

Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire show. Thank you for joining us.

In February of 2025, Bishop Barron returned to the Palace of Westminster in London to address religious leaders and members of Parliament.

The focus of his talk was the rhythm of divine mercy, the abounding love that arises within us when we accept the grace of Christ.

Today, we bring you the first half of that talk. Enjoy.

Thank you to everyone who made this evening we bring you the first half of that talk. Enjoy.

Thank you to everyone who made this evening possible.

It's a great honor for me to be in the House of Commons and in the Churchill room.

I read my first Churchill biography when I was about 10.

It wasn't Martin Gilbert.

It would have been some Churchill for a kid's book. But I think every other year since then, I've read a biography of Churchill.

So to be in a room that he would have known in this great House of Commons is a thrill for me.

And also, as Brendan Thompson pointed out, it's a very high priority for me now to establish word on fire institutionally here in the UK.

We do now have a really international outreach, but I think being institutionally established here would be an extraordinary thing.

So thank you for your generosity in having me and inviting me. It's a great honor to be speaking to you.

I'm going to give you a brief talk tonight on the theme of God's mercy.

And when I was writing this talk, of course, I didn't know that as I delivered it,

Pope Francis would be in the hospital.

Because you might say the central theme of his papacy has been precisely the divine mercy

and articulating what that means for the church.

Definition of mercy, I would say, is graciousness shown to someone who doesn't deserve it.

Plato said that justice is rendering to each his due.

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