The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Join Bishop Robert Barron for a weekly podcast on faith and culture. Find more episodes at http://WordOnFireShow.com and submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.com.

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture is a religion podcast hosted by Bishop Robert Barron, with 535 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Bishop Robert Barron hosts The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture, a religion show with 535 episodes published.

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  Episode #542

  WOF 542: Why All Catholics Should Pray the Liturgy of the Hours

  Aug 17, 202635 min

  Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. The Liturgy of the Hours, or the "Divine Office," is often associated exclusively with the spiritual practices of priests, monks, and nuns. To be sure, praying the Hours is an essential part of the lives of those who have formally taken religious vows. However, the prayer of the Church, as the Liturgy of the Hours is also called, is precisely that: a way of sanctifying the day for the whole Church, both laity and clergy alike. With so many forms of prayer already available, however, why should lay Catholics also consider praying the Hours? What, substantively, is distinctive about it? What are its origins? Moreover, given the size and complexity of the Hours—the full liturgy occupies four thick volumes of text with multiple ribbons to mark different sections—how, practically, can we get started? Here to explain the enduring theological and spiritual richness of the Liturgy of the Hours and how it deepens and enriches all Catholics' lives, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:11 | Bishop Barron's diocesan travels 02:35 | Why the Liturgy of the Hours matters to Word on Fire 03:57 | Leading with beauty 04:57 | Prayer and the importance of embodiment 08:06 | The origins and practice of praying the Divine Office 12:13 | How the Liturgy of the Hours shapes priests 13:26 | Understanding the Liturgy of the Hours as the Divine Office 14:22 | Relating the Liturgy of the Hours to the liturgy of the Mass 15:11 | What makes a prayer liturgical? 15:52 | Why the Psalms feature so prominently in the Divine Office 20:06 | How the laity benefits from praying the Divine Office 21:46 | "Pray without ceasing" 23:17 | Getting started with the Liturgy of the Hours 27:32 | Persevering through fatigue in prayer 30:51 | The Divine Office and evangelization 31:44 | Listener question: What effect does our prayer have on others? 34:18 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

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  Episode #541

  WOF 541: "Heaven in Stone and Glass"—A New Feature Film by Bishop Barron

  Aug 3, 202637 min

  Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. We're delighted to announce that a new feature film by Bishop Robert Barron will be hitting theaters—yes, theaters—soon. The full-length documentary, entitled Heaven in Stone and Glass , draws on the collective shock and sadness the world experienced watching Paris's Cathedral of Notre-Dame burn in 2019 to explore the enduring philosophical, theological, aesthetic, moral, and evangelical significance of the great Gothic cathedrals of France. Recognizing the potential destruction of Notre-Dame—happily, it has since been restored—as much more than the loss of a historic building, Bishop Barron personally walks us through Gothicism's soaring architecture and richly detailed symbolism to explain everything from the unity and diversity of creation, the nature of the human person, the objectivity of beauty, the meaning of the incarnation, the living communion of saints, and the hope of the beatific vision, and how all of this matters more than ever for a rapidly secularizing West at risk of losing its Christian civilizational identity. Here to share the story behind the making of the film, and what he hopes audiences will take away from it, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:24 | Bishop Barron ordains new priests 02:57 | The role of film in the early days of Word on Fire 06:04 | Connecting Heaven in Stone and Glass to Word on Fire's other films 07:26 | Why a new film on cathedrals? 09:00 | Personal origins of the new film 11:23 | Unpacking the film's title 15:18 | Explaining the full meaning of a church and cathedral 19:20 | Theological reflections within a cathedral 24:11 | Medieval times and the so-called Dark Ages 25:51 | The objective reality of beauty 28:44 | The role of the profane in the Gothic cathedrals 32:33 | Overcoming blindness through appreciation and emulation 33:36 | Evangelical opportunities for Heaven in Stone and Glass 34:56 | Listener question: How can the laity advance beauty today? 36:53 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

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  Episode #540

  WOF 540: How the Virtues Help Us Respond to an Increasingly Vicious Online Culture

  Jul 20, 202637 min

  Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. From Bishop Barron's very first social media post close to 20 years ago, he and Word on Fire as a whole have recognized that the online world is a rough-and-tumble place. While most, over the years, have interacted with our content with charity and respect, even if they disagree, there's always been a gallery of trolls who traffic in insults and profanity and are only interested in taking potshots at the ministry rather than engaging in conversation. So it goes—that's just part of the price of entry into the digital world, especially when evangelization is your goal. The internet culture, however, seems to have taken a dark turn recently. Whatever limited restraint people used to show in their online interactions seems to have evaporated in a toxic cloud of mob-fueling—and mob-fueled—rage, replete with distortions, deceptions, and sometimes even explicit calls for violence. Exacerbated by the rise of the use of AI, bots, and anonymous accounts often based in foreign countries, it is increasingly difficult to know with whom you are engaging online or what their motives are. And sadly, physical threats from online sources are now also something we must take very seriously. So how should we move forward from here? Is it still possible to make evangelical headway in this increasingly noxious online environment? If so, what principles should guide the way? Here to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the current state of the online world is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:46 | Bishop Barron celebrates 40 years 02:50 | Bishop Barron's early days online 06:58 | Online changes in recent years 12:16 | Anonymity online 17:42 | Applying the cardinal virtues: 1) Temperance 22:23 | 2) Fortitude 24:05 | 3) Justice 26:15 | Recognizing sins of speech 29:23 | 4) Prudence 31:23 | How we move forward 34:23 | Listener question: How would you define respect? 36:23 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

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  Episode #538

  WOF 538: Bishop Barron's Work on the Presidential Religious Liberty Commission

  Jun 22, 202636 min

  Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. Bishop Robert Barron has long defended religious freedom as a universal human right. As part of his ongoing advocacy—which includes a new book on how to confront persecution against Christians—he has recently completed serving on a presidential religious liberty commission charged with ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society without fear of violence or unjust discrimination. One of the few Catholic ecclesial voices on the commission, his work addressed multiple abiding and practical questions. For example, at the conceptual level, what is religious freedom, and what role should the government play in protecting it? How can we define religious freedom in a way that prevents one religion's exercise of their freedom from infringing upon the freedom of other religions, or on those who claim no religion at all? And at the more concrete level, where, right now, are the greatest threats to religious freedom and what can we do both legislatively and individually to combat them? Here to address these and related questions, and to discuss his experience serving on the presidential commission, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:16 | Bishop Barron visits diocesan schools 02:26 | How Bishop Barron came to join the Religious Liberty Commission 04:03 | The makeup of the Religious Liberty Commission 05:00 | Basic structure of the meetings 07:38 | Being a Catholic bishop on the commission 09:51 | The privatization of religion 10:36 | Where does religious liberty originate? 12:36 | The public nature of religious liberty 13:51 | Why religious liberty is the first freedom 15:11 | Is religious liberty just religious license? 16:36 | The role of government in religious liberty 18:00 | Separation of church and state? 22:33 | Principal threats to religious liberty 26:26 | Testimonies shared with the Commission 27:30 | How we move forward 28:18 | The question of religious exemptions 30:53 | Religious liberty and evangelization 32:17 | Listener question: To what extent do denominations matter? 35:07 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

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  Episode #537

  WOF 537: How to Keep the Momentum in the Surge of New Conversions

  Jun 8, 202635 min

  Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show . I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show . Thank you for joining us. A wave of fresh converts has entered the Catholic Church in the United States, Australia, and parts of Europe. The evidence for this surge is far from anecdotal; even secular media outlets that are historically inclined to downplay positive stories about Catholicism widely reported packed sanctuaries this past Easter, the day those who have been preparing to enter the Catholic Church typically receive their first sacraments. This is welcome news for a Church that has grown accustomed to a half-century narrative of religious disaffiliation and cultural decline. So what's behind this uptick in conversions? What factors are leading young people—and young men in particular—to buck the trend of secularization and become Catholic? What is happening both in the world and within the Church that is making the faith become so attractive? Perhaps most importantly, what can and should Catholics, clergy and laity alike, do to both continue the momentum and help new converts to stick with faith? Here to offer his insights on what's driving this new growth and why, now more than ever, we should double our efforts to proclaim Christ in the culture is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:34 | Bishop Barron's recent confirmation season 04:34 | Recent growth in Catholicism 06:13 | What cultural factors are contributing to these numbers? 19:11 | How the liturgy and a renewed interest in the Mass attract members 23:08 | Mysticism and attraction to the Church 24:27 | Is "modernizing" the Church necessary for growth? 26:08 | Evangelical efforts to support 30:20 | How we maintain momentum without perpetuating a trend 31:09 | Advice for new converts 32:48 | Listener question: Should I baptize my kids before myself? 34:24 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member ! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

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