The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Friends, in February 2023, award-winning historian, author, and broadcaster Tom Holland and I discussed Western culture, the intellectual and moral aspects of Christianity, and the doctrine of original sin, among many other topics, at the Sharing the Church's Story Conference in London.

• Sharing the Church's Story Conference
• This is My Body: A Call to Eucharistic Revival by By Bishop Robert Barron

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, many people are familiar with the Thomistic tradition, following St. Thomas Aquinas, but what about the Franciscan intellectual tradition, following St. Francis? Who are some of the great Franciscan theologians, and what can they teach us today? That's what Brandon Vogt and I discuss on today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show."

A listener asks, does God the Father love us as much as he loves Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

• Venerable Jerome Lejeune Fellowship
• Ordered by Love: An Introduction to John Duns Scotus by Thomas Ward
• This is My Body: A Call to Eucharistic Revival by Bishop Robert Barron

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, does Christianity still have a place in the public square? What can it contribute to the broader culture?

On today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show," Brandon Vogt and I discuss some of the unique ways that Christianity has shaped the modern world.

A listener asks, what is the Catholic response to post-modernity, specifically the claim that everything is predicated on power?

• As Kingfishers Catch Fire: Selected and Annotated Poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins edited with an introduction and notes by Holly Ordway

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 his talk at the 2022 Good News Conference, Fr. John Riccardo speaks about the unwavering trust and hope that Christians are called to.

When tempted to despair, we are challenged to hope that the Lord is addressing the storms in our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the Church.

• Good News Conference

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, what are the liberal arts, and why are so many schools getting rid of them? A recent article in The New Yorker titled "The End of the English Major" revealed that during the past decade, the study of English and history at the collegiate level has fallen by a full third.

Do the liberal arts still matter? Why should people study them? That's what I discuss with Brandon Vogt on today's episode of "The Word on Fire Show."

A listener asks, what is your response to the claim that more blood has been shed in history over the name of Jesus Christ than any other individual?

• "The End of the English Major" (The New Yorker) – Nathan Heller
• "Don't Give Up on the Liberal Arts!" (Word on Fire) – Bishop Robert Barron
• Subscribe to Bishop Barron's YouTube channel
• Subscribe to Word on Fire Institute YouTube channel

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 his keynote talk at the 2022 Good News Conference, Bishop Barron speaks on the evangelical power of beauty in the Catholic tradition. True beauty leads by steady steps to the ultimate source of beauty, Christ.

To evangelize, we can show the Sistine Chapel or Chartres Cathedral; show someone how to read Brideshead Revisited, the stories of Flannery O'Connor, or the poetry of T.S. Eliot; listen to Beethoven's "Seventh Symphony." This great tradition of beauty has the power to draw people in.

• Good News Conference

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, one major theme appearing throughout the teachings of Pope Francis is the danger of technocracy. In his 2015 encyclical, Laudato si', he coined the term "technocratic paradigm," using the term five times in the encyclical.

Should we be concerned about our technocratic society, one dominated by tech and science and which, in turn, aims to dominates nature? That's what I discuss with Brandon Vogt today on "The Word on Fire Show."

A listener asks, what's the difference between the Protestant and Catholic understandings of the Church?

• Word on Fire Liturgy of the Hours (Founder's Discount ends 3/31)
• Bishop Barron at The Heritage Foundation
• Bishop Barron w/ Brett McKay on "Art of Manliness"
• Bishop Barron w/ Alex O'Connor on "Within Reason"
• Laudato si' by Pope Francis
• Letters from Lake Como: Explorations in Technology and the Human Race by Romano Guardini
• After Humanity: A Guide to C.S. Lewis's The Abolition of Man by Michael Ward

Friends, in this conversation at the 2021 Good News Conference, Bishop Robert Barron and Fr. Mike Schmitz share about their vocation stories.

This is part of a much longer conversation the two shared. You can hear the full discussion in episode 331 of the "Word on Fire Show," during which they discuss how they began their ministry on YouTube, their favorite movies, and what inspired them to approach their creative presentations to the Bible.

• Good News Conference

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 with you Chris Stefanick's talk from the 2021 Good News Conference. In a world fraught with fear, anxiety, and denial, Chris explores the fundamental rules for living joyfully.

• Good News Conference
• Word on Fire Liturgy of the Hours