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What Do Their Deaths Demand? Christian Persecution Today
- GenresChristian
71 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 13, 2026
About the author
Robert Barron
225 books894 followersBishop Robert Emmet Barron is an acclaimed author, speaker, and theologian. He is the former Francis Cardinal George Professor of Faith and Culture at Mundelein Seminary near Chicago and also is the founder of Word On Fire (www.WordOnFire.org).
Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.
Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.
Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.
In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.
Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.
Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.
DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.
YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.
Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h
Bishop Barron is the creator and host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking ten-part documentary series and study program about the Catholic faith. He is a passionate student of art, architecture, music and history, which he calls upon throughout his global travels in the making of the documentary.
Word On Fire programs are broadcast regularly on WGN America, Relevant Radio, CatholicTV, EWTN, the popular Word on Fire YouTube Channel, and the Word on Fire website, which offers daily blogs, articles, commentaries, and over ten years of weekly sermon podcasts. In 2010, Father Barron was the first priest to have a national show on a secular television network since the 1950s.
Fr. Barron received his Masters Degree in Philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington DC in 1982 and his doctorate in Sacred Theology from the Institut Catholique in 1992. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1986 and has been a professor of systematic theology at the nation's largest Catholic seminary, the University of St. Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary since 1992. He was visiting professor at the University of Notre Dame in 2002 and at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in 2007. He was also twice scholar in residence at the Pontifical North American College at the Vatican.
In addition, Fr. Barron lectures extensively in the United States and abroad. Cardinal Francis George calls Fr. Barron “one of the Church’s best messengers.
Fr. Barron was baptized at Queen of All Saints Basilica in Chicago and grew up at St. John of the Cross parish in Western Springs, Illinois.
WordOnFire.org - Fr. Barron's website launched in 1999 and currently draws over 1 million visitors a year from every continent. Fr. Barron posts weekly video clips, commentaries and radio sermons and offers an audio archive of over 500 homilies. Podcasts of his sermons are widely used by tens of thousands of visitors each month.
TV - EWTN (The Eternal Word Television Network) and CatholicTV broadcasts Fr. Barron's DVDs to a worldwide audience of over 150 million people.
Radio - Since 1999, Fr. Barron's weekly Word on Fire program has been broadcast in Chicago (WGN) and throughout the country (Relevant Radio - 950 AM Chicago) to 28 million listeners in 17 states. Fr. Barron also is a regular commentator on the "Busted Halo Show" on the Sirius satellite radio network based in New York.
DVDs - Fr. Barron's DVDs are used as powerful faith formation tools in universities, schools, churches and homes around the country. The series includes Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Lively Virtues; Faith Clips; Conversion: Following the Call of Christ; and Untold Blessing: Three Paths to Holiness.
YouTube - With over 180 online video commentaries by Fr. Barron, over 1 million viewers worldwide have made him the most popular of any evangelist on YouTube. These frequent, high-quality productions include brief and lively theological reviews of contemporary culture, including movies such as No Country for Old Men, Apocalypto, and The Departed, a three-part critical review of Christopher Hitchen's book God is Not Great, The Discovery Channel's The Jesus Tomb, the HBO series "The Sopranos", "Rome" and more.
Missions - MISSION CHICAGO features evangelization lectures by Fr. Barron at the behest of Cardinal George. These special missions and presentations throughout the Archdiocese are centered in downtown Chicago and attract business, civic, and cultural leaders.
Books - His numerous books and essays serve as critical educational and inspirational tools for seminarians, priests, parishioners and young people worldwide. His published works are also central to the numerous retreats, workshop and talks that h
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 11, 2026
I received this in the mail the other day, for free, with a request for a donation (of course!) As I strongly support persecuted Christians, it was a welcome solicitation, although I will probably donate to Voice of the Martyrs.
This is an excellent and - sadly - timely book. Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world, though the least acknowledged and reported. Attacks against Muslims and Jews result in huge media outcry though they are less frequent and extensive. More Christians were martyred in the last, the 20th, century than in all the previous centuries combined.
As fellow Christians, we are called to stand in solidarity with those who have given their lives, are risking them every day to share our faith and/or suffer either through enforced incarceration or the long term effects of torture. What can we do? We can assist through prayer, advocacy, financial support and personal witness ++. Just because we aren't experiencing direct personal persecution now doesn't mean we're exempt from what the church as a whole suffers, nor as followers of Jesus Christ can we expect a life free from suffering for Him.
If we love Him, we will be called at some point to witness to that love.
This is an excellent and - sadly - timely book. Christians are the most persecuted religion in the world, though the least acknowledged and reported. Attacks against Muslims and Jews result in huge media outcry though they are less frequent and extensive. More Christians were martyred in the last, the 20th, century than in all the previous centuries combined.
As fellow Christians, we are called to stand in solidarity with those who have given their lives, are risking them every day to share our faith and/or suffer either through enforced incarceration or the long term effects of torture. What can we do? We can assist through prayer, advocacy, financial support and personal witness ++. Just because we aren't experiencing direct personal persecution now doesn't mean we're exempt from what the church as a whole suffers, nor as followers of Jesus Christ can we expect a life free from suffering for Him.
If we love Him, we will be called at some point to witness to that love.
April 25, 2026
What do they ask,
the martyrs,
of those who hear them,
who know
the story, the cry,
who know what brought
our land to this grief?
What do their deaths demand?
-Denise Levertov
(British-American Poet, 1923-1997)
“El Salvador: Requiem and Invocation"
the martyrs,
of those who hear them,
who know
the story, the cry,
who know what brought
our land to this grief?
What do their deaths demand?
-Denise Levertov
(British-American Poet, 1923-1997)
“El Salvador: Requiem and Invocation"
June 4, 2026
The blood of martyrs is the seed of Christians
Very informative about the persecution of people of a strong religious faith. Although those who suffer do not condemn, yet their very lives is seen by the persecutors as condemnation of their non-religious way of life…..and this excites anger and persecution. But in God’s eyes this suffering is not valueless (cfr Colossians 1.24). And there is a wonderful reward in the afterlife.
Very informative about the persecution of people of a strong religious faith. Although those who suffer do not condemn, yet their very lives is seen by the persecutors as condemnation of their non-religious way of life…..and this excites anger and persecution. But in God’s eyes this suffering is not valueless (cfr Colossians 1.24). And there is a wonderful reward in the afterlife.
June 20, 2026
Quick, yet powerful. A witness to the often overlooked martyrs of our time. Their stories, and the message that Bishop Barron provides, is immensely pertinent to the time we live in. The persecution of Christians is overlooked in the west, and as western Christians, we need to know the scope of persecution around the world.
April 21, 2026
AN EYE-OPENER
I found this book to be a real surprise. I had no idea that the persecution of Christians was so widespread. I recommend this book to anyone interested in freedom of religion.
I found this book to be a real surprise. I had no idea that the persecution of Christians was so widespread. I recommend this book to anyone interested in freedom of religion.
May 22, 2026
Very quick and INFORMATIVE read
June 13, 2026
A must read for all Christians. Informative, shocking, sad and inspiring. Bishop Barron explains the spiritual dynamics of what is happening. There is something each one of us can do …
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews