The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Friends, today we share Lesson 1 from our new Word on Fire Institute course titled "Evangelizing Protestants." The course is taught by Andrew Petiprin, the Venerable Fulton J. Sheen Fellow of Popular Culture at the Word on Fire Institute, also a former Episcopal priest who converted to Catholicism.

Andrew takes you inside several important texts that express how the Church thinks about Protestants and explain how they belong with us in the Catholic Church. You'll look at works by St. John Henry Newman, Pope Pius IX, the Second Vatican Council, and Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

In this first lesson of the course, Andrew shares a little about his personal journey and encourages Catholics to support any Protestant friends or family members who may be discerning coming into full communion with the Catholic Church. He also draws on the particular experience of St. John Henry Newman. Andrew sees Newman as a role model for all our Protestant brothers and sisters who are considering making this step.

To watch the other lessons in this course, sign up for the Word on Fire Institute today!

• Word on Fire Institute

Friends, what is a Holy Hour? How do you do it, and why should you start? On today's episode of the "Word on Fire Show," Brandon Vogt and I discuss one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines you can adopt.

A listener asks, if the Eucharist is so important, why isn't it mentioned in the Nicene Creed?

• The Holy Hour: Meditations for Eucharistic Adoration edited by Matthew Becklo
• The Word Became Flesh: Reflection for Advent and Christmas 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!

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.

• Story of a Soul by St. Thérèse of Lisieux (WOF Classics)

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?

• 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!

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.

• 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!

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?

• 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

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.

• 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!

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?

• 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!

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

• 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!

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?

• 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!