Friends, what is the role of religion in civic life? Must we bracket religion from the political sphere? Those are pressing questions as we near the midterm elections. On today’s “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I discuss the relationship between politics and religion and the proper place of tolerance.
A listener asks, do you have any recommendations for explaining the Eucharist to high schoolers?
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Friends, today we share a recent discussion between Bishop Barron and the theologian Larry Chapp about Vatican II. The conversation ranges over several topics, including:
If you missed the “Bishop Barron Presents” discussion with Larry Chapp, you can listen to that in episode #299 of this podcast.
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, Tertullian famously asked in the third century, “What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” What does philosophy have to do with theology, or reason with faith?
However, on today’s “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I discuss a provocative new article that wonders what Athens and Jerusalem have to do with Silicon Valley. How should we understand the intersection of reason, faith, and technology?
A listener asks, how do you feel about neuroscience, and how does it fit in with your understanding of the soul?
Friends, today we share Lesson 1 from our new Word on Fire Institute course titled “Evangelizing Protestants.” The course is taught by Andrew Petiprin, the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen Fellow of Popular Culture at the Word on Fire Institute, also a former Episcopal priest who converted to Catholicism.
Andrew takes you inside several important texts that express how the Church thinks about Protestants and explain how they belong with us in the Catholic Church. You’ll look at works by St. John Henry Newman, Pope Pius IX, the Second Vatican Council, and Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.
In this first lesson of the course, Andrew shares a little about his personal journey and encourages Catholics to support any Protestant friends or family members who may be discerning coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. He also draws on the particular experience of St. John Henry Newman. Andrew sees Newman as a role model for all our Protestant brothers and sisters who are considering making this step.
To watch the other lessons in this course, sign up for the Word on Fire Institute today!
Friends, what is a Holy Hour? How do you do it, and why should you start? On today’s episode of the “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I discuss one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines you can adopt.
A listener asks, if the Eucharist is so important, why isn’t it mentioned in the Nicene Creed?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, today we share a conversation I had with leaders at Biola University on proclaiming and encountering Christ. It was wonderful to sit down with our Protestant brothers and sisters to discuss the importance of evangelization in today’s culture.
In this discussion, we explore how to evangelize through the new media, reach the disaffiliated, prepare to become an evangelist, and much more.
Friends, on today’s episode of the “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I discuss some comments recently made by Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, about space and religion.
What does Catholicism have to say about the universe and the possibility of alien life? Should we be curious about the cosmos? And what opportunities might space exploration introduce to Catholic evangelists?
A listener asks, given recent research on anti-aging, is aging a disease?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, today we share a talk I recently gave to the service men and women at the United State Air Force Academy. After previously speaking at the Naval Academy about three sailors from the Bible, then at West Point about three soldiers from the Old Testament, I wondered, what should I speak of to the Air Force Academy?
What came to me was the angels, those famous fliers in the pages of the Bible. I told the Air Force men and women that they are flyers, too, and so they should consider the angelic realm, the realm of pure spirits, those who fly into the very presence of God, becoming radiant by contact with him. I encouraged them to join the angels in flight, trust their life to a higher power, and become a person of right praise.
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, on today’s episode of the “Word on Fire Show,” Brandon Vogt and I recap two recent discussions I shared with Lex Fridman and Shia LaBeouf. With over two million views combined, these discussions struck a chord with people and I think they reveal several lessons for Catholics interested in drawing others closer to God.
A listener asks, how do you get so many things done?
Friends, today we share my recent “Bishop Barron Presents” discussion with Shia LeBeouf. Shia is an actor famous for his roles in Transformers, Honey Boy, and Peanut Butter Falcon, among other films. His most recent role is as the young Padre Pio in a new biopic on the great saint, a role which changed his life as he explains in this discussion. His story of conversion is profound and I think you will find it deeply moving.
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, today on the “Word on Fire Show,” we conclude our series of discussions called “Understanding the Present Moment.” Brandon Vogt and I have examined 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 fourth and final discussion, we focus on Michel Foucault, perhaps the least known of the four but maybe the one with the greatest direct impact on the way many in our culture think today.
A listener asks, how do we understand God as bring if he’s both Father and Son?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
In this new “Bishop Barron Presents” discussion, Bishop Barron sits down with bestselling author Luke Burgis to discuss his new book, Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life.
Why do we want what we want? And how do our desires shape us as people? How are desires related to freedom?
In their conversation, Bishop Barron and Burgis discuss these topics and more, such as:
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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 third discussion, we focus on Jean-Paul Sartre.
A listener asks, how does someone be selfless and yet love himself?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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.
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?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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.
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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?
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.
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.
(This is Part I of his lecture series. We will share Part II on a future episode.)
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.
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 first discussion, we focus on Karl Marx.
A listener asks, what advice would you give to a man discerning the permanent diaconate?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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:
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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?
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
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:
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.
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!
Friends, in the book of Revelation, Jesus says, “Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you and you with me.” But how does this work? How do we allow him into our hearts? That’s what Brandon Vogt and I discuss in today’s episode of “The Word on Fire Show.”
A listener asks, what do you think about the series, The Chosen?
Friends, today we share a sample lesson from another great Word on Fire Institute course titled “To the Peripheries!,” taught by Fr. Damian Ference.
In this course, Fr. Damian Ference will take us through numerous examples from the Gospels, his own life, and the philosophy of several saints on ways in which we evangelize. Each of these examples are modeled on the life of Christ.
Want more? Join the Word on Fire Institute at https://wordonfire.institute/
NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free books, bonus content, and more. Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners…like you! So be part of this mission, and join us today!