Fr. Barron comments on Christmas

Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Father Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit http://www.wordonfire.org/

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• Fr. Robert Barron
• Catholicism
• Christianity
• Christian
• religion
• spirituality
• advent
• God
• Jesus
• Holy Spirit
• Mary
• nativity
• Christ
• John the Baptist
• transfiguration

[MobiusCoin]

Ppppfffffffff.... did you just accuse the Manicheans of being dualist? Who brought to Christianity an inherent distrust of the flesh and the virtue of the spirit? Oh yeah, that Manichean convert, Augustine. Please, Christianity in large part is as much a dualist religion as Manichaenism.

[wordonfirevideo]

@MobiusCoin Friend, all I can say is that you have a deeply inadequate understanding of either Manichaeism or Christianity--or perhaps both. Take a look at John 1:14 for the decisive text.

[manutdfan4321]

Father Barron, I would like to here take on the sola fide vs faith and works debate. I understand where you stand on the topic being a catholic, but I would like to here why you believe in faith and works

[wordonfirevideo]

@manutdfan4321 Jesus wants us not simply to believe in him but to participate in him. This means that we must think as he thinks and act as he acts, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul said that I might have faith enough to move the mountains but that if I have not love, I am nothing. I couldn't put it much more clearly than that.

[ascott251]

As a physicist I would like to take issue with the claim that a basic assumption of science (there are no basic assumptions in science) is that the universe is intelligible and rational. To make that assumption would be skipping steps. Indeed some aspects of the universe may not be intelligible. We LOOK for patterns at the edge of that which is known, but it is not assumed that we will find rational explanations to all phenomena or that such explanations even exist.

[wordonfirevideo]

@ascott251 But the moment you would "find" such a state of affairs, you would cease to function as a physicist.  Qua physicist, you are always oriented to the intelligible.

[wordonfirevideo]

@filthyswit Come on, man, that's a cheap shot. If you think I'm wrong about something, tell me, argue with me. If you really think I'm in league with 666, show me precisely why you think that way.

[GiuseppeCunha]

Thomas Aquinas has a pretty darn good comment to the Gospel of John... I suppose Father Barron, being a follower of him, must have taken here something from there...

[kubrox91]

Why do we spend so much time adoring Mary? Didn't the angel in Revelation tell John not to fall down before him, since he was just a fellow servant? and where do we get off about them hearing us? don't some of these messages by Mary contradict scripture?

[TheLegijaStranaca]

God bless Fr. Barron and all people

[Pi10sco]

Thanks for the Chesterton quote. I for one do not worship Saturn or the Unconquered Sun either. Although some aspects of the pagan ritual, such as gift-giving, feasting, and the celebration of freedom, are not out of place as long as they are infused with a Christian spirit and practice. No doubt the Church Fathers felt similarly.

[CoryTheRaven]

@Mechanized0 ...Thus a man will tell me that in keeping Christmas I am not keeping a Christmas feast, but a pagan feast. This is exactly as if he told me that I was not feeling furiously angry, but only a little sad. I know how I am feeling all right; and why I am feeling it. When a learned man tells me that on the 25th of December I am really astronomically worshipping the sun, I answer that I am not."

[CoryTheRaven]

@Mechanized0 From G.K. Chesterton:

"There is one very vile habit that the pedants have, and that is explaining to a man why he does a thing when the man himself can explain quite well — and quite differently... Religion is one of them, and all the festivals and formalities that are rooted in religion...

[Mechanized0]

@CoryTheRaven The late Rev. Alexander Hislop claims that the Catholic Church simply masks paganism, portraying it as Christianity. He states that Catholicism is actually hidden paganism, hence the idea that Christmas is actually a pagan holiday.

His book "The Two Babylons" goes into detail on this. Thoughts?

[DivineAegis02]

Great Sermon and Merry Christmas!

[newtochrist]

wow , This is really nice Fr. Barron