Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org
It's a good question. The answer is that there are two fundamental moves of the will. The first is to desire an absent good,and the second is to rest in a present good. When we want the absent good of our neighbor, we are said to love that person, and when we rest in the present good of God, we are said to love him.
Bishop Barron. I am discerning right now. I have to thank you for your channel. There is just a wealth of knowledge on this channel and you are always so cheerful when speaking. God is great. Your speaking skills are too! Have a blessed life and keep the faith as colorful as you present it.
The life of a Christian is nothing but a perpetual struggle against self; there is no flowering of the soul to the beauty of its perfection except at the price of pain." 😇 Padre Pio 🙏🏻4us
Interesting analogy. I like the healing part best. So these people need Love. So we will pray for them even though it seems remote. I will listen to Father's lecture here again and now that I am not so distracted maybe I can learn something about Love and healing. I know Love heals everything!
It's nice to hear that you are the type of Catholic who values all of the members of your church, even those that you perhaps disagree with, or those that may take issue with certain teachings of the Catholic church. That's not a sentiment you hear from some of the most prominent Catholic voices where "conform or get out" seems to be the motto.
Indeed, it is in the loving of the other for the sake of the other that one truly experiences the sublime and divine paradox. It is in willing the good of the other and then doing something about it as Fr. Barron puts it that one offers their personal "fiat" to God. For in the sacrifice of self one truly is offorded the opportunity of knowing that what one does for the least of our brothers we do for Jesus! Love is action!
Faith is a trusting confidence in God. Hope is the conviction that God is the sovereign Lord. Love is wanting the good of the other and doing something concrete about it.
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death or mourning, wailing or pain, [for] the old order has passed away.” Rev. 21:4. Jesus said that the "new heavens and the new earth" are the definitive realization of the kingdom of God. We still see death, mourning, wailing and pain in this life, now. Our present reality can't be it. In addition, as I stated before, we don't see Him "face to face" I Cor. 13:12; we are not currently like Him I Jn 3:2; and our bodies
Have you ever fallen in love? Reason is certainly involved, but there is a move beyond reason as well. Authentic faith is something like that, only the one you're falling in love with is God.
I really like the notion of love as an act of the will. This give hope that this most used, abused and tired word of our times can be reconquered and thus get its true meaning back; the essence of life
It is so good to hear the discussion of these terms from a Catholic Priest. I agree with his closing statement that we need to "put some teeth back into these theological virtues"! Well said! If only I could get our local diocese and parishes to adopt such thinking, they unfortunately have for to long marched down the progressive road of nice and accepting. I am but one lone voice in the woods, but silenced I will not be. Thank you as always for a thought provoking video. God Bless.
This never ceases to amaze me. When I was a Protestant I would have said something similar to this: This is the ideal, I seek to live up to it, I have made progress. This kind of self judging and self reassurance. Catholic, however, in deference to the evangelical counsels, particularly humility, say "No, absolutely not, every thought of my heart, every word, every deed seem tainted by some selfish preoccupation here, some justification there, some grasping after recognition here, some
The message of this video is of such importance - you could even go as far as to say vital. The millions of people locked into the narrow and dark mind set that faith in God is to be relegated to the dark ages as a primitive and ignorant view-point need to understand what Fr Barron is explaining here. I have an up most respect for atheists who use their brains, but they need to engage with and study real, intelligent and authentic Christian teaching to make an informed decision. God Bless WOF.
Thanks Father Barron, I really like the way that you talk, I can understand you, because you go to the root of the situations, make good examples with different people, and also I love the videos and CDs that you are talking.
I'm sure Father Barron is more than aware of what our relationship with our Lord is supposed to be. That goes without saying. But it is our love of neighbor that is the issue. Love in its true context in is not only courtesy and emotion. Jesus asked Peter in John 21 "Do you love me?" three times and Peter replies "Yes, you know I love you". Jesus then responds to Peter to make sure he tends His sheep (lead the lambs of His new and eternal covenant in His pasture). That is real love, friends.
6:43 - "Hope isn't naive, just as faith isn't naive. It's a trust in the ultimate sovreignty of God...Ultimately God is in charge in His creation, and in that I put my confidence." Need to hear this; need to sustain my faith. Faith needs to be fed. "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:24)
I absolutely agree that we conform ourselves to the Church and its teachings in the same way that a soccer player plays by all of the soccer rules if he is on a soccer team. What I meant by "controversial homily" was that the pastor and the deacon got the ugliest emails from parishioners on both sides of the issue that left them dazed by people's hatefulness toward others.
His intent was clear. As Jesus taught us, to show love to our fellow man, not in the modern way by showing acceptance, but by sharing with them truth and love of putting their interest before our own.
And on hope....hope is a very simple word to understand. "A sense that things will improve". Your push for a different meaning will just lead to more equivocation problems. From my experience with religion this is perhaps what you want.
Jesus Christ came to make us one with Himself - to unite us to Himself. Jesus Christ came that we might become the Body of Christ, mystically united to His humanity, to be found in Him, to become divine.
The image of the Good Shepherd in John 10 shows how Jesus the Shepherd is united to his sheepfold (the Church). "I am the good shepherd, and I know mine and mine know me."
"But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard “delay,” but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." II Peter 3: 8, 9.
Only according to Mike Gantt, and according to him, everyone has just as much authority as anyone else in their atomistic, individual, personal Bible reading and interpretation.
There are 4 things I know with absolute certainty: that I exist, that I am conscious, that there are some experiences I like and some I don't, and that I don't know everything. I have faith that some phenomena in my consciousness represent sense data that tell me of a world outside myself. I have faith that some of the beings I perceive are conscious like myself. Life would be small, trivial and lonely without some form of faith.
His remarks fit well with your two clear definitions: “Belief in God without evidence” = his remarks of “faith is surrender; leap into darkness; and surrender on the far side of reason; leap into darkness beyond the place illumined by philosophy, science, and reason”. “Faith as trust” = his remarks of “trusting confidence in God who can’t be controlled by reason”.
Inspirational as always. I've learned so much by your youtube clips Fr. and multitude of keynote address's you've given. I appreciate the time your putting in. Now I'm trying to gather the rest of us sheep to follow; I'll try to lead with the beautiful.
I think it is important to distinguish between what has traditionally been recognized as the historic or traditional monotheistic religions: namely, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam on the one hand, and those religions so-called that while they have enjoyed varying degrees of popularity among certain groups of people, informed and professional theologians and apologists have questioned the veracity and authenticity either of their origins or their theology, etc. The Christian tradition (which
@ Mike Gantt (continued): iii.) You can't even be sure that the responses actually ARE Father Barron. He is a seminary professor, and the new rector of the entire seminary. His day is filled with meetings and policy and administrative decisions and then he may be meeting at the Archdiocese with the Archbishop. In addition he is shooting another video series on the New Evangelization, AND probably barely has enough time left over to make these weekly additions to the website. It is ENTIRELY
The so-called ontological argument is not a deduction from intra-mental premises to an extra-mental conclusion--as both its critics and advocates often say. Rather, it is witnessing to an experience of the properly unconditioned, which, by definition, transcends both the objective and the subjective. Look at my treatment of it in my book The Priority of Christ.
Just because people say they're Christian doesn't make them Christian. You have to act like a Christian to truly be one. Like it or not, there is an unchanging truth that is morality. People don't decide what is right or wrong, God does.
It can be illumined by many fields of science and philosophy but Your Grace Bishop Barron have possibly forgotten a tenet of the faith. The Franciscan Monk and I agreed in Jerusalem the following: faith is and forever will remain a profound mystery and mystical in nature. It can be understood and felt and even to a greater degree in 2017 rationally deduced that our faith is logical and justified. However, with respect to the facets of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, the greater mystery remains and we continue to search our hearts and souls through prayer and faith that the Way, Truth, and Life will remain in our lives as a light to ourselves and the world. Thank you for your video. The truth is in the bible. The error is to deny His word.
Although built on Aristotle's work, we would not have such a great understanding of logic and reason if not for people like John of Salsbury and Thomas Aquinas. Faith and reason cannot be at odds because without faith we wouldn't have the understanding of reason we know today.
From Pope B16: “Faith implies, therefore, knowing how to recognize the invisible by identifying the traces of it in the visible world. The believer can read the great book of nature and understand its language,but the Word of revelation, which stimulates faith, is necessary for man to achieve full awareness of the reality of God as Creator and Father. It is in the book of Sacred Scripture that human intelligence can find, in the light of faith, the interpretative key to understand the world.”
Our Risen Lord asks St. Paul, "Why persecutest thou ME?". To persecute Christ's disciples, our fellow man, IS to persecute God for He is their Creator and their Redeemer. Perhaps Father Barron's focus is on this aspect of the twofold command to Love the Lord thy God, and thy neighbor as thyself and how it can encompass both.
I attend Mass, the heavens are opened and we, for a brief instant, participate in the Heavenly Liturgy, but then return to "Go, the Mass is ended". But we do not see "face to face" as in eternally, not yet...
seeking after control there. When I was a Protestant I would say to myself in self-justification, Wow, he must be a really bad guy. In reality, it was an expression of humility and realization that, this side of the Jordan, we can never give up the fight. It also amazed me that when, as a Protestant, I asked a Catholic if they were saved, assuming that I was because I had made an altar call, they would respond "I hope so". My assumption was that they should know so, but in reality their
It seems to me an awfully big leap from "I can see this person exists" to "I want to dedicate my life to loving this person with all my heart and soul."
Jesus did what was commissioned of Him, "Lo in the volume of the book, it is written of Me, I have come to do your will, O Lord", and to which He lovingly and willingly accomplished, "My will is to do the will of Him who sent Me". His Father's living will.
@Mike Gantt Hi Mike, as one of those followers of Christ and his Church, (I'm more of a subscriber to Fr Barron..), I would really recommend Fr Barron's earlier clip which comments on "Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus," and perhaps another clip of his regarding authority - I don't remember the name. God Bless, E .
I know but interestingly enough many people actually talk about how the contemplating of those document in agreement with scripture, they saw its great connection to the catholic church. While not all of them focused or read them many did convert. Cardinal John Newman & oxford movement Deacon Alex Jones led a Church & wanted to make his service like early church by reading early writings. He converted along with some of his church Jimmy Akin(convert) & Mike Aquilina made books on this topic
I'd more express it this way. Grace (not actually faith) is a total gift from God. Faith is man's response to that grace and therefore, in itself "somewhat human" in its origin - BUT - faith needs grace to take hold and thereafter sustenance. Therefore, the argument for the relationship between grace and faith is linear, not circular in nature. No-doubt wiser theologians than I could far better clarify. Best wishes to all...
meant at St. John 17:21: "so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me". It is what St. Paul meant at Col. 1:27: "God chose to make known the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; it is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
There is this little thing called the First Ammendment of the U. S. Constitution that says no one should make any law that "prohibits the free exercise thereof" (that is, that impedes on any Church or denomination's ability to practice their religion either privately or in the public square according to the dictates of their own religion and conscience). From the fall of the Roman empire when secular Romans were killing their children and Christians rescued them, the Church has promoted the
The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestant denominations believe that there are two periods to history: The first period of history is from the creation of the cosmos until the Incarnation of Christ (and by the Incarnation of Christ I am referring to the time from the very first moment of His conception until His death, Resurrection, and Ascension into heaven). The second period of history is from the Incarnation until the end of time, which
I think hope truly is the middle child! Rightly so, it falls under the shadow of love which is the greatest. But being up non-denominational (though now converting back to the Church), if ever there was talk of the theological virtues, hope rarely made the conversation.
yep but the sadest thing is to see how many denominations have risen & fallen on proclaiming a date for the coming of christ assuming that the holy spirit led them to those dates for even Jesus said no 1 knows the day or the hour Yes we should be ever ready just as the women with the lamps were ready to be taken up to the banquet and focus today on seeking God for if just so happens to be the last day then if our hearts truly want God then we would not procrastinate in our preparations for god
Love is not proud nor rude. Neither did Jesus "shake" unbelievers to turn from their sins. Rather, the Father drew them to Him. You cannot control a person's life. Let God take care of it.
God is a Person. To understand faith, we do not need philosophy. We meditate the Jesus' Divine Life. "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?”* Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. " - Matt. 8:26 One transcendental quality of His Personality is Immovability. Seeing Him Rule (Lord over) is millions of times better than the realization of HIs immovable (faith) aspect in His servant. All philosophical knowledge (Word) is within His Life(Flesh)
Father, You quoted God's statement from Exodus 3:14 as "I am who I am". I see that quote in the Revised Standard Version, Catholic Version. In the Douay-Rheims the verse says "I am who am" To me "I am who am" speaks volumes. It seems to me that " I am who am" speaks more clearly to the point you were trying to make.
That's not a deeper definition of hope...it is just an example of hope. My experience ... I was Catholic for 20 years. I even spent a few years serving on the alter ... then I was agnostic .. then I did some research over the last few years where I became more and more aligned to Atheism as I understood religion more. It's clear to me that Christians love cloudy language and equivocating. Particularly the word 'faith'. Barron and yourself confirm that.
If you go to the Word on Fire webpage, you can view the NBC Nightly News video on the Pope's resignation which includes a very brief interview with Fr. Barron who says that an evangelical pope is needed...with tremendous communication skills.
Consider the following scenarios: A. I’m a Christian that (1) believes contraception is a moral good for society & (2) adheres to what you identify as a secular influence that “religious input” should be “excluded from public life.” What’s my stance on the HHS mandate? Despite the fact that I believe contraception would be a moral good for society, I believe that this religious conviction should not be allowed to affect public policy, therefore, I would oppose the HHS mandate.
Right on...one observation that I would make would be this...which comes first: the people of God or the Holy Scriptures? It seems to me that most people get this wrong. We do not take the Holy Scriptures and attempt to create the Church, rather, the Holy Scriptures come forth from the people of God by the power of the Holy Spirit. To deny the Church (as far as I can tell) is to deny the Holy Scriptures. But...they both belong together. Also, have you ever read the Tome of Leo the Great?
The Galileo issue is a lot more complicated than you make it seem. Galileo was actually allowed to discuss heliocentrism (though not advocate it outright), and a lot of his grief was caused by his decision to put the personal views of the Pope in the mouth of a character called Simplicio (Simpleton) in his 'Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'. I'm not saying the Church was right, but a lot more thought went into the case than the blind persecution of science.
Also worthy of attention is Lk 24: 13-35 - The Road to Emmaus, where Jesus is recognised in the breaking of the bread. The Bible is truth. The Bible is also a Catholic doccument, we didn't hijack it, we gave it to the world.
Friend, I take issue with fundamentalism all the time! I completely agree with you on that score. But there is much more than a critique of fundamentalism in the secularist ideology. There is a conscious and systematic shutting down of the transcendent dimension of life. That's why I oppose it. Also, in recent years, it has become particularly aggressive toward religion. Take a good look at the HHS mandate to see evidence of that aggression.
It really is telling when you play these games. When it suits you, you paraphrase doctrines in your own words, but when someone else does it you claim, 'those words aren't in Scripture'. When someone quotes Scripture you accuse them of parroting the party line of the Church, but when you do it, you are telling the "truth of Jesus Christ". Communion: union in common. The New Oxford Dictionary defines communion both as 'an intimate mutual exchange at the spiritual level'. It is what Jesus
God is a Person. The transcendentalists (church fathers, and holy ones) taught that everything is contained in the Life (Flesh) of Christ. Mental speculation of the limited human mind cannot take one to the platform of realization. Only surrender and the grace of His purification of our senses. Only then can one ceaselessly meditate on Our Lord's Life. If we are sincere, He will purify the senses and then the consciousness will realize His Glorious qualities in personal relation to Him.
A great comprehension of three core virtues of christianity but apart from the "war" between faith and reason I would have liked an explanation of "faith" as virtue. As well "love" only is potrayed as a decision of will. It would have been great to also mention it as love between God and men.
A similar question can also be posed in terms of how we love the saints -- they don't need anything from us. Hence, what *action* can we take to love them? And, if I'm not mistaken, the answer is an expression of "satisfaction" with the "target" of love, you "savor" the goodness or perfection. Just as when you work towards any goal. Upon completing it, you savor the goodness. You're satisfied. No?
