Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire

by Robert Barron

About the Book Chapter I. God Chapter II. Jesus Christ Chapter III. Life in Christ Chapter IV. Revelation Chapter V. The Church Chapter VI. The Human Person Chapter VII. Holiness Chapter VIII. Evangelization Chapter IX. Challenges to Faith

Genres: Catholic, Theology, Christianity, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Religion, Christian

188 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2020

About the author

Bishop 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

Reviews

[Tom LA · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who’s been following the work of Bishop Robert Barron since the publication of his “Catholicism” DVDs (and I realize I’m writing at a time when DVDs are practically dying), I love everything about his mission to evangelize the culture through old and new media.

His Word on Fire Institute publishes beautiful and fundamental books. His style is often very intellectual, at least compared to your average public communicator of the 21st century, but never self-centered, and that’s the best way to teach christianity, because religion is NOT as easy as our culture makes it to be, starting from the most basic of things: the definition of “God”, which most people we know - if we were to ask them - would get horribly wrong.

This book offers some distilled passages from books, conference talks, articles, in a way that perfectly encapsulates the theological points that Bishop Barron has been pushing forward with most intensity during his ministry.

What do YOU worship?

[Eileen O'Finlan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little book is a treasure trove of the wisdom of Bishop Robert Barron. It was written to express the essence of Barron's Word on Fire ministry and Word on Fire Institute - an online school for learning about the Catholic faith and how to evangelize in it. Centered: The Spirituality of Word on Fire is a composite of quotes from Barron's other books, talks, and homilies, each being no more than a paragraph.

Robert Barron is my favorite contemporary spiritual leader and I love his books, videos, and talks. I highly recommend these to anyone interested in understanding the Catholic faith. Bishop Barron has an enormous talent for developing ideas and presenting them in a way that is understandable, but never condescending. He never insults the intelligence of the reader/listener. (Though occasionally, you might want to have a dictionary handy!) So for anyone new to Barron, this book might be just right as it offers a glimpse of his teachings on a wide variety of theological topics. On the other hand, my own preference is for a full treatise on a given topic so I can really get the in-depth teaching.

[Julia]

Little bits from various other books. I prefer reading the original in it's entirety. I don't get enough context from single paragraphs.

[Yk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a blessing in itself. I feel like I have breathed in the essence of Catholicism to live through this post-modern world with a purpose of being part of the Theo-Drama of my Lord and my God.

[Lynnette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection of Bishop Barron quotes, organized by topic.

[Isaac Montgomery · Rating 2 out of 5]

Since this book was written for Catholics to be able to defend their faith, it wasn't incredibly helpful as an intro to Catholicism for a non-Catholic. It felt a little disjointed and fell into some lazy rhetoric, especially in spots I had hoped would be the most detailed and thoughtful.

And the very last paragraph took a sharp turn--instead of concluding with the beauty or mercy of God or the faith or the church or ANYTHING, it randomly parroted some stupid YouTube grifter's video "owning the libs" about gender. What? Why?? Why did we move from referencing Aquinas and Augustine and Barth and O'Connor to some off-Broadway Charlie Kirk? Confusing, irritating, and honestly served to undermine the message of the book.

Catholicism is an insanely rich intellectual tradition that is deeply misunderstood by Protestants and non-Christians alike. Reading this book probably made me less likely to become Catholic, but gave me moderately more understanding and respect for the practice overall. It's just too bad Barron decided to conclude it how he did.

[Todd · Rating 3 out of 5]

A small and handy summary of some modern Catholic theology. It is very wave-tops and does not delve into depth on any topic, but each of the selections are excerpted from Bishop Robert Barron's other works or talks, and are cited for those wishing to dive deeper. Some readers may find it the worst of both world, enough theology to rattle the brain, but not enough to really explain. Those with more familiarity with the ideas Bishop Barron raises may find it a reminder to carry for reference. For those really interested in a deep but understandable dive into theology, I strongly recommend Frank Sheed's Theology and Sanity. Perhaps reducing this to only a work of theology does not do it full credit; after all, Bishop Barron is about coaching his followers into becoming evangelists, but this work is still centered on ideas rather than how-to or techniques per se. Some highlights from Bishop Barron's Centered below:

the contents of this book are aligned with the Eight Principles of Word on Fire. These principles are: unwavering Christocentrism; evangelization of the culture; special commitment to the new media; rooted in the Mystical Body; leading with beauty; affirmative orthodoxy; collaborative apostolate; and grounding in the Eucharist. (p ii)

To be sure, Christians should never enter the public arena violently, aggressively, or in meanness of spirit for such a move would undermine the very principles we are endeavoring to propagate. But we should do so boldly and confidently, for we are not announcing a private or personal spirituality, but rather declaring a new King under whose lordship everything must fall. (p 17, emphasis in original)

The Resurrection is being presented here as an affirmation of Jesus to be sure, but also as a judgment on those who stood opposed to Jesus. St Peter holds it up as the surest sign possible that God stands athwart the injustice, stupidity, and cruelty of the world and its leaders. (p 27)

No country, leader, political party, culture, civilization, moral ideal, or rival god can compete with the one God. (p 53)

The Church is that society, that Mystical Body, in which people learn to see with the eyes of Christ and to walk the path that Christ walked. (p 57)

Jesus is not offering a doctrine, a theology, or a set of beliefs. He is offering himself: become my disciple; apprentice to me. (p 61)

In his love, God cannot allow his fallen world to remain in alienation; rather, he must do the hard work of drawing it back into communion. And this means that God is continually about the business of sacrifice. (p 64)

Adam and Eve at play freely in the field of the Lord represent humanity as God intended: intelligent, creative, engaged, joyfully alive. (p 74)

criticize someone precisely in the measure that you are willing to help that person deal with the problem that you have raised...one could be perfectly right in one's criticism, but morally wrong if that critique is not made in the real desire to ameliorate the problem. (p 88)

no vision or experience of God is ever given for the edification of the visionary; rather, it is given for the sake of mission. (p 104)

there is indeed a middle ground between violent imposition and bland subjectivizing indifference (p 109)

The principle is that the only meaningful statements are those that can be confirmed through empirical observation and experimentation; and yet, that very principle is not confirmable in such a manner. Where or how does one observe or experimentally verify the assertion that meaningfulness is reducible to that which can be observed through the senses? (p 131)


Overall a decent read, and a short one at that, but not amazing by any stretch. If Bishop Barron intended on more of a how-to-evangelize book, I would like to see him do a Catholic version of Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals. If it's theology, then there are also many other more meaty offerings. As a quick refresher or pocket daily reminder, I suppose it serves a purpose.

[David Selsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular book. Like many fans(?) of Father Robert Barron the world over, I could read Father Barron, or listen to him, for hours. He is a profoundly gifted thinker and explainer of the Catholic faith. This slim volume compiles ideas of his, presented as paragraph-length entries, taken from the many texts he has published over the years. A fair number of the entries also come from talks, his podcast, and elsewhere. It doesn't matter where they come from, as almost all of them are brilliant. I don't know what else to say about Father Barron. Listen to his podcast "Word on Fire," buy whatever books he has published. I've read "The Priority of Christ," "Catholicism," and "Thomas Aquinas, Spiritual Master," and probably others I can't think of off the top of my head. He is an exquisite thinker, and exquisite writer, and exquisite explainer of sometimes knotty, seemingly intractable theological truths. He is patient, warm, funny, clever, light-hearted, profound, and generous. In sum, Father Robert Barron is a national treasure and a gift to Catholics the world over.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For context, this book is a collection of quotes from many sources of media from Bp. Robert Barron from not only his published books, but also podcast episodes and talks he has given. It was neat to be able to remember quotes I've read from other works and also to see new ones to draw me to look at more of his works and re-listen/watch talks he's given. Much like the Catechism, the book is well-organized to move from the high point of how we describe God in how Catholicism understands Him (Ipsum Esse - to be, being itself), to Jesus, to imitating Jesus' life, and continue to cascade to the Church, our own personal lives, morality, virtues, daily life, and so on. I really liked it because I'm a huge Word on Fire and Bp. Barron fan. However, for people not familiar with his works, I would first look at his Catholicism book, as it gives much more context and detail to most of the themes in this book.

[Robert Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

What this one is, essentially, is a collection of quotations by the Bishop on a variety of topics, arranged according to subject matter. It’s a short, quick little read that will probably appeal mostly to Catholics. Non-Catholics interested in understanding Catholic thought might also get something out of it, and I think there are a few bits that will give just about anyone something to think about. But overall, it’s a concise and well-written exploration of Catholic spirituality, so whether or not readers are interested in it will probably depend entirely upon their own religious views.

Readers who’ve read a great deal of the Bishop’s other works won’t find anything original here, as it’s entirely extracted from his prior writings. But those who haven’t read his writing before and are curious about his thinking will find it to be a worthy introduction.

[Atlantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was sent to me as part of my subscription to Word on Fire. It is essentially a collection of quotes from other media produced by Bishop Barron sectioned off by topic. There is little to no conjecture or extrapolations going on as the quotes are presented as statements to introduce (assumed) the essence of what his mission through Word on Fire is trying to convey. Take that for what you will. If you are a new Catholic or someone who is curious to know more about the Catholic Faith this would be a nice supplementary reading to introduce you to other works, stories, etc. I would also recommend the YouCat which is the youth version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in a more user-friendly format.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I finally got around to reading this. It's not what I expected; it's an assemblage of sentence or paragraph extracts from a dozen or two of Bishop Barron's works in a variety of formats (essays, books, talks, homilies). It would be a good starting point for identifying others of his works if you wanted his take on any of a variety of issues.

One thing that struck me, again, after reading this is that Bishop Barron is focused--like Scripture itself, to a great extent--on confronting self-satisfied, general egotists. Those of us sunk in another corner of human misery, like openly self-hating addiction and depression, do need to go find other resources in order to see the side of Jesus and his Father that we need.

[Sarah Ashour · Rating 3 out of 5]

The compilation/per paragraph format was not what I expected, nor was it exactly my type of book. I love Bishop Barron's work and Word on Fire, but because I do and have seen or read much of his ideas, this collection didn't offer much new. However, taking it as doing what it is supposed to do (summarizing and sorting his content), it does that well, giving just enough to make the point without going too lengthy. This collection is also good for personal meditation and prayer. Just take a paragraph a day!

[Connor Kmiecik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a collection of snippets from Bishop Barron’s books, articles, homilies, and talks that highlight the spiritual and theological principles that form the base of Word on Fire. If you follow Bishop Barron’s stuff then none of this will be new to you. I am a big fan of Bishop Barron and a big believer in Word on Fire so I liked getting all of this in one place, it was a good refresher and reminder of the basics.

[Marty Langlois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read!

This book is a great compilation of Bishop Barron’s books, homilies, sayings etc. It was refreshing to get a more direct, simplified, yet enriching approach to the different aspects of the Catholic faith, especially in light of the challenges we face in the post-modern era.

[May It Glorify Christ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed this book. It sat on my shelf all through the pandemic and it wasn’t until I picked it up last week that I remembered how much I enjoyed going to a coffee shop and reading. It is a great book full of small paragraphs that do nothing but remind you of the glory of God and his love for us and how it is only right for us ti give him thanks for our lives.

[Matthew Cummings · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good summary of Barron's thought.

This book is a collection of brief excerpts from Bishop Barron's works. Bringing in key theses from his books, articles, and talks, he presents his main ideas in a very concise manner. Most of this will be familiar territory for those who have read or listened to the bishop for any period of time, but the book serves its stated goal effectively.

[Bernie Tomasso · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellenet insight into spirituality
I am a follower of Bishop Barron and have taken some of his Word on Fire courses. This book explains why Word on Fire exists and its importance to Catholicism and religion today. As a former employee of the Roman Catholic Church, it resonated with me on many levels and deepened my appreciation for my Church. I also saw many applications to our present societial issues.

[Dennis]

Excellent!

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

a 2 hour read, worth pondering far longer...far far longer

[Mary Ellen Barringer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This small volume organizes many of Bishop Barron's writings into various categories. It's packed with short reflection for thought and prayer.

[Cj Miguel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent snippets of various writings. A good summation of some of the core ideas Robert Barron returns to again and again.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many gems throughout. I'll probably read this again immediately. Because I really liked the content, and because I'm pretty sure I missed something.

[Reuben Nuxoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bishop Barron pithy and pertinent written remarks are presented in a way that reveals what Word on Fire is about. It is apropos for our culture and times.

[Ricardo Amaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tidbits of wisdom and insight

[Ashley Pickett · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very digestible explanation of important theological concepts!