Shortly after hearing about Mimetic Theory, which I mentioned in Journal Entry – 005, I happened to run into this podcast episode. I listened to it in the hopes that I would learn more about mimetic desire/theory, as well as find evidences of it in our modern world. This podcast episode did not disappoint.
Here are some of my takeaways after listening to the podcast:
One talking point in the podcast was René Girard's interpretation of the story of the adulterous woman brought before Jesus (John 8:1-11). This is the story where Jesus famously says, “Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”
Before he even utters that famous line though, the bible passages specifically says that Jesus looks down and writes on the sand, while the scribes and the Pharisees try to get a reaction out of him. By the law of Moses they said, a woman caught in the act of adultery will be stoned. Jesus averts his gaze and keeps writing on the sand.
This is perhaps the best sermon I've heard from Bishop Barron. In this sermon, he talks about how earthly goods and values keep us in an addictive pattern. To counter that, he talks about knowing how to “wear the goods of the world lightly.” It's an excellent sermon that ties in the first and second readings to the Gospel.
If you have an interest in minimalism, detaching from material possessions, finding joy and happiness with less, you might want to watch this. It's 14 minutes long, but well worth your time.
Excellent Sunday homily from Bishop Barron. He's drawing attention to yesterday's reading from Ezekiel Chapter 2. Every baptized Christian and that includes me, is called to be a Prophet.
Each one of us who have been baptized in the Christian faith, are all prophets in a way, because we are expected to spread the word of God.
I have tried doing that on this journal. Every once in awhile, I talk about God, I talk about my faith, I share some Christian music, I share some interesting homilies like this one. And whenever I do, I notice that I would lose readers and subscribers. It has been a stumbling block for me. Sometimes, I ask myself, what's the point of doing so, if no one is listening?
I've had this YouTube video open on a browser tab on my phone for a few weeks now. I thought the question was interesting, but I never actually viewed the video until today. This 1 minute video gives a concise answer to the very interesting question of, “How do we know Jesus rose from the dead?”
In case you didn't watch the video, the answer is, the presence of the church today.
Jesus was crucified and rose from the dead, as the story goes, 2,000 years ago. Again, 2,000 years ago. Had the story of resurrection been fake, had it been fabricated, how come the church still exists today?
Bishop Barron's feature-length film on St. Ignatius of Loyola is free to watch right now. But it's only free for six more days. If you're interested in watching it, you can follow this link.
If you're wondering what the film is about, check out the trailer below.
So, I'm a little late in sharing this, especially since there's only a few Sundays left before Easter Sunday. However, the content in this video is so good, I can't help but share.
Pray, fast and give alms. That's what us Catholics should be focused on during lent. But what do they mean? And how do we practice them? Bishop Barron covers them really well in this Sunday sermon.
And even if you're not Catholic, watch it anyway. It's only 15 minutes long. There's some interesting ideas on self-discipline and helping the needy covered in the video. Surely, you don't need to be religious to be interested in that.
A really good introduction to the sacraments of the Catholic Church. It also covers the first sacrament, the sacrament of Baptism. Questions like: What are the sacraments? Why are they the most important thing in the world? What is the fundamental sacrament? What happens when people get baptized? How is grace tied in to the sacraments? And more questions are answered in this episode.
One of the most enlightening parts of this first episode for me, was when Bishop Barron talked about the duties of a baptized Christian. As a baptized Christian, we are priest, prophet and king. What does it mean to be a priest? How do we live out our prophetic duties in today's world? And what are our kingly duties in modern society? All those are covered in this episode.
Yeah the world is contingent and everything in it. It comes to be, it passes away. What does that tell us? It tells us that nothing in the world contains within itself the reason for its own existence. Nothing in the world explains itself. If it did, it would always exist. It would have within itself the reason for its being. So, since it comes into being and passes away, we know it doesn't contain in itself the reason for its own existence.
Therefore, by a very healthy instinct, and every single scientist in the world knows this, by a healthy instinct we begin to look for... causes.
– Bishop Barron
All it took was for me to watch the intro to this video and I was hooked. You don't even have to be religious to be intrigued by what was said in the intro. Bishop Barron doesn't even mention the word “God” until the last 2 minutes of the video.
He goes on to discuss about contingency and contingency of the world. I was blown away. It's something I've never even considered or much less thought of.
I'm subscribed to the Word on Fire newsletter. I've recently learned that Bishop Barron did another podcast with the guys at Mind Pump Podcast. Before listening to the new one that he appeared on, I tried to the listen to the first one. What I found was a wonderful, really good introduction to Christianity and God. Whether you are a believer or not, there is something for everyone in here.