The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Bishop Barron recently joined Jordan Peterson for a second long discussion titled "Christianity and the Modern World," which has been viewed over 780,000 times. On today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show," we revisit and reflect on some of the key moments in the dialogue. A listener asks, how can I answer my Protestant friend who claims that Catholics focus too much on Jesus' suffering and death...

Bishop Barron recently delivered the commencement address to the graduating class at the University of St. Thomas in Houston. The entire point of a Catholic intellectual formation is to produce great souls. A great soul doesn't invent her own values; rather, she intuits the marvelous intellectual, moral, and aesthetic values that are found in the objective order—and then she responds to them with...

According to a recent Wall Street Journal headline, "Catholic Schools Are Losing Students at Record Rates, and Hundreds Are Closing." Catholic schools peaked in the 1960s with about 5.5 million students in 11,000 schools. Today, Catholic schools boast only 1.6 million students in 5,900 schools. What explains this decline? And what can we do about it? Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt discuss the situ...

Bishop Barron recently visited the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where he had the great privilege of preaching at their baccalaureate Mass. In his homily, shared today on the podcast, he said we must remember that the primary purpose of a Catholic university is evangelization, the proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ. Therefore, education must equip and form graduates to sanctify th...

On today's episode, Brandon Vogt and I discuss my recent conversation with Alex O'Connor (aka @CosmicSkeptic), one of the most popular atheists in the world. We replay and unpack some of the most important clips from the dialogue. ( Watch the full dialogue here. ) A listener who was raised Christian, but became atheist for many years, asks advice on re-engaging with Christianity. NOTE: Do you like...

Today we share the second half of Bishop Barron's 2020 address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, titled "Called Into the Depths." He discussed three sailors from the Bible: the patriarch Noah, the prophet Jonah, and our Savior Jesus Christ. The sea can be thought of as something frightening and terrifying, standing athwart the purposes of God with its unforgiving power and discourag...

A new Gallup survey found that the proportion of Americans who consider themselves members of a church, synagogue, or mosque has dropped below 50% for the first time in American history. In 1999, around 70% of Americans attended a church, synagogue, or mosque--today it's just 47%. Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss these results, what they mean, and why it matters whether someone belongs to a churc...

Today we share the first half of Bishop Barron's 2020 address at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, titled "Called Into the Depths." He discussed three sailors from the Bible: the patriarch Noah, the prophet Jonah, and our Savior Jesus Christ. The sea can be thought of as something frightening and terrifying, standing athwart the purposes of God with its unforgiving power and discouragi...

The  Word on Fire Bible  series is one of the most ambitious and significant projects we've ever taken on. Listen as Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss where the idea came from and the future of the project. They also give you a sneak peek at Volume II of the series, which will cover Acts, Letters, and Revelation. Support the  Word on Fire Bible  project and claim your copy of Volume II! A listener...

Today we share Bishop Barron's talk at the 2021 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress titled "Catholics, Media Mobs, and the Culture of Contempt." The talk focuses on how to address the swell of negative and nasty behavior we're seeing online, not just in general but especially among Catholics.  Links The Pope Benedict XVI Reader from Word on Fire Support the Word on Fire Bible project, and get...

From politics to COVID, this past year has been filled with disagreement. That led Christian apologist Natasha Crain to write an article titled "Disagreement Fatigue and 2020: How the Events of the Year Will Shape Christian Interactions in 2021 and Beyond." Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss the article, focusing on three of Crain's predictions for 2021: more Christians will be hesitant to speak pu...

Today we share Bishop Barron's talk from the FOCUS SEEK 2021 conference. The talk is titled "The Identity of Jesus" and explores how Christ had the authority to fulfill the Law of the Old Testament and bring about the will of God through the Church. Links Support the  Word on Fire Bible series! FOCUS NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a patron and get some great perks for helping, like free bo...

What is the "dark night of the soul"? How does it differ from general depression, sadness, or confusion? Bishop Barron and Brandon explore this spiritual concept from St. John of the Cross, and discuss a famous saint from recent times who experienced this "dark night" in a profound way. A listener asks, does God have a sense of humor? If so, is it objective so that everyone should find it funny? L...

Today we share the second half of Bishop Baron's talk titled "Knocking Holes in the Buffered Self: Approaches to the Question of God." ( Click here to listen to the first half. ) He gave the talk at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary as part of their Kenrick Lecture series. Many—especially the young—in today's time have absented themselves from the practice of faith. Our culture and time is anomalous in the...

Parts of the Old Testament depict God commanding the Israelites to massacre entire populations—every man, woman, child, and animal. How should Christians make sense of these passages? They seem to present God as angry, vindictive, and genocidal, contradicting the New Testament presentation of God as loving and merciful. That's what Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt discuss in today's episode. A liste...

Today we share the first half of Bishop Baron's talk titled "Knocking Holes in the Buffered Self: Approaches to the Question of God." He gave the talk at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary as part of their Kenrick Lecture series. Many—especially the young—in today's time have absented themselves from the practice of faith. Our culture and time is anomalous in the extreme, in that it's the first ever to wide...

Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade's spiritual classic, Abandonment to Divine Providence , taught that everything falls under God's will, from our delights to our challenges, and our happiness will only be fully realized in cooperating with that will. But does this include painful and traumatic experiences? What about COVID? Bishop Barron and Brandon discuss these questions as well as a priest, Fr. Walte...

Bishop Barron recently joined students from Princeton University in a virtual Q&A about God, faith, reason, and evangelization. The event was led by Leah Libresco Sargeant, a fellow of the Word on Fire Institute, and graciously hosted by The Aquinas Institute at Princeton's Catholic Campus Ministry. Today on the podcast, we share the second half of the Q&A ( click here to listen to the first half...

Why do so many young people drift away from God and the Church, and how can we help them return? This is a pressing question for all Catholics, but especially for parents who are brokenhearted about their own sons or daughters who have become unaffiliated. In today's episode, Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt discuss Brandon's new book, just published by Word on Fire, titled Return: How to Draw Your...

Bishop Barron recently joined students from Princeton University in a virtual Q&A about God, faith, reason, and evangelization. The event was led by Leah Libresco Sargeant, a fellow of the Word on Fire Institute, and graciously hosted by The Aquinas Institute at Princeton's Catholic Campus Ministry. Today on the podcast, we share the first half of the Q&A. NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a...

Today, Bishop Barron answers questions from children all over the world, including: Is God bigger than an elephant? Why did God make bad germs? How did God come to exist? How can God see us from up in heaven if we can't see him? Do you think animals go to Heaven? Why do bad things happen? If God knows everything, did he make my thoughts? Why did God not give the 10 commandments to Adam and Eve? NO...

It's commonly assumed that J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit  and  The Lord of the Rings , was an arch-conservative, a backward-looking person, and that he valued nothing that smacked of the modern day. But in a groundbreaking new book titled Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages , the first in our Word on Fire Academic line of titles, Dr. Holly Ordway reveals that Tolki...

According to YouVersion, the popular Bible app, 2020's most-read Bible verse was Isaiah 41:10: "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Bishop Barron discusses this verse, the Bible's repeated encouragement not to be afraid, and how we can overcome our fears of sickness, loss, and...

Listen to this sample lesson from Fr. Paul Murray's new course inside the Word on Fire Institute titled "Prayer, Beauty, Mission: The Hidden Springs of the New Evangelization." The spiritual life is typically understood to begin in ascent. However, in Christianity it begins with descent, namely the descent of God. As 1 John 4:10 says, God has loved us first. In this lesson, Fr. Paul Murray explore...

As 2020 winds to a close, Bishop Barron reflects back on his five most popular YouTube videos of the decade. He and Brandon Vogt discuss why these videos, in particular, resonated with so many people. A listener asks, if Jesus already did what he came to do, and Satan realized he was beat, why wasn't that the end of the story? What are we still doing here? Links Bishop Barron on The Devil (July 20...