logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2025
14m 50s

Love for the Poor

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON
About this episode
Friends, Pope Benedict XVI memorably told us that the Church does three essential things: It worships God, it evangelizes, and it serves the poor. This week, the first reading from the prophet Amos and the Gospel parable of the rich man and Lazarus bring that third task vividly to mind—and they are meant to bother us. Are you indifferent to the sufferings of ... Show More
Up next
Dec 2024
Freeing Your Family for God
Friends, I always love preaching on the Feast of the Holy Family because I think the biblical message here is very surprising. We say the Bible is associated with family values, and indeed it is, but they're probably not the ones we would automatically think of. We see this in th ... Show More
15m 12s
Jan 28
Do You Want to Be Happy?
Friends, for the next several weeks, we’re going to be reading in our Gospel from the primal teaching of Jesus: the Sermon on the Mount. And we begin today with a kind of overture to it, which we call the Beatitudes. “Beatitudo” in Latin means “happiness”—the one thing we all wan ... Show More
15m 37s
Jan 22
Unity in Christ
Friends for this Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, our first reading from the prophet Isaiah and our Gospel from Matthew both have a section that’s a little weird. While most preachers skip over these sections to get to the better-known and understandable parts, I want to dwell, on ... Show More
15m 9s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2025
Greed: The Case of the Rich Young Ruler
<p>The rich young ruler looked like he had it made. He’s characterized by moral excellence and he’s financially wealthy. He’s got it so together that he even admits he doesn’t have it all together—that there’s still something he lacks. He isn’t sure what it is. He’s gotten to the ... Show More
36m 45s
Aug 2023
WOF 401: A Theology of Work
<p>Friends, is work something good or bad? Is it central to being human, or a punishment resulting from sin? And how do we understand our work theologically, tying it to God?</p> <p>On today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show," Brandon Vogt and I discuss the Catholic Church's vi ... Show More
32m 31s
Jul 2025
Love in the Neighborhood
<p>As soon as you hear the word relationships, right away you say, “Ah, relationships,” and you think of friendship or romance. But the main purpose of the Sermon on the Mount is to talk about our relationships to other people, to those outside of our close relationships.</p> <p> ... Show More
43m 23s
Jul 2025
The Inside Out Kingdom
<p>Christianity is utterly different from religion.</p> <p>At the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says there are two paths—one that leads to life and one that leads to destruction. And here’s what the scary thing is: both ways have people praying, giving to the poor, obeyin ... Show More
42m 13s
Oct 2024
The Rich Glutton and Poor Lazarus - The Gospels
In this Bible Story, Jesus speaks of generosity through the story of a glutinous rich man and a poor beggar. The rich man gorged on his wealth with no attention to the sick and cold beggar right at his door. As a result, the rich man suffered when he died, but the poor man was re ... Show More
12m 58s
Jul 2025
Treasure vs. Money
<p>If we actually take the gospel, the essential message of Jesus Christ, and we live it out, what will it look like? That’s what the Sermon on the Mount is about. </p> <p>And in this part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we get to the area of money and possessions. </p> <p>Jesus t ... Show More
38m 42s