Father Robert Barron

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I ran across Father Robert Barron’s www.wordonfire.org website the other day. Watched a couple of his videos and downloaded his mp3 sermons. He seems great to this point and is obviously endorsed by Cardinal George. I don’t know why I haven’t come across him before. Does anyone have any more in-depth exposure to Fr. Barron’s ministry? I can’t remember him ever being on CAL.

Thanks in advance and God Bless…
 
I’ve seen a couple of his videos on youtube. He seems like a pretty knowledgeable guy.

But, I just found the vids a few days ago so I am new to his preaching as well.
 
I have watched some of his videos on YouTube. He is not very deep, he keeps everything fluffy.
 
geometer said:
I have watched some of his videos on YouTube. He is not very deep, he keeps everything fluffy.
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I don’t agree with this assessment. I think he’s philosophically and theologically very well trained but his videos are not meant to be college lectures - but rather he takes is learning and brings it down to the level where his audience (those not trained in philosophy and theology) can understand.

I’ve been following his videos for about 4-6 months and I find Fr. Barron to be very orthodox and the thing I like about him is that he makes a sincere effort to be inclusive of the whole Catholic Church in his talks. Even though he is very much in sync with the orthodox positions of the Church he isn’t overtly left or right. I find the way he handles this as very refreshing. E.g. in a recent video on the Vatican looking into the Religious Sisters in America he wasn’t intimidated to reveal that indeed there has been perhaps a certain degree of male dominance within the structure of the Church; in his estimation this was worse BEFORE Vatican Council II than after. But Fr. Barron drew the line on the position of nuns that thought that one could find a spirituality that went “beyond Jesus”. This, to Fr. Barron, was very problematic because according to the theology of the Church Jesus is the Logos and any other spiritual leader or philosophy can only reflect a portion of that light - but NEVER surpass it - NEVER. He then goes on to make the point that therefore the Church has a legitimate right to check into this situation - NOT because the Church is trying to dominate women - but because the Church has a valid concern to keep the integrity of what the Church has always held down through history in her theology in tact. That I don’t think demonstrates a shallow perspective at all; but one that demonstrates a keen understanding of the Church and her self understanding in light of her history and place in the world.

MonFrere
 
Fr. Barron’s been podcasting for a long time. If you want something deeper, you probably want to listen to a nice long .mp3 talk, not a video. 🙂
 
NewCatholic1207 said:
I ran across Father Robert Barron’s www.wordonfire.org website the other day. Watched a couple of his videos and downloaded his mp3 sermons. He seems great to this point and is obviously endorsed by Cardinal George. I don’t know why I haven’t come across him before. Does anyone have any more in-depth exposure to Fr. Barron’s ministry? I can’t remember him ever being on CAL.

Thanks in advance and God Bless…
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My absolute fave. My favorite video (which I tirelessly plug) on the new evangelization (brings the crowd out of their seats!) here (only 6 minutes) here:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/28/letting-the-life-out/

Some favorite biblical exegesis (Barron and others) – things I thought I knew until I read his take on them:

The parable of the prodigal son:
payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/10/05/the-parable-of-the-prodigal-son/

The quirkiness of the gospel of Mark:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/07/15/an-alabaster-jar-broken-open-a-songburst-on-the-eve-of-execution-a-humiliated-man-now-become-an-angel-the-quirkiness-of-the-passion-according-to-mark/

And the false opposition of faith and reason:

payingattentiontothesky.com/2009/06/15/the-false-opposition-of-faith-and-reason/

Fluff? Gimme a break.

dj
 
geometer said:
I have read the sources. The source material is very good… But it always was.
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Fr. Barron is a popularizer of the faith as was/is Avery Cardinal Dulles, Fr. Romano Guardini, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa and others. I feature all of them on my site as they have helped me access and understand the theology of thinkers such as Hans Urs von Balthazar and Karl Rahner. They have marvelous abilities to take the complex and render it simple and enjoyable, if not unforgettable.

It takes a special kind of person to accomplish that and I think you’re being a little too dismissive (if not pompous) in your opinion and not appreciative enough of the role priests like Fr. Barron and others on EWTN play.

dj
 
djeter said:
Fr. Barron is a popularizer of the faith as was/is Avery Cardinal Dulles, Fr. Romano Guardini, Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa and others. I feature all of them on my site as they have helped me access and understand the theology of thinkers such as Hans Urs von Balthazar and Karl Rahner. They have marvelous abilities to take the complex and render it simple and enjoyable, if not unforgettable.

It takes a special kind of person to accomplish that and I think you’re being a little too dismissive (if not pompous) in your opinion and not appreciative enough of the role priests like Fr. Barron or Fr.Corapi and others on EWTN play. Your ability to read or understand the deeper sources of their presentations is wonderful and is a great gift. Your disparagement of these popularizers and their role in the life of the Church is less than admirable.

In Christ,

dj
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