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PODCAST

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture

Bishop Robert Barron

Join Bishop Robert Barron for a weekly podcast on faith and culture. Find more episodes at http://WordOnFireShow.com and submit your questions at http://AskBishopBarron.com.

religion & spirituality christianity

All Episodes

22:29

WOF 527: Reason and Authority (12 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2026/02/02

The Enlightenment believed reason was its own authority. Heteronomous authority was anathema. Autonomy was the ideal. Thus, the Church's hierarchical structure was viewed as enslaving. In light of this critique, Newman offered an insightful defense of freedom and truth in the Catholic Church. Topics Covered: Consulting the faithful in matter of doctrine Conscience Reason and authority Bishops and theologians Links: Article: Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church Video:

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32:24

WOF 526: The Early Days w/ Bishop Barron & Fr. Steve...

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2026/01/26

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 celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. And in October of that same year, Bishop Barron and Word on Fire CEO Fr. Steve Grunow gave a presentation at the Good News Conference in Orlando in which the two men took a deep dive into Word on Fire's origins. How did it begin? What were its

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22:01

WOF 525: The Illative Sense (11 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2026/01/19

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 certainty. Bishop Barron explores Newman's analysis of the Illative Sense, explaining why it is an essential element in religious conversion. Topics Covered: The Illative Sense The nature of certainty Formal Inference Informal Inference Links: Read: The

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37:37

WOF 524: The Dangers of Life Becoming Too Easy

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2026/01/12

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 challenging the very meaning and purpose of human life: 1) the decoupling of human sexuality from human reproduction—defining sex primarily as recreational and 2) with the rise of AI and robotics, the real possibility that having a job will become entirely optional in the future. By

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21:03

WOF 523: The Grammar of Assent (10 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2026/01/05

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 found in logic and mathematics, to common sense epistemology, affirming truth that is not absolutely certain. Bishop Barron explains why this epistemology is proper to religious knowledge, which includes notional and real assent. Topics Covered: Why assent is not

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42:15

WOF 522: What's It Like to Be a Catholic Bishop?

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/12/29

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 inescapable logic [therefore] no priests, no Church." We should add, however, that priests come from bishops, which expands the ecclesial logic to this: no bishops, no priests; no priests, no eucharist; no eucharist, no church. In other words, bishops not only hold an important

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22:19

WOF 521: The Philosophical Habit (9 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/12/22

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 philosophical habit of mind distinguishes between significance and triviality, helping society and individuals order everything to the Good. Topics Covered: Pattern recognition Sapientia Useless education is useful Advantages and disadvantages of the philosophical

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36:35

WOF 520: Defending Religious Freedom

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/12/15

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 programs that block Christians from employment and advancement opportunities, or, overtly, like vandalism against churches, or, in some parts of the world, murderous violence against Christians themselves, in terms of sheer numbers–and this fact is often ignored–Christians are, by far, the

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20:51

WOF 519: The Queen of the Sciences (8 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/12/08

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

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42:22

WOF 518: What Is the Christian Way of Caring for the...

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/12/01

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

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20:40

WOF 517: The Idea of a University (7 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/11/24

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/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast

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40:31

WOF 516: How to Have a Civil Debate in a Polarized World

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/11/17

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

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22:40

WOF 515: Developments Contrasted with Corruptions (6...

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/11/10

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

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40:31

WOF 514: Celebrating St. John Henry Newman Becoming a...

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/11/03

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

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21:59

WOF 513: The Play of Lively Minds (5 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/10/27

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

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21:00

WOF 512: The Development of Christian Doctrine (4 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/10/20

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

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21:07

WOF 511: Newman as a Catholic (3 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/10/13

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

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21:03

WOF 510: Newman as an Anglican (2 of 12)

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/10/06

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/

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20:17

WOF 509: The Importance of St. John Henry Newman (1...

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/09/29

In this lesson, Bishop Barron introduces St. John Henry Newman and explains his theological significance in his own day and ours. He is a pivotal player in Church history, being compared to St. Thomas Aquinas for his brilliance. Topics Covered: Major themes in Newman's writings Biography of St. John Henry Newman Influence on Vatican II Apologia Pro Vita Sua Links: Article: Two False Newmans Book: Newman: His Life and Legacy NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire

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19:17

WOF 508: How to Build on Conversion Momentum

The Word on Fire Show - Catholic Faith and Culture ·

2025/09/22

We recently looked at some of the reasons that may be contributing to the resurgence or interest in Catholicism out in the culture. Today, we look at five suggestions on how we can preserve that momentum and hopefully increase it. 00:00 | Introduction 00:40 | Bishop Barron’s European trip to film new documentary 02:45 | The importance of a thinking Catholicism 06:18 | Recovering Catholic beauty 09:40 | Increasing online Catholic presence 12:51 | Continuing to engage the culture 14:54 | Examining

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