The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Author: Bishop Robert Barron Language: English Episodes: 100
Each week, The Word on Fire Show-Catholic Faith and Culture offers a thoughtful conversation with Bishop Robert Barron. This podcast explores the rich intersection of belief with contemporary life, examining everything from art and philosophy to current events and personal spirituality through a Catholic lens. Listeners will find deep dives into theological concepts, reflections on scripture, and discussions on how ancient wisdom addresses modern challenges. The tone is engaging and accessible, designed for anyone curious about the deeper questions, whether they are longtime in their faith or simply exploring. Bishop Barron brings his distinctive perspective as a theologian and communicator to these dialogues, making complex ideas relatable. It’s a space for meaningful exploration, where faith is presented as a compelling force for understanding our world and our place within it. New episodes arrive weekly, continuing a long-running series of insightful commentary and analysis.
Episodes
WOF 526: The Early Days w/ Bishop Barron & Fr. Steve (pt. 1) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:24
Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. In 2025, Word on Fire Catholic Ministries celebr…
WOF 525: The Illative Sense (11 of 12) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:01
Since the mind can infer truths of which it does not have certainty, what judges the validity of an inference in concrete matters? The Illative Sense. It is the power of judging and concluding when not having apodictic c…
WOF 524: The Dangers of Life Becoming Too Easy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:37
In a recent episode of the Joe Rogan show, evolutionary biologist and public intellectual Bret Weinstein observed that two emerging features of contemporary societies, especially, though not exclusively in the West, are…
WOF 523: The Grammar of Assent (10 of 12) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:03
An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent was Newman's most difficult work. While not a formal epistemology (theory of knowledge), Newman prompted a movement away from modern epistemology, stressing certainty that is best f…
WOF 522: What's It Like to Be a Catholic Bishop? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:15
St. Pope John Paul the II memorably observed that the Catholic Church comes from the eucharist and that the eucharist, in turn, comes from priests. As Bishop Barron noted in a recent letter to his diocese, "by an inescap…
WOF 521: The Philosophical Habit (9 of 12) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 22:19
Newman believed that a liberal arts education would instill a philosophical habit of mind in students, helping students reason to the foundational principles of every discipline and see how everything fits together. The…
WOF 520: Defending Religious Freedom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:35
Religious freedom, especially for Christians, is under attack across the globe, including in the West–including right here in the United States. Whether insidiously in the form of diversity, equity, and inclusion program…
WOF 519: The Queen of the Sciences (8 of 12) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:51
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,…
WOF 518: What Is the Christian Way of Caring for the Poor? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:22
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 intern…
WOF 517: The Idea of a University (7 of 12) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 20:40
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 i…