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

first reading for this fifth Sunday of Lent is taken from the 31st chapter of

the book of the prophet Jeremiah. And there's a past and a mild draw your

attention to at the very beginning here, which is super easy to remember because

it's Jeremiah 31, 31, 31st chapter of Jeremiah 31st verse. When you get your

Bible out today, find that little passage. It is one of the most pivotal in the

entire Bible. And now here it is. The days are coming says the Lord. When I will

make a new covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah, days are

coming when a new covenant I will make. Well, as you know, the God of the Bible is a

covenant-making God. Covenants aren't contracts. Those are kind of exchanges of

goods and services. Covenants are more an exchange of hearts. So God says, I will be

your God. You'll be my people. And then under certain conditions. So we have a

covenant with Noah, for example, seal with the sign of the rainbow. You got the

covenant with Abraham, seal with the sign of circumcision. Abraham, I will make

you the father of many nations. You have the great covenant with Moses.

Remember, he seals it by sprinkling blood on the altar and blood on the people.

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