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

Latest Episodes:

WOF 028: Bob Dylan, Poet and Prophet Jun 21, 2016

Show notes

Bob Dylan is one of the most spiritually interesting songwriters of our generation. In today's episode, Bishop Barron reflects on some of Dylan's best-known hits to show how they subtlety put Biblical themes on display. A listener wonders if Bishop Barron has any tips on how to evangelize in a secular workspace.

Topics Discussed

0:17 - Bishop Barron at the Bob Dylan concert last weekend
2:40 - Can Bob Dylan serve as a gateway to God?
4:45 - Who is Bob Dylan?
8:32 - Why Bob Dylan is best read as a spiritual poet
10:11 - Bob Dylan's religious views
12:17 - Biblical elements of Blowin' in the Wind
15:39 - Bishop Barron on Like a Rolling Stone
21:41 - Bob Dylan and the Resurrection
22:10 - All Along the Watchtower and the Book of Isaiah
26:41 - Finding Jesus in Dylan's Make You Feel My Love
28:43 - Question from listener: How can we evangelize in a secular workspace?

Bonus Resources

Videos
- Reflections on Bob Dylan (Bishop Barron)
- Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" (Bishop Barron)
- Reflections on Bob Dylan in China (Bishop Barron)
- Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, and the New Evangelization (Bishop Barron)
Articles
- "Bob Dylan in China" (Bishop Barron)
Bob Dylan Songs
- Blowin' in the Wind (read lyrics)
- Like a Rolling Stone (read lyrics)
- All Along the Watchtower (read lyrics)
- Make You Feel My Love (read lyrics)

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron.

WOF 027: Popes, Saints, and the Economy Jun 14, 2016

Show notes

What is Catholic social teaching and what does it have to say about the economy, business, and our everyday work lives? That's what Bishop Barron explains in this episode. Surveying the insights of popes and saints, he shows why the Catholic Church rejects socialism and embraces a nuanced, careful endorsement of the market economy.

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 026: Fulton Sheen, Apostle of the New Media Jun 07, 2016

Show notes

Venerable Fulton Sheen is remembered as one of the greatest Catholic evangelists of the twentieth century. A master of both television and radio, he shared the Gospel with millions using his unique blend of wit, humor, and insight. Bishop Barron reflects on Sheen's legacy and the lessons he offers us. A deacon listener asks how Bishop Barron prepares his own homilies each week.

Topics Discussed

0:56 - Bishop Barron's summary of the New Evangelization Conference in Latrobe, PA
1:45 - Who was Archbishop Fulton Sheen?
4:54 - One thing we must do before we evangelize
6:42 - The significance of a Catholic priest on primetime, network TV
8:47 - How Sheen reached 30 million viewers through his TV show
11:02 - Sheen's strategy for evangelizing a broad audience
13:05 - Would Fulton Sheen be on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram?
14:32 - The importance of Sheen's book, The Mystical Body of Christ
17:29 - The common thread connecting Ronald Knox, G.K. Chesterton, and Fulton Sheen
18:26 - How Sheen's "Holy Hour" grounded all his writing and preaching
20:40 - Sheen's commitment to do a "Holy Hour" every day during his priesthood
22:42 - Bishop Barron's experience giving the "Tre Ore" talks at St. Patrick's Cathedral
24:38 - Question from listener: How does Bishop Barron prepare his homilies?

Bonus Resources

Audio Talks
- Tre Ore: The Seven Last Words of Christ (Bishop Barron)
Videos
- "Life is Worth Living" episodes from Fulton Sheen (YouTube)
Books
- Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen
- The Mystical Body of Christ by Fulton Sheen (Foreword by Bishop Barron)
- God and Intelligence in Modern Philosophy by Fulton Sheen (Foreword by G.K. Chesterton)
Websites
- FultonSheen.com - Library of MP3 audio of Sheen's talks
- ArchbishopSheenCause.org - Updates on Sheen's cause for canonization

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 025: The Greatest Sermon Ever May 31, 2016

Show notes

It's been widely hailed as the greatest sermon ever preached and a masterpiece of religious and social ethics. Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7, commences with the "beatitudes", a series of eight blessings that Jesus gives to those who suffer, mourn, and express purity of heart. Bishop Barron walks through each beatitude and unveils its deeper meaning. A listener asks whether, according to Thomas Aquinas, God loves everyone the same or has a special hatred for sinners.

NOTE: Click here to donate to our new Pivotal Players series and receive your free gifts!

Topics Discussed

0:26 - Bishop Barron's new film series, CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players
1:34 - What does "beatitude" mean?
4:35 - How the beatitudes of Jesus are different than other religious teachings
6:25 - How can the "poor in spirit" be blessed?
7:32 - How will those who mourn be comforted?
9:15 - The future promise of comfort for those who mourn
10:06 - What does it mean to be "meek"?
11:21 - How will the meek "inherit the land"?
12:12 - How God satisfied those who "hunger and thirst for righteousness"
13:49 - What "blessed are the merciful" means
15:09 - How the mercy we express is tied to the mercy we receive
16:55 - How do we become "clean of heart"?
18:39 - Pornography and the "clean of heart"
19:37 - Why peacemakers will become children of God
20:55 - Cardinal George and the eschatological dimension of peacemaking
22:51 - Why religious persecution can be a form of blessing
25:27 - Question from listener: Does God love everyone the same or hate sinners?

Bonus Resources

DVD
- CATHOLICISM series, Episode 2 - "Happy Are We: The Teachings of Jesus" (Bishop Barron)
Books
- Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith (Bishop Barron)
- And Now I See: A Theology of Transformation (Bishop Barron)
Homily
- The Beatitudes: A Spiritual Program (Bishop Barron)

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 024: The 5 Big Questions Everyone Asks in Life May 24, 2016

Show notes

We all face the Big Questions of life—it doesn't matter whether we're religious or not. We wonder about God, identity, meaning, morals, and death. Bishop Barron tackles some of the Big Questions and compares how the world generally answers them with how the Catholic Church responds. A listener asks about the relationship between God's providence and our free will.

Topics Discussed

0:14 - The power of spiritual fatherhood
2:44 - Father Barron, Bishop Barron, or Grandpa Barron?
2:54 - Question #1 - Does God exist?
6:19 - The big "why?" question
8:40 - Question #2 - Who am I?
12:05 - What about those who reduce all life to "genetic machines"?
13:11 - Question #3 - What is the meaning of life?
17:21 - Do we just make up meaning for ourselves?
18:54 - Question #4 - What is moral?
23:00 - How do we discover what's right and wrong?
26:18 - Question #5 - What happens after death?
30:22 - Bishop Barron's one-sentence answer to each Big Question
31:27 - Question from listener: Where does God's providence end and our free will begin?

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 023: The Right Way to Read Genesis May 17, 2016

Show notes

There's a common tendency to read the opening chapters of Genesis as scientific texts. But is this the best way? Or even the right way? Bishop Barron offers guidance on how to properly understand the Biblical creation story. A listener wonders how we should manage the relationship between Church and state.

Topics Discussed

1:05 - The most surprising part about being a bishop
2:29 - How do people often misread Genesis?
5:01 - Why the Genesis narratives cannot be scientific
6:23 - What genre is Genesis 1-2?
7:43 - The main theological insights in Genesis 1-2
9:41 - How Genesis 1-2 points forward to the non-violence of Jesus
11:29 - The objects of creation are not worshiped
14:39 - Why it's important that the world is created, not divine
16:49 - What it means that man was made in God's "image and likeness"
18:25 - The first man as the first philosopher
20:24 - How the Church Fathers read Genesis
21:58 - What Genesis 1-2 is ultimately trying to teach us
23:16 - Question from listener: how do we balance the relationship between Church and state?

Bonus Resources

Articles
- The Genesis Problem by Bishop Robert Barron
Videos
- Misreading Genesis by Bishop Robert Barron
- Bishop Barron on Creation

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 022: The Both/And of Catholicism May 10, 2016

Show notes

As Bishop Barron shows in his new book, Vibrant Paradoxes, Catholicism is both/and, not either/or. It celebrates the union of contraries—grace and nature, faith and reason, Scripture and tradition, body and soul—in a way that the full energy of each opposing element remains in place. In this episode, Bishop Barron explores several examples of this both/and embrace. A listener asks about the difficult passage in Acts 5 involving Ananias and Sapphira.

Topics Discussed

0:22 - Exciting upcoming events for Bishop Barron
2:04 - What does it mean to say Catholicism is "both/and"
5:29 - G.K. Chesterton on red, white, and the Church's healthy hatred of pink
7:42 - Why Catholics "want it all"
8:38 - The extreme demands of sin and mercy
11:25 - Why reason and faith are no mutually exclusive
15:58 - Faith/reason in the realm of science
17:59 - Bruce Jenner and the dichotomy of matter and spirit
21:59 - How discipline leads to real freedom
25:53 - The path from suffering to joy
27:59 - Question from listener: how can we reconcile the loving, non-violent Jesus with the angry God who kills Ananias and Sapphira?

Bonus Resources

Books
- Vibrant Paradoxes: The Both/And of Catholicism by Bishop Robert Barron
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Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 021: How and Why to Read Thomas Aquinas May 03, 2016

Show notes

Thomas Aquinas not only shaped the Church, but influenced much of Western civilization. Who was this great saint? What are some of his important writings? And how should we begin to read his masterful Summa theologiae? Bishop Barron offers some answers in this week's episode. A bright 14-year-old listener asks about Bertrand Russell's famous criticism of Aquinas, and how to respond.

Topics Discussed

0:27 - Updates from Bishop Barron's life
1:53 - How did Bishop Barron discover Thomas Aquinas?
3:23 - Who was Thomas Aquinas?
4:45 - Surveying Aquinas' major works
7:42 - Best entry-level books on Thomas Aquinas
10:03 - Aquinas' unique disputatio style
13:07 - How Thomas Aquinas would engage the New Atheists
15:36 - Why is it worth reading Thomas Aquinas?
17:16 - How should we begin reading the Summa theologiae?
19:40 - The landscape and structure of the Summa
21:44 - Why Aquinas is a spiritual master
24:40 - Question from listener: how to respond to Bertrand Russell's crtiqiue of Aquinas?

Bonus Resources

Books
- Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master by Bishop Robert Barron
  - Use THOMAS coupon code to save 10%!
- Summa of the Summa by Peter Kreeft
- Aquinas by Frederick Copleston
- The Christian Philosophy Of St Thomas Aquinas by Etienne Gilson
- St. Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox by G.K. Chesterton
- The Silence of St. Thomas by Josef Pieper
- On First Principles by Origen
Websites
- Summa theologiae online (free)
- Summa contra Gentiles online (free)
- Commentary on the Sentences of Peter Lombard online (free)

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron

WOF 020: Listener Q&A w/ Bishop Barron Apr 26, 2016

Show notes

Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But today, we've devoted the entire episode to questions from listeners like you. Bishop Barron answers several questions, rapid fire, on many different topics.

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron.

WOF 019: How to Discern God's Will for Your Life Apr 19, 2016

Show notes

What does God want me to do with my life? And how can I discern God's will for my day-to-day decisions? We all ask these questions and today Bishop Barron offers his advice. A listener also asks how Bishop Barron discerned his own call to the priesthood.

Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://As kBishopBarron.

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