Fr. Barron comments on "The Ides of March" (SPOILERS)

[brenda4575]

Thank you Father,,your right,Must put God first ..and all the rest will follow ,,Look at where we are today with the Middle East and the corruption in so many countries,and I think alot of this destruction is because of Idol worshipping and Not putting the one True God first,,Jesus Christ,,this is My take on what you have said,,I have Not seen this Movie,but I think I will,,Thank you,Brenda

[onosurf]

Thanks for this review. It is excellent.

[GregariousGorilla]

If I was a film director, I would ask this guy to help me come up with a meaningful plot.

[imbonnie]

another great video. I always enjoy watching your videos.

[trajan75]

It wasn't the Paul Giamatti character who leaked to the media, it was the Philip Seymour Hoffman character who did the leaking. But it's an interesting take on the film, linking the subsequent betrayals to the initial statement of the candidate.

[BiffaTW]

I am not sure I would agree with making God -rather than- your family central to your life. I would say that the love for your family -is- in itself putting God at the centre of your life provided you dont forget that the source of love that sustains and makes your family is God. Therefore centralising (though not idolising) the family is precisely the same as centralising God. As is any centrality based upon 'true' love. True here meaning pure, good -ultimately 'of God'.

[wordonfirevideo]

@BiffaTW Sure, but then you're doing exactly what I'm recommending. You're finding that your love for your family nests in a deeper love for God.

[BiffaTW]

@wordonfirevideo I see, but one has to be careful as to how that comes accross, I don't think my love for my family is seperate from the love for God and therefore less deep; they are one and the same in that God is love. Therefore to truly love your family you must be centered on God, Is that what your saying?

[wordonfirevideo]

@BiffaTW No, they can't be precisely identical, for that would be idolatry, your family effectively becoming God. You have to love God first and your family for the sake of God. That's why Jesus said, "unless you love me more than your mother and father, you are not worthy of me."

[BiffaTW]

@wordonfirevideo Ok. So that then makes the love of the family worthwhile? I think I get it, thanks for this.

[onosurf]

@wordonfirevideo As noted above, we should follow the example of the Holy Mother and St. Joseph.

[onosurf]

@BiffaTW The Sicilian "Roman Catholic" Mafia puts family before God. If God come's first, you will surely do right by your family. Follow the example of The Holy Family. If the Holy Mother put her family before God, the outcome would have been different.

[BeingItself]

Idolatry is rampant among Catholics. Just look at the recent scandals.

The church leaders always choose to protect the church, rather than act for goodness itself.

[bayreuth79]

"When something other than God is put in that central position corruption will follow as the night follows the day".

This is rather ironic coming from a Roman Catholic priest. Since Fr Barron mentioned "ultimate concern", which is a phrase borrowed from Paul Tillich, I thought I'd quote Professor Tillich: "If the Church does not subject itself to the judgement pronounced by the Church, it becomes idolatrous towards itself. This is the tragedy of the Roman Catholic Church".

Insightful

[trajan75]

@bayreuth79 I don't think Tillilch is saying anything very profound or anything with which any sincere Catholic would disagree after all Dante put plenty of Popes and Bishops in his Inferno. But why are you following this blog?

[bayreuth79]

@trajan75 Why shouldn't I follow this blog? I listen to people I disagree as much as people I disagree with. Tillich's point goes deeper than you seem to think. I am aware of Dante and Petrarch and Savonarola, etcetera, and their denunciations of papal corruption. It seems to me that Tillich's remark is not just about bad popes, etc., but about a corrupt and idolatrous eccelsiology espoused by Catholics.

[trajan75]

@bayreuth79 If Tiliich thinks that he's a damn fool and he knows little about Catholicism. It remains the central faith of Christianity. The Trinity, Incarnation, the Eucharist and the Resurrection This is tacitly conceded by the very term Protestantism. All Christian denominations are in crisis, but main line Protestant faiths most of all. As to my last point I think that there is more to your interest in this blog than you are willing to concede. Anyway, I don't wish to change your views.

[braddyboy82]

Great video, Father! Points well-made across the board. Definitely a rebound from last week.

[DJDizzy113]

I cannot wait for the Oscar pool at my school! This film sounds like a winner.

[AnthonyofPadua16]

Should a Catholic ever vote for someone in favor of Abortion?

[kevdog88superstar]

Father barron, im 15 years old and im not %100 sure that i under stand who God is. Do u know any books or a website which would be able to help me ??

[wordonfirevideo]

@kevdog88superstar Take a look at some of my videos on God and arguments for God's existence. I will pray for you as you continue your quest.

[kevdog88superstar]

@wordonfirevideo arite thanks Father :)

[BalladoftheWindfish]

@kevdog88superstar I am going to PM you with some resources.

[BalladoftheWindfish]

@kevdog88superstar I am going to PM you with some resources.

[WSJenken]

@kevdog88superstar I'm not Father Barron but I will say that It is difficult to fully understand God. Don't let that discourage you from searching but rather keep yourself open to God's graces. Pray, and seek God through a relationship with him. When we are open and ready, god will speak to your heart (something which is difficult to describe fully).  Allow god to reveal himself to you through prayer. You are headed in the right direction.

[Mystagogia87]

It's silly to separate yourself from religion and then say you believe in the Constitution. If you take away God, you take away the ontological grounding that makes anything good in the constitution praiseworthy in the first place.

[Nemesis000000]

@Mystagogia87 That's an interesting thing to say since the constitution takes God out of government.

[CatandMaster]

@Nemesis000000 It takes the church out of the government, as much for the reason the Church of England abused the government as that the government abused other Churches. The arguments of John Locke (from which we get the "Pursuit of live liberty and happiness (he wrote property)) are entirely predicated upon the argument that GOD sees everyone equal thus every person starts off with equal rights. The Second Treatise of Government

[Nemesis000000]

@CatandMaster I don't know if I would want to count Locke as an ally if I were a Catholic. Libertarian except when it came to the rights Catholics, and he was more or less a deist who would surely be an atheist post-Darwin.

And yes, I recognize the separation of church and state is for the church's benefit too. It's still essentially an atheist document.

[Nemesis000000]

The Muslims who kill their daughters in the name of honour are putting God before family as well. I prefer to put family and community before anything.

[wordonfirevideo]

@Nemesis000000 Come on! Anyone who would do that has an extraordinarily bad concept of God.

[Nemesis000000]

@wordonfirevideo No argument from me on that. One sure way is to have no concept of God at all, though. And that's not hard to do when there's no evidence for one...

[CatandMaster]

@Nemesis000000 Are you really so naive as to say that not believing in God solves violence? You can't live without having values, remove a notion of higher justice and you go elsewhere for them. People who truly live in line with the belief that God is UNIVERSAL love that surpasses love for family, country, and self are some of the most nonviolent people you'll ever meet.

[Nemesis000000]

@CatandMaster If I believed that I would have said it. Religion promotes more violence than it solves, because I think most people who credit God as a source of their good and peaceful deeds are just good people who would be so anyway. Like Steven Weinberg said without religion there would be good people being good, bad people being bad, but for good people to act bad it takes religion.

I agree you can't live without values. Values don't come from God... not good ones anyway.

[retsea1]

@Nemesis000000 

[experimentaljetset93]

@Nemesis000000 dude spare me. if you disagree advance the argument. that statement is nothing but a put down. And my friend a happen to disagree, take a look at the cosmological argument.

[Nemesis000000]

@experimentaljetset93 What statements of mine are you referring to? What does the cosmological argument have to do with it?

That argument doesn't get you anywhere. Even if it's valid, it only proves a very vague deist God at best. But I don't think it even gets you there. To say there is a first cause just begs the question of what caused the first cause. It's just pushing back the problem a step. God and the Big Bang both at the moment have no causal explanation. But one of them is proven true

[experimentaljetset93]

@Nemesis000000 sorry i was refering to your statement that there is no evidence for the existence of god. and i would argue that on the surface the argument is begging the question, however if god is indeed the creator then he must possess some qualities, he must be outside of time, otherwise there would be something before him. therfore the argument that god is the creator is valid. hope that clears me up a little bit

[Nemesis000000]

@experimentaljetset93 But you are assuming a person or being of some kind has to be the source of this. Time itself began at the big bang. Therefore, any notion of causality doesn't even apply. Hell, it could be that the Big Bang was caused by something that hasn't happened yet. Or it could be being caused at every moment past, present and future. Or it could have no cause. We just can't understand it. Theists are plugging in a preconceived idea into that hole. Atheists say it's unknown.

[experimentaljetset93]

@Nemesis000000 forgive me if i miss understand but are you saying that the idea of a creator and the big bang theory are mutualy exclusive. in my mind that is not the case. and if time didnt exist before the big bang wouldnt it make sense for a being outside of time to bring it into being? besides all of this, in my research, the big bang has not been shown to be the cause of all matter, rather it was the rapid expansion of matter. correct me if im wrong. but that would still require a cause.

[MobiusCoin]

@wordonfirevideo Is it though? The moral of the story of Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah is not presented as someone who "has an extraordinarily bad concept of God". He is in fact presented as a paragon of moral virtue. He's called the patriarch yadayadayada... but is he not a man? What makes Abraham's faith so different than that of the Muslims mentioned? It should be noted that all they are doing is following his example; "Abraham, the First Muslim".

[kristinwhite84]

@wordonfirevideo

It's only a difference in degree (not kind) between killing for honour and rejecting freedoms due innocent gays and lesbians and transsexuals for simply being who they are.

[gambleor]

@Nemesis000000 No they're not putting God before family. What they're doing, as per your first assertion is that they're putting their concept of "honor" before family.

[Nemesis000000]

@gambleor Yes but this notion of honour comes from God, and they do it for God.

[gambleor]

@Nemesis000000 No it doesn't. It comes from a selfish desire to uphold a reputation among one's peers. This type of behavior predates the 3 great monotheisms that have come to dominate the world today.

[Nemesis000000]

@gambleor Yes, a reputation for being holy and obeying God

[gambleor]

@Nemesis000000 No, for being fertile and bringing forth a productive and powerful male figure into society. It has absolutely nothing to do with God.

[Nemesis000000]

@gambleor Well they would disagree

[gambleor]

@Nemesis000000 If you say so.

[MobiusCoin]

@gambleor Abraham did as such. For some reason he is rewarded for his faithfulness.

[LVCIVSTVLLIVSATELLVS]

@Nemesis000000 The point of that Bible passage (let me bury my father first) was to say that following Jesus is the absolute priority. Once you follow Jesus, then have concern for your family. Nothing should come in the way of God, but once that connection has been made, then your relationship with your family can be sanctified.

[AnthonyofPadua16]

Father Barron, can we be Catholic and a Democrat?

[Nemesis000000]

@AnthonyofPadua16 Aren't over 50% of American Catholics Democrats?

[2010teg]

Good one! Let's put idolatry back into our examination of conscience!

[MobiusCoin]

Eh, even when you make God as God, it still happens. I see no difference between the violence and madness of Elijah and David than these characters.

[volemek]

concomitantly- thats a .50 cent word if i ever heard one