Theology is the queen of the sciences. It is not just one science among many but the principal organizing science. If it is taken out of this central organizing place, something else will take its place. In this lesson, Bishop Barron helps us understand why Newman thought theology was of crucial importance in education.

Topics Covered:

• Theology as the queen of the sciences
• Consequences of supplanting theology
• The Liberal Arts
• The Philosophical Habit

Links:

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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Poverty is not only a complex problem to address economically–not to mention sociologically, psychologically, and culturally; it is also often caught up in political and ideological currents, both domestically and internationally, that run counter to a Catholic understanding of human dignity and the common good. So what, then, is the authentically Catholic way of caring for the poor? What does it mean to say that Catholicism has a preferential option for the poor? How, moreover, can the Church coherently both advocate for reducing poverty on the one hand while praising the embrace of voluntary poverty on the other?

A listener asks advice on how God being in a non-competitive relationship with human beings applies to his mission as an evangelist.

Topics Covered:

00:00 | Introduction 01:53 | Bishop Barron at the annual meeting of US bishops 03:39 | The three essential tasks of the Church 07:48 | The necessity of charity in true worship 09:04 | Understanding and identifying poverty 10:58 | The margins, the marginalized, and Catholic social teaching 16:08 | Understanding institutional sin 18:40 | The salvific dimension of poverty 21:17 | The voluntary poverty of the Church 22:57 | What about spending money on cathedrals? 26:03 | Beauty as service to the poor 27:11 | Defining "preferential option for the poor" 31:16 | The Church, policy, and the poor 35:18 | Right to private property or universal distribution of goods? 37:42 | The evangelical dimension of caring for the poor| 40:06 | Listener question: If God exists noncompetitively, does my mission matter? 41:45 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

Links:

• Dilexi Te: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_exhortations/documents/20251004-dilexi-te.html
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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Newman's articulation of the nature of university education in his ​The Idea of a University ​is crucial today in that a polytechnic model has replaced classical liberal education and theology has been exiled from most institutions.

Topics Covered:

• Why theology is a science
• Why secularism destroys the university
• Oxford ideal

Links:

• Read: Fifteen Sermons by John Henry Newman
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

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Charlie Kirk's assassination revealed a disturbing new cultural and political reality for those who share any of Kirk's views: it is possible, in our day and age, to be shot for speaking your mind. How can we recover from this dark event, whose effects have reverberated across the globe? How can we reclaim the possibility of disagreement with each other without resorting to violence? What conditions must be in place to make civil debate both possible and productive again, especially as our society appears to be growing more polarized?

A listener asks for advice on a healthy way to end an argument when it's clear you're at an impasse.

00:00 | Introduction 02:19 | Praying at Planned Parenthood 03:17 | Bishop Barron and Charlie Kirk 08:58 | Athens, Jerusalem, and the West 14:49 | Two necessary conditions for meaningful dialogue 22:08 | Belief in God—the fundamental condition 24:50 | God and the priority of logos over will 26:34 | Do we really need God for human rights? 28:44 | The Catholic case for freedom of speech 29:54 | Public celebration of evil 33:05 | Violence as a response to speech 34:18 | How can we debate those who reject necessary conditions for dialogue? 35:27 | How forgiveness is possible when justice is wanted 36:42 | Evangelical lessons from Charlie Kirk 37:40 | Listener question: How do you walk away from an impasse? 39:57 | 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.

In this lesson, Bishop Barron explains how Newman distinguishes between doctrinal development and corruption. A thorough explanation of this crucial issue requires a robust presentation of Newman's seven notes. Bishop Barron does just that!

Topics Covered:

• Doctrinal development and corruption
• The Seven Notes
• Examples of doctrinal development and corruption

Links:

• Article: Henri de Lubac on the Development of Christian Doctrine
• Read: John Henry Newman on Truth and its Counterfeits
• 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.

Pope Leo XIV has recently formally declared St. John Henry Newman—who was canonized only in 2019 by Pope Francis—a doctor of the Catholic Church, a recognition given only to 37 other saints in Catholicism's over 2000 year history. This places Newman among great figures like St. Augustine, St. Gregory the Great, St. Jerome, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Theresa de Avila, St. Catherine of Sienna, and the Little Flower, St. Therese of Lisieux. What is the significance of giving St. John Henry Newman—an Englishman and Anglican convert to Catholicism who was born over 200 years ago—this title? What is it about Newman's approach to communicating the faith that earned him this great honor—and why now? Equally important, how can contemporary evangelists draw inspiration from his work to proclaim the Gospel in a drastically different world, religiously and morally, from Newman's 19th century Victorian England?

A listener asks for advice on how to give better homilies at Mass.

00:00 | Introduction 01:26 | Bishop Barron's recent domestic travels 03:20 | Defining "Doctor of the Church" 04:55 | Distinguishing doctors from saints 05:50 | John Henry Newman's brief biography 12:18 | Understanding the development of doctrine 17:41 | Safeguards against corruption 22:33 | The wholeness of the truth 25:34 | Newman: "To live is to change" 29:28 | The "illative sense" of the mind's assent to propositions 34:10 | Difficulties vs. doubt 35:54 | How Newman speaks to England now 37:55 | Listener question: How can priests improve preparation for homilies? 39:58 | 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.

Newman thinks that the fullness of an idea can best be manifested when it enters the play of lively minds. It grows and develops through the Church. Newman's organic imagery opens up an interesting way of thinking about the difference between development and corruption in matters of doctrine.

Topics Covered:

• The unveiling of ideas through the lively play of minds

• Difference between development and corruption

• The Prophetic Office

• The Kingly Office

Links:

• Article: A Theory on the Development of Dogma?

• Video: Bishop Barron on the Development of Christian Doctrine

• Read: Newman's Challenge by Stanley L. Jaki

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.

Newman's ​Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine​ is perhaps his greatest contribution to theology. In this essay, Newman considers why "development" is an important lens through which to understand the Church and her teachings.

Topics Covered:

• How ideas and doctrines tend to evolve over time
• How Newman avoids historicism
• The inexhaustible richness of Christ

Links:

• Podcast: WOF 511: Newman as a Catholic (3 of 12)
• Read: An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine
• Article: Development or Corruption
• Video: Development of Doctrine: What it is and Why it Matters
• 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.

In this lesson, Bishop Barron explains what led Newman to enter the Roman Catholic Church. Newman's study of Church history was part of it, giving a personal tinge to his famous quote: "To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant."

Topics Covered:

Newman's study of the Fourth Century theological controversies Newman's suspicion of the Via Media Newman's conversion to Catholicism Attempts at reviving Catholic intellectual life

Links:

Article: Newman on Conversion Video: Newman, Vatican II, and the Hermeneutic of Continuity Read: Arians of the Fourth Century 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.

In this lesson, Bishop Barron presents Newman's autobiographical ​Apologia Pro Vita Sua​, focusing on Newman's years as an Anglican prior to his conversion to the Catholic Church. ​​

Topics Covered:

The Oxford Movement Newman's study of the Arian Controversy The Via Media Tract 90

Links:

• Podcast: WOF 509: The Importance of John Henry Newman
• Article: Newman and the Study of Church Fathers
• Read: Apologia Pro Vita Sua
• 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.