I had the privilege of hearing Dr. Billy Graham preach about 20 years ago in Cincinnati. At the time, Dr. Graham was around 80 years old and clearly in frail health.
Category: Word on Fire
America’s survey of women in the Church
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Last month, America magazine published a fascinating survey regarding the attitudes of women in the Church. They were kind enough to publish a few of my reactions to the study, but I would like, in this article, to offer a fuller response to their findings.
One of the most disturbing conclusions from the survey is that women are increasingly disengaging from the life of the Church. The America editors themselves observed that this does not bode well for evangelization, for women have traditionally played a crucial role in the passing on of the faith.
Applying ‘cleansing the temple’ to daily life
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Artistic representations of the 10 Commandments often depict two stone tablets on which there are two tables of inscriptions. This portrayal follows from a classical division of the commandments in which there are two specific categories — those that order humanity’s relationship with God and those that order human relationships with one another.
An evening with William Lane Craig
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Ten years ago, when I was a visiting scholar at the North American College in Rome, I fell into a spirited conversation with one of the seminarians about the state of evangelization in America.
We both were bemoaning the fact that the “new” atheists — Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, and others — were regularly attacking religion, and I commented that no Christian spokesman had managed to engage the enemies of the faith well on the public scene.
Downsizing and bigger matters of faith
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Spoiler Alert! This column reveals details of a newly released film.
When I saw the trailer for Alexander Payne’s new film, Downsizing, I thought the movie would be a light-hearted farce, relying principally on visual gags.
In point of fact, the jokes based on the contrast between regular-size people and their five-inch tall counterparts are surprisingly rare. Most of the film deals with events within the world of the downsized — so everything seems more or less normal.
Lady Bird and the breakthrough of grace
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Spoiler Alert! This column reveals details of a newly released film.
Greta Gerwig’s new film, Lady Bird, has taken the critics by storm. It is the most reviewed movie in the history of the website Rotten Tomatoes to have sustained a 100 percent positive rating, and it is receiving serious Oscar buzz for best picture, best director, and best actress.
Having seen the coming attractions, I knew it would be a quirky, offbeat comedy, but I had no idea that Lady Bird would be of considerable religious interest as well.
Advent: become a witness of waiting
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This column is the second part of Bishop Robert Barron’s essay on Advent anticipation.
So when I’m told that waiting seems to belong to the heart of the spiritual life, I’m not pleased, for here, too, I want answers, direction, clarity — and I want them pronto. I desire to feel happy and to know what God is up to; I need my life to make sense — now.
I’m pleased to live a spiritual life, but I want to be in charge of it and to make it unfold according to my schedule: Run Barron Run. All of this is profoundly antipathetic to the mood and spirit of Advent.
Advent and the many faces of anticipation
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This article is the first of two parts from Bishop Robert Barron.
Advent is the liturgical season of vigilance or, to put it more mundanely, of waiting. During the four weeks prior to Christmas, we light the candles of our Advent wreaths and put ourselves in the spiritual space of the Israelite people who, through many long centuries, waited for the coming of the Messiah (“How long, O Lord?”).
Black Elk and the call for catechists
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I write these words as the annual November meeting of the United States bishops comes to a close. We bishops discussed many significant matters — from racism and immigration to the liturgy for the baptism of children.
But I would like to emphasize one theme in particular that came up frequently in our conversations, namely, the catechesis of our young people. I have a rather intense personal interest in the topic since, at the conclusion of this gathering, I officially became chairman of the bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis.
Barron book released with faith and fire
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Bishop Robert Barron’s latest exploration into the life and truth of the Catholic faith, To Light a Fire on the Earth, was released recently.
To Light a Fire on the Earth is Bishop Barron’s anticipated follow-up to his book Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of Faith, which was released in 2011. This book differs from the first as it is written in partnership with Vatican journalist, John L. Allen, Jr.
The WordonFire website offers the synopsis shared below.