Merry Christmas! In today's episode, Bishop Barron walks us through the second chapter of Luke's Gospel, which recounts the birth of Jesus. As we see, this story is far from a safe, charming fairy tale. It tells the story of a new king, one who rivals the kingship of Caesar Augustus at every turn. A listener asks what St. John of the Cross meant by "the divine sweetness."
Today we hear from some of our youngest listeners, as kids from all over the world ask Bishop Barron their most pressing theological questions. The kids are cute, but their questions are deep!
If you've listened to any number of Bishop Robert Barron's homilies or lectures, you've likely heard him use sports analogies to create a vision of the spiritual life. In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron discusses how the world of sports and athleticism can help us grow in faith and understanding. The listener question asks about leisure and the Sabbath.
Have you ever wondered why there is a Christmas Season? Like no other holiday, Christmas carries with it an intense period of anticipation, in which our hearts are readied with hope and love. Christians call this waiting time "Advent", and Bishop Barron explains precisely what this time is all about in today's episode of the Word on Fire Show. The listener question asks how much is enough when it comes to petitionary prayer.
Today we continue our discussion of the eight principles of the Word on Fire Movement by focusing on the fifth principle, "Affirmative Orthodoxy." This term, originating with John Allen, Jr., refers to a positive presentation of what the Church teaches, an emphasis on the Catholic "Yes!" more than a finger-wagging "No!" A listen asks how we concretely love people in difficult situations.
We just passed the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg church, and initiated a massive split of the Christian community. What should Catholics make of this event 500 years later? How should we view Protestantism and relate to our Protestant brothers and sisters? That's what Bishop Barron discussed today. A listener asks how Catholics should feel about Protestants.
Today we celebrate the hundredth episode of “The Word on Fire Show”! It's hard to believe we've reach that mark. But to celebrate, we decided to focus on you, our listeners, and your wonderful questions. Bishop Barron answers several listener questions about a whole range of topics.
SPECIAL: Pick up your FREE copy of Bishop Barron's “Advent Gospel Reflections” booklet and get inspiring reflections throughout this holy season. The book is free, you just cover the shipping. Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
This week, Bishop Barron is giving the annual “Erasmus Lecture” for First Things, where he'll speak on “Evangelizing the ‘Nones’.” That's the them of this episode, which explores why young people are becoming disconnected to religion, and what we can do to draw them back. A listener asks what makes great music truly great.
SPECIAL: Pick up your FREE copy of Bishop Barron's “Advent Gospel Reflections” booklet and get inspiring reflections throughout this holy season. The book is free, you just cover the shipping. Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
In his new book, To Light a Fire on the Earth, Bishop Barron shares the story of his own spiritual formation as a young man coming of age after Vatican II, who is then called to preach to a secular world. Thankfully, the bishop was guided by great men who, despite the tide of secularism and moral relativism, embodied the steadfast spirituality, integrity, and moral rectitude that informs a heroic priesthood. In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron discusses the impact of five key figures in his life, beginning with his father, John Clayton Barron, Sr. and ending with his late, great mentor, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago.
SPECIAL: Pre-order Bishop Barron's new hardcover book today for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
This is the second part of a series responding to a viral YouTube video titled "Aquinas and the Cosmological Arguments" (750,000+ views), which claims that Thomas Aquinas' arguments for God have been decisively refuted. But have they? Bishop Barron responds to the video and shows that when properly understood, Thomas' arguments are as strong today as ever before. A listener asks how the word "Gospel" would have been understood in the first century.
SPECIAL: Pre-order the hardcover book today for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
A viral YouTube video titled "Aquinas and the Cosmological Arguments" (750,000+ views) claims that Thomas Aquinas' arguments for God have been decisively refuted. But have they? Bishop Barron responds to the video and shows that when properly understood, Thomas' arguments are as strong today as ever before. A listener asks whether death is natural.
SPECIAL: Pre-order the hardcover book today for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Listen to Bishop Barron's talk at the Facebook HQ, which has already been heard over 275,000 times. Every day, millions of people argue about religion on social media. The comboxes of religious and atheist sites are among the most visited and the most heated in the virtual space. But few people really know how to have a good religious argument. Lots of energy, lots of sharp words, and lots of strong feelings are expressed. But rarely do we come across productive, rational argument about religion. Bishop Barron paves a way forward, showing how we all, believer and nonbeliever alike, can share better religious discussions.
SPECIAL: Pre-order Bishop Barron's new hardcover book, To Light a Fire on the Earth, for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Bishop Barron has a new book coming out titled To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming Christ in a Secular Age. It's a book-length conversation between Bishop Barron and John Allen, Jr., the award-winning Vatican journalist, and touches on a wide range of subjects including God, atheism, social media, prayer, beauty, and why the Church matters today. In today's episode, John joins Bishop Barron to discuss the new book.
SPECIAL: Pre-order the hardcover book today for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Today (September 18), Bishop Barron will be speaking to Facebook employees at their headquarters in Menlo Park, CA, on "How to Have a Religious Argument." (The talk will be livestreamed on Bishop Barron's Facebook page from 6:00pm-7:00pm ET.)
Every day, millions of people argue about religion on social media. The comboxes of religious and atheist sites are among the most visited and the most heated in the virtual space. But what Bishop Robert Barron finds interesting is how few people really know how to have a good religious argument. There is a lot of energy, lots of sharp words, and lots of strong feelings expressed. But rarely do we come across productive, rational argument about religion. Bishop Barron paves a way forward, showing how we all, believer and nonbeliever alike, can share better religious discussions.
SPECIAL: Pre-order the hardcover book today for just $19.95 (26% off) and free shipping. You'll also receive three bonus eBooks from Bishop Barron! Just click here to order.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
There seems to be a divide in the Catholic Church between so-called “pro-life” Catholic and so-called “social justice” Catholics. Where did this come from? How do we heal this split? That's what Bishop Barron discusses in this episode. A listener asks how to respond when a beggar asks for money on the street.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Every now and then, articles and surveys pop up suggesting that religious people are, by whatever criteria, dumber than then general population—or at least dumber than atheists. Today Bishop Barron responds to this and the charge that religion has a “smart-people problem.” A listener asks about new ecclesial movements in the Church.
Also, be sure to take advantage of our Word on Fire Show listener sale! ENTER PROMO CODE: DAVID to save $10 on our newest film at DavidTheKing.com
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
What is beauty? Is beauty undefinable and entirely relativistic? Or is beauty an objective reality, backed by reason and understanding? How do Catholics define beauty, and how has Catholic Church evangelized through beauty over the centuries? In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron answers these questions and more about the transcendental nature of beauty. The listener question comes from Argentina and wonders how art might be used in evangelization?
Also, be sure to take advantage of our Word on Fire Show listener sale! ENTER PROMO CODE: DAVID to save $10 on our newest film at DavidTheKing.com
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
What really happens when we die? In a recent interview with Larry King, popular astro-physicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, offers a scientifically reduced answer to this philosophically rich question. In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron reacts to Tyson's response and offers a more holistic understanding of human identity and death. A listener asks how God can be both a person and the sheer act of "to be" itself.
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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://AskBishopBarron.
Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But we've received such a large number of outstanding questions from around the globe that we’ve decided to devote another episode to answering a range of 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://AskBishopBarron.
Bishop Barron is flying back from Europe after his Pivotal Players recording trip, so instead of a live show, we’re bringing you a special excerpt from his upcoming “David the King” series. Learn about Hannah and the “law of the gift” in this stirring commentary.
Also, be sure to visit DavidTheKing.com and use the coupon code DAVID to save $10 on the DVD or Blu-ray version of the series!
Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire production are in Italy, filming the next round of CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players.
Be sure to take advantage of special behind the scenes access from the Pivotal Players film trip! Sign-up for exclusive footage at: WordOnFireShow.com/Videos
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire production team have just set off to Europe to film two brand new episodes for the hit television film series: CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players. This second volume of biographical documentaries features some of the greatest figures in all of world history.
Be sure to take advantage of special behind the scenes access from the Pivotal Players film trip! Sign-up for exclusive footage at: WordOnFireShow.com/Videos
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Have you ever had an opportunity to share your faith but opted to remain quiet? There are several reasons why we might shy away from these grace-filled moments. In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron teaches us how to overcome the hurdles of evangelization and let loose our missionary potential. The listener question comes from an Australian medical student who wants to know how we can evangelize in our everyday settings.
Also, be sure to take advantage of our Word on Fire Show listener sale! ENTER PROMO CODE: DAVID to save $10 on our newest film at DavidTheKing.com
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
Do you ever wish you could read more books? Have you ever thought about writing articles at the professional level or authoring your own book? Bishop Robert Barron has read a library's worth of texts, written fifteen books, and composed thousands of short works. In this episode of the Word on Fire Show, Bishop Barron offers helpful advice on how to improve your performance in the language arts.
Find bonus links and resources for this episode at http://WordOnFireShow.com and be sure to submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.
In 2015 Bishop Robert Barron gave the opening keynote speech at the famous World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. In front of this massive crowd of Catholics, Bishop Barron explained how Christianity is the greatest form of humanism because of its unique claim that all humans are made in the image and likeness of God. As representatives of God, we share in the responsibility of bringing the power, wisdom, heart, and mind of God out into the world. This episode of the Word on Fire Show features Part Two of the Bishop's powerful talk.