The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture - Bishop Robert Barron

Latest Episodes:

WOF 346: The 3 Tasks of the Church Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

Friends, today we share the homily I gave for my installation Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Rochester, Minnesota. Celebrating the Feast of Sts. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, I correlated those three disciples to what Pope Benedict XVI identified as the three tasks of the Church: worship, service of the poor, and evangelization.

WOF 345: Understanding the Present Moment #2 (Friedrich Nietzsche) Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

Friends, today on the "Word on Fire Show," we continue our series of discussions called "Understanding the Present Moment." Brandon Vogt and I are examining four massively influential figures who together help explain our present moment, how we arrived at where we are today.

The ideologies undergirding much of the unrest in our culture stem from these four thinkers: Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Michel Foucault. Once we understand these figures and their key ideas, we will recognize them everywhere and be prepared to engage today's challenges.

In today's second discussion, we focus on Friedrich Nietzsche.

A listener asks, what's the difference between the theological virtues of faith and hope?

Links

Wonder Conference – WonderConference.com

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WOF 344: Seeking the Good and the Beautiful Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

Today we share the second half (listen to the first half here) of Bishop Barron's presentation titled "Breaking Through the Buffered Self," which he offered for the prestigious 2022 Albert Cardinal Meyer Lecture series hosted at Mundelein Seminary back in March 2022.

In the talk, Bishop Barron looks at the intellectual matrix that has made the army of the disaffiliated possible, namely, what Charles Taylor calls the culture of the "buffered self," the ego cut off from any living contact with the transcendent. Then, using the three great transcendentals—the good, the true, and the beautiful—as his framework, he proposes ways to break through the buffered self and to open the restless heart to a consideration of God and the things of God.

WOF 343: Bishop Barron's New Diocese in Minnesota Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

Friends, as you may have heard, Pope Francis recently appointed me the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester (Minnesota). I will be formally installed on July 29.

On today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show," Brandon Vogt and I discuss how I found out, how the process works, how it will affect Word on Fire, and what I'm looking forward to most in my new diocese.

A listener asks, what is it like to act in persona Christi from a physical and emotional perspective?

WOF 342: Breaking Through the Buffered Self Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

Today we share Bishop Barron's presentation entitled "Breaking Through the Buffered Self," which he offered for the prestigious 2022 Albert Cardinal Meyer Lecture series hosted at Mundelein Seminary back in March 2022.

(This is Part I of his lecture series. We will share Part II on a future episode.)

WOF 341: Understanding the Present Moment #1 (Karl Marx) Jul 04, 2022

Show notes

Friends, today on the "Word on Fire Show," we kick off a new series of discussions called "Understanding the Present Moment." Brandon Vogt and I will look at four massively influential figures who together help explain our present moment, how we arrived at where we are today.

A listener asks, what advice would you give to a man discerning the permanent diaconate?

Links

Redeeming the Time: Gospel Perspectives on the Challenges of the Hour by Bishop Robert Barron

WOF 340: Strange New Religions w/ Tara Isabella Burton Jun 27, 2022

Show notes

In this new "Bishop Barron Presents" discussion, Bishop Barron sits down with bestselling author Tara Isabella Burton to discuss her new book, Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World.

Burton argues that while younger generations are supposedly the most secular according to surveys, they're actually notably religious—it's just that they have adopted strange new religions. She claims today's Americans are embracing a kaleidoscopic panoply of spiritual traditions, rituals, and subcultures, from astrology and witchcraft to SoulCycle and the alt-right. In search of the deep and the real, they are finding meaning, purpose, ritual, and communities in ever-newer, ever-stranger ways.

In their conversation, Bishop Barron and Tara discuss topics such as:

Are people actually moving away from religion?
The unaffiliated
The retreat into self
Christian truth claims
Why people leave organized religion
And numerous other topics

Links

Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World by Tara Isabella Burton
Redeeming the Time: Gospel Perspectives on the Challenges of the Hour by Bishop Barron

WOF 339: The Dangers of Self-Determination Jun 20, 2022

Show notes

Friends, our culture is obsessed with self-determination: finding our own voice, setting our own agenda, doing things according to our own lights. But is this problematic? And what does the Bible have to say about self-determination?

On today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show," Brandon Vogt and I discuss how, in the Christian tradition, heroes are never those who "find themselves," but rather those who heed the voice of God and remain obedient to the mission that God has given them.

A listener asks, how do you possibly balance a passion for baseball with your faith life?

Links

"Why Doing What Is Right in Your Own Sight Is Such a Bad Idea" by Bishop Barron
The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era edited by Matt Nelson

WOF 338: Evolution and the Modern World w/ Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying Jun 13, 2022

Show notes

In this new "Bishop Barron Presents" discussion, Bishop Barron sits down with evolutionary biologists Dr. Heather Heying and Dr. Bret Weinstein, the best-selling authors of A Hunter-Gatherer's Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life. They discuss several topics, such as:

Evolution, science, and religion
The importance of public discourse
G.K. Chesterton's fence
The problems of pornography

Links

The New Apologetics: Defending the Faith in a Post-Christian Era

WOF 337: Evangelize Like Benedict Jun 06, 2022

Show notes

Friends, what can St. Benedict, a sixth century monk, teach us about evangelization today? That's what Brandon Vogt and I discuss in today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show." We explore several Benedictine principles including humility, justice, the cultivation of beauty, the intellectual life, community, and becoming masters of the spiritual life. Also, a listener asks whether I truly do my own dishes.

Links

"Bishop Barron Presents: Tara Isabella Burton"
"The Making of a Catholic Priest" – YouTube film with Fr. Stephen Gadberry

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