The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

WOF 132: Why Does God Allow Evil and Suffering?

18 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Nearly every day we hear about natural disasters, school shootings, and profound tragedies. Each of us experiences pain and suffering. So why does Go...

WOF 131: Does the Bible Still Matter?

11 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we discuss a recent article in GQ magazine which described the Bible as overrated, along with a new report from Barna titled S...

WOF 130: Bishop Barron Speaks at Google (Part 2 of 2)

04 Jun 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron was recently invited to speak at the Google headquarters (aka the Googleplex) in Mountain View, CA. He addressed a room full of Google ...

WOF 129: Bishop Barron Speaks at Google (Part 1 of 2)

28 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron was recently invited to speak at the Google headquarters (aka the Googleplex). in Mountain View, CA. He addressed a room full of Google ...

WOF 128: Kids Q&A with Bishop Barron

21 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron answers several questions from young listeners, ranging from three-year-olds to eight-year-olds, about God, Adam and Eve, and robbers. E...

WOF 127: Bishop Barron on "Avengers: Infinity War"

14 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The new film Avengers: Infinity War, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Avengers, has already grossed over $1 billion worldwide and had ...

WOF 126: Catholicism and Beauty (Part 2 of 2)

07 May 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part two of Bishop Barron's talk on Catholicism and beauty from the 2018 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

WOF 125: Catholicism and Beauty (Part 1 of 2)

30 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Part One of Bishop Barron's talk on Catholicism and beauty.

WOF 124: Listener Q&A with Bishop Barron

23 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron answers several listener questions during this episode, ranging from classic education to the Great Story of Israel to living the faith ...

WOF 123: Religion and "A Quiet Place"

16 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

John Krasinski's new film, A Quiet Place, which he both directs and stars in, may at first seem like a typical thriller, with lurking monsters threat...

WOF 122: God at the Googleplex

09 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Bishop Barron recounts his visit to the headquarters of both Google and YouTube. He was there to deliver a talk to Catholic Googlers ...

WOF 121: The Impossibly Good News of Easter

02 Apr 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week we enjoy a live recording of Bishop Barron's inspiring Easter homily.

WOF 120: Evangelization and the Need for Community

26 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this week's episode Bishop Barron discusses an intrinsic aspect of evangelization; community. Not only is there an intrinsic need of mankind to hav...

WOF 119: Live Q&A from the L.A. Congress

19 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt record live from the L.A. Congress, discussing Bishop Barron's keynote talk on beauty and interacting ...

WOF 118: Jordan Peterson and Catholicism

12 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

In last week's episode, we discussed the Jordan Peterson phenomenon, wondering how the Canadian clinical psychologist exploded so quickly in popular...

WOF 117: Who is Jordan Peterson?

05 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and mythology enthusiast, has exploded onto the scene, becoming the world's most popular intellectual fig...

WOF 116: Bishop Barron on the Oscar Best Picture Movies

26 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Academy Awards are just around the corner and nine films have been nominated for Best Picture. Bishop Barron has seen seven of them, and in this e...

WOF 115: Grounded in the Eucharist

19 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Eucharist is at the foundation of the Word On Fire Institute. In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron discusses what it means to b...

WOF 114: Three Great Spiritual Athletes

12 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

At Mundelein Seminary you'll find a statue of St. George slaying a dragon below which reads, "Athleta Christi Nobilis" —The Noble Athlete of Christ....

WOF 113: Recapping the William Lane Craig Dialogue

05 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On January 13, 2018, Bishop Barron joined Dr. William Lane Craig, the esteemed Protestant apologist, for an evening of dialogue at Claremont McKenna C...

WOF 113: Recapping the William Lane Craig Dialogue

05 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On January 13, 2018, Bishop Barron joined Dr. William Lane Craig, the esteemed Protestant apologist, for an evening of dialogue at Claremont McKenna C...

WOF 112: Collaborative Apostolate

29 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

The Second Vatican Council called for a more active collaboration between the ordained and lay people. In this episode of The Word on Fire Show, Bisho...

WOF 111: Sex, Babies, and a Prophetic Pope

22 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of Humanae Vitae, the controversial encyclical by Pope Paul VI which defended the classic...

BONUS: Bishop Barron and William Lane Craig Dialogue

16 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

On January 13, 2018, Bishop Barron joined Dr. William Lane Craig, the esteemed Protestant apologist and evangelist, for a dialogue event at Claremont ...

WOF 110: Word on Fire in 2018

15 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

What does Bishop Barron have in store for 2018? Find out in this episode where he talks through several exciting new projects, talks, and initiatives....

WOF 109: Fire and Mission

08 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Since Bishop Barron is out of town this week, we decided to share his talk from the FOCUS Student Leadership Summit in Chicago. Over 8,000 young Catho...

WOF 108: Lead with Beauty

01 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

How is beauty a route of access to God? In this episode of the Word On Fire Show, Bishop Barron explains how leading with beauty is the best way to ev...

WOF 107: Jesus vs. Caesar

25 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Merry Christmas! In today's episode, Bishop Barron walks us through the second chapter of Luke's Gospel, which recounts the birth of Jesus. As we see,...

WOF 105: Kids Q&A w/ Bishop Barron

11 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today we hear from some of our youngest listeners, as kids from all over the world ask Bishop Barron their most pressing theological questions. The ki...

WOF 104: Sports and Spirituality

04 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

If you've listened to any number of Bishop Robert Barron's homilies or lectures, you've likely heard him use sports analogies to create a vision of th...

WOF 103: Why is there a Christmas Season?

27 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever wondered why there is a Christmas Season? Like no other holiday, Christmas carries with it an intense period of anticipation, in which ...

WOF 102: Affirmative Orthodoxy

20 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today we continue our discussion of the eight principles of the Word on Fire Movement by focusing on the fifth principle, "Affirmative Orthodoxy." Thi...

WOF 101: What to Make of the Protestant Reformation?

13 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We just passed the 500th anniversary of the start of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of a Wittenberg c...

WOF 100: Listener Q&A with Bishop Barron

06 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today we celebrate the hundredth episode of "The Word on Fire Show"! It's hard to believe we've reach that mark. But to celebrate, we decided to focus...

WOF 099: How to Reach the "Nones"

30 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Bishop Barron is giving the annual "Erasmus Lecture" for First Things, where he'll speak on "Evangelizing the 'Nones'." That's the them of...

WOF 098: The 5 Men Who Most Influenced Bishop Barron

23 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In his new book, To Light a Fire on the Earth, Bishop Barron shares the story of his own spiritual formation as a young man coming of age after Vatic...

WOF 097: Did Thomas Aquinas Really Prove God? (Part 2 of 2)

16 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This is the second part of a series responding to a viral YouTube video titled "Aquinas and the Cosmological Arguments" (750,000+ views), which clai...

WOF 096: Aquinas and the Arguments for God (Part 1 of 2)

09 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A viral YouTube video titled "Aquinas and the Cosmological Arguments" (750,000+ views) claims that Thomas Aquinas' arguments for God have been decis...

WOF 095: How to Have a Religious Argument

02 Oct 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Listen to Bishop Barron's talk at the Facebook HQ, which has already been heard over 275,000 times. Every day, millions of people argue about religion...

WOF 094: Bishop Barron's New Book with John Allen, Jr.

25 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron has a new book coming out titled To Light a Fire on the Earth: Proclaiming Christ in a Secular Age. It's a book-length conversation bet...

WOF 093: Bishop Barron at Facebook

18 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Today (September 18), Bishop Barron will be speaking to Facebook employees at their headquarters in Menlo Park, CA, on "How to Have a Religious Argume...

WOF 092: Pro-Life AND Social Justice

11 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

There seems to be a divide in the Catholic Church between so-called "pro-life" Catholic and so-called "social justice" Catholics. Where did this come ...

WOF 091: Does Religion Have a Smart-People Problem?

04 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Every now and then, articles and surveys pop up suggesting that religious people are, by whatever criteria, dumber than then general population—or a...

WOF 090: Beauty in the Catholic Tradition

28 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What is beauty? Is beauty undefinable and entirely relativistic? Or is beauty an objective reality, backed by reason and understanding? How do Catholi...

WOF 089: What Really Happens When We Die?

21 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

What really happens when we die? In a recent interview with Larry King, popular astro-physicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson, offers a scientifically reduce...

WOF 088: Listener Q&A with Bishop Barron

14 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But we've received such a large number of outstanding questions from around the globe that we...

WOF 087: The Law of the Gift

07 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Barron is flying back from Europe after his Pivotal Players recording trip, so instead of a live show, we're bringing you a special excerpt fr...

WOF 086: Broadcasting from Milan, Italy

31 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire production are in Italy, filming the next round of CATHOLICISM: The Pivotal Players. Be sure to take advant...

WOF 085: Behind the Scenes Filming

24 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Robert Barron and his Word on Fire production team have just set off to Europe to film two brand new episodes for the hit television film serie...

WOF 084: 5 Reasons We Don't Evangelize

17 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Have you ever had an opportunity to share your faith but opted to remain quiet? There are several reasons why we might shy away from these grace-fille...

WOF 083: How Bishop Barron Reads and Writes

10 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Do you ever wish you could read more books? Have you ever thought about writing articles at the professional level or authoring your own book? Bishop ...

WOF 082: Living as the Image of God (Part 2)

03 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015 Bishop Robert Barron gave the opening keynote speech at the famous World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. In front of this massive crowd o...

WOF 081: Living as the Image of God (Part 1)

26 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015 Bishop Robert Barron gave the opening keynote speech at the famous World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. In front of this massive crowd o...

WOF 079: The Spirituality of Marriage

12 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Marriage has been one of the most talked about topics in the news over the past decade. Despite all the interest surrounding the institution of marria...

WOF Bonus Episode: Kids Interview

07 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Word on Fire Show host Brandon Vogt stopped into the Santa Barbara studio with his five children while on a cross-country road trip. The Vogt children...

WOF 078: Joining the Great Saints

05 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The best theological movements present the Church as an organism, not an organization. In this episode of our new series on the eight principles of Wo...

WOF 077: God and the New Media

29 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Statistics show that more people own a smartphone (4 billion) than own a toothbrush (3.5 billion). In this episode of our new series called The Eight ...

WOF 076: Caesar, the Dude, and a Serious Man

23 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Joel and Ethan Coen, more famously known as the Coen brothers, are arguably the greatest filmmakers of our time. In this follow-up episode on the Coen...

WOF 074: Evangelizing the Culture

09 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

"The Church exists to evangelize." These words from Evangelii Nuntiandi express the very nature of our mission. But what is evangelization? And how o...

WOF 073: Making Christ the Center of Your Life

02 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Jesus boldly proclaimed, "I am the way, the truth, and the life". In order to be His disciple, one must make Jesus Christ the foundation of life and p...

WOF 072: The Benedict Option

25 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Rod Dreher's The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation has certainly emerged as the most talked-about religious book ...

WOF 071: The Case for the Resurrection

18 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Case for Christ is a film adaptation of Lee Strobel's best-selling book of the same name, one that has made an enormous splash in Evangelical cir...

WOF 070: God and Netflix's "The Crown"

11 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Netflix original series "The Crown", which has to do with the last months of the reign of King George VI and the first years of the reign of his d...

WOF 069: Following the Right Jesus

04 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Joseph White's book The Incarnate Lord discusses the importance of Jesus' identity. The classical tradition of Christology understood Jesus o...

WOF 067: Evangelizing with Goodness

21 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Truth, beauty, and goodness are the three transcendentals that draw people to belief in God. As important as rational arguments and beautiful artwork ...

WOF 065: Viral Videos and Labels

07 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Is it ever necessary to label ourselves? Is it ever ok to label anyone else? Not according to internet celebrity and spoken-word poet, Prince Ea, whos...

WOF 064: LIVE from the L.A. Congress!

28 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Religious Education Congress, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles Office of Religious Education, is America's largest annual gathering of ...

WOF 063: Stephen Colbert, Ricky Gervais, and the Debate About God

21 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Does God exist? That is the question Catholic comedian and television host, Stephen Colbert, debated with his Late Show guest, the popular actor and ...

WOF 062: Listener Q&A with Bishop Barron

14 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But we've received such a large number of outstanding questions from around the globe that we...

WOF 061: How Are We Saved?

07 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Are you saved? This is a question we have heard from our Protestant friends regarding the state of grace for individual souls. In this episode of the ...

WOF 060: New and Notable Books

31 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Robert Barron is a bona fide bibliophile. Any quiet moment outside his holy hours, he can be found at his workbench writing a book or on his pa...

WOF 059: Bishop Barron on "Silence"

24 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The much-anticipated "Silence", based upon the Shusaku Endo novel of the same name, is a worthy addition to the Scorsese oeuvre. It is marked by gorge...

WOF 058: David Dancing Before the Ark (Part 2 of 2)

17 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Word on Fire Show we hear one of the world's great theologians unpack one of the richest texts in all of ancient scripture. Tho...

WOF 057: David Dancing Before the Ark (Part 1 of 2)

10 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of the Word on Fire Show we hear one of the world's great theologians unpack one of the richest texts in all of ancient scripture. Tho...

WOF 056: Evangelizing Through Social Media

03 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Internet has produced the most profound shift in communications since the printing press, and many in the Church are using it to spread the Gospel...

WOF 055: Mary, The New Eve

27 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

On the first day of the calendar year, the Church celebrates The Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God. This day honors the Blessed Virgin Mary un...

WOF 054: The Subversive Baby King

20 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

St. Luke's telling of the Christmas story, which is read at Midnight Masses all over the Catholic world, commences by invoking the first-century's mos...

WOF 053: How to Speak about God

13 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

The most recent meeting of the United States Council of Catholic Bishops ended with a prayer service and a sermon by Archbishop Peter Sartain, wherei...

WOF 052: Pilgrims and Iphones

06 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

"Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on me" is the simplest form of the Jesus Prayer. Bishop Robert Barron has professed the spiritual power of this short p...

WOF 051: Bishop Barron at the Movies

29 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

One of the most popular forms of content at Word on Fire continues to be Bishop Robert Barron's theological commentaries about movies. In fact, the ve...

WOF 050: 3 Lessons for Young Catholics

22 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bishop Robert Barron recently had the privilege of speaking to around nine thousand students from the Catholic middle schools and high schools of the ...

WOF 049: Listener Q&A with Bishop Barron

15 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But we've received such a large number of outstanding questions from around the globe that we...

WOF 048: The Reformation, 500 Years Later

08 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

October 31st, 2016 marked the beginning of the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, which is decidedly the greatest split in Christia...

WOF 047: 7 Keys to the New Evangelization (Part 2 of 2)

01 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in today's culture? In a talk he gave at the Religious Education Congress, Bishop Barron offers recommen...

WOF 046: 7 Keys to the New Evangelization (Part 1 of 2)

25 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How do we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in today's culture? In a talk he gave at the Religious Education Congress, Bishop Barron offers recommen...

WOF 045: Why Young People are Leaving the Church

18 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

After perusing the latest Pew Study on why young people are leaving the active practice of Christianity, Bishop Barron noticed that (once again) the ...

WOF 041: G.K. Chesterton, The Evangelist

20 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We are taking the next few episodes of the show to discuss each of the great men and women featured in Word on Fire's epic new film series, CATHOLICI...

WOF 039: St. Catherine of Siena, The Mystic

06 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We are taking the next few episodes of the show to discuss each of the great men and women featured in Word on Fire's epic new film series, CATHOLICI...

WOF 038: Why Mother Teresa is a Saint

30 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We have been taking the past few episodes of the show to discuss each of the great men and women featured in Word on Fire's epic new film series, CAT...

WOF 037: St. Thomas Aquinas, The Theologian

23 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We are taking the next few episodes of the show to discuss each of the great men and women featured on Word On Fire's epic new film series, Catholicis...

WOF 036: St. Francis, The Reformer

16 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

We are taking the next six episodes of the Word on Fire show to discuss each of the great men and women featured on Word On Fire's epic new film serie...

WOF 034: Don't Be a 'Beige' Catholic

02 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

"Beige Catholicism" is a phrase Bishop Barron coined early in his career as a way of describing the Church's lackluster adoption of the post-conciliar...

WOF 033: How to Evangelize the Culture (2 of 2)

26 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How should we go about evangelization? Especially for those of us living in a highly-secularized society, what techniques should we employ and what pi...

WOF 032: How to Evangelize the Culture

19 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

How should we go about evangelization? Especially for those of us living in a highly-secularized society, what techniques should we employ and what pi...

WOF 031: 5 Ways to Pray Better Today

12 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Whenever there's a survey asking Christians, "What's one area in your spiritual life you'd like to improve?",  the answers almost inevitably center a...

WOF 030: Listener Q&A w/ Bishop Barron

05 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Normally, in each episode we take one listener question. But we've received such a large number of outstanding questions from around the globe that we...

WOF 029: What God's Mercy Really Entails

28 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Pope Francis recently invited Bishop Barron to speak to hundreds of English-speaking priests at a gathering in Rome for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. In ...

WOF 028: Bob Dylan, Poet and Prophet

21 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Bob Dylan is one of the most spiritually interesting songwriters of our generation. In today's episode, Bishop Barron reflects on some of Dylan's be...

WOF 027: Popes, Saints, and the Economy

14 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

What is Catholic social teaching and what does it have to say about the economy, business, and our everyday work lives? That's what Bishop Barron expl...

WOF 026: Fulton Sheen, Apostle of the New Media

07 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Venerable Fulton Sheen is remembered as one of the greatest Catholic evangelists of the twentieth century. A master of both television and radio, he s...