
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.
Latest episodes

7 snips
Oct 3, 2022 • 1h 13min
WOF 354: Bishop Barron at Biola University
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. Links Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (WOF Classics)

Sep 26, 2022 • 24min
WOF 353: God, Elon Musk, and Space
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? Links WonderConference.com With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life edited by Rachel Bulman The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo 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!

Sep 19, 2022 • 1h 11min
WOF 352: Angels and the Air Force Academy
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. Links The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life edited by Rachel Bulman 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!

Sep 12, 2022 • 31min
WOF 351: Recapping Lex Fridman and Shia LaBeouf
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? Links Lex Fridman discussion Shia LeBeouf discussion The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo With All Her Mind: A Call to the Intellectual Life edited by Rachel Bulman Wonder Conference

67 snips
Sep 5, 2022 • 1h 23min
WOF 350: Finding the Way to God w/ Shia LaBeouf
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. Links New book – The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo Wonder Conference – WonderConference.com 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!

Aug 29, 2022 • 33min
WOF 349: Understanding the Present Moment #4 (Michel Foucault)
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? Links Two new Thomas Aquinas books! – Thomas Aquinas: Spiritual Master by Bishop Barron and Thomas Aquinas: Selected Commentaries on the New Testament edited by Jason Paone Bishop Barron discussion with Lex Fridman (Youtube) The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo 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!

30 snips
Aug 22, 2022 • 1h 7min
WOF 348: The Power of Mimetic Desire w/ Luke Burgis
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: René Girard Mimetic desire Social media The scapegoat mechanism Links Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life by Luke Burgis 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!

Aug 15, 2022 • 28min
WOF 347: Understanding the Present Moment #3 (Jean-Paul Sartre)
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? Links The Installation of Bishop Robert Barron Wonder Conference – WonderConference.com 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!

Aug 8, 2022 • 21min
WOF 346: The 3 Tasks of the Church
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.

Aug 1, 2022 • 29min
WOF 345: Understanding the Present Moment #2 (Friedrich Nietzsche)
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? Links Wonder Conference – WonderConference.com 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!