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Bishop Barron’s Top 5 Books and Movies—In His Own Words

It’s no secret that Bishop Barron is an avid reader, media producer, and film lover. I appreciate his thoughts on all of them, the riches about the Faith in his favorite films open them up in a whole new way. Wondering what his favorites are it didn’t take too long to find a list of his top five books and films.

Top Five Favorite Books (by genre)

I had to dig a little harder to find his favorite movies as he comments on so many films. I found a blogger at Family Theater Productions who had emailed him back in 2016 and requested his top five, and the following five made the list:

A Man For All Seasons, 1966

He did a video so I’ll let him talk about it himself. And then I need to find a copy to watch myself.

The Mission, 1986

This one doesn’t come with a video that I could find, but I did find an article which he wrote for the National Catholic Register on one of the men who played a small role in the film. Here’s the trailer:

The Song of Bernadette, 1943

I couldn’t find a lot on this one either, except an article where it is mentioned by a blogger at word on fire, but I did find the movie on youtube. Also, it’s the very first film to ever receive a golden globe for best picture! Definitely worth a viewing for any lover of film.

It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946

You don’t have to listen or read a lot of Bishop Barron’s work before you hear him use the story line of It’s a Wonderful Life to make a valid point in his message for the day. So it was no surprise to find this masterpiece on his top five list.

Cinderella, 2015

A newer movie made his list! A personal favorite of mine, I love that it made his top five movies. He did video review on it, so I’ll let him explain the reasons he likes this version of the beloved fairytale enough to use it to round up his top favorite films.

To wrap things up, here is an episode of Word On Fire which covers many topics pertaining to movies and where Catholic’s should draw some lines in what they consume. It was very enlightening and good advice to take in while making choices for my own view as well as that of my young and impressionable family:

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A Catholic Review Of Netflix’s All The Light We Cannot See

by Fr. Edward Looney Faith & Life , Movie Reviews and Recommendations

In 2014, a novel by Anthony Doerr captured readers in the 500+ page novel, 16+ hour audiobook  All the Light We Cannot See .  At the time of its release, I was a seminarian studying for the priesthood at Mundelein Seminary under (now) Bishop Robert Barron. In 2015, Barron penned an  essay on the book for Word on Fire  and a few months later a  YouTube video . I have a great admiration for Bishop Barron and thought that if he was reviewing the book, it was worth reading for myself. The back-and-forth chapters between characters and their perspective and experience were masterful. The storyline appealed to both male and female readers as a book situated during World War II. When I finished the last page, I thought, I cannot wait for this book to become a movie. I’m sure other readers felt the same way. Almost ten years later, Netflix has released a four-episode series capturing the storyline of Doerr’s best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Certain themes from the Christian life emerge as the story plays out on the television screen. 

All The Light We Cannot See Trailer

The Story Is Set In Saint-Malo

It is common for French towns to have the name of saints. This story takes place in Brittany in the city of Saint-Malo.  A curious Catholic might wonder who this saint is because they have never heard of him. He isn’t one of the common saints that we would rattle off our tongue as Americans, but perhaps for the French he would be. You might even wonder, do the people of Brittany know his story in the city named after him today? St. Malo was a disciple of St. Brendan the Navigator and helped Brendan in his missionary efforts. He later served under a hermit named Aaron, and after the hermit’s death, Malo was consecrated a bishop in the area. He had a reputation as a miracle worker. 

The Characters Are Confronted With Death 

The main characters Marie-Laure LeBlanc and Werner Pfenning are immersed in a time of death. Bombs are dropping. Attacks are raging. People are falling dead on the streets. The noise around the blind Marie-Laure surely must strike within her the thought she could die at any moment. Marie-Laure also broadcasts on the shortwave channel 1310. She openly admits that her act of broadcasting could get her executed. For Werner, he was serving alongside other military personnel. He too knew that death could come for him. With death before one’s eyes, it would be natural to think of the afterlife. One line in the film says, “In Heaven we will see God face to face.” Marie-Laure inquired if even the blind would see God. It was said that if God wants us to see something, we will see it. God wants us to see Him, so yes, the blind would see Him. Whether you are a character or the reader/viewer this is a reality that confronts us on a daily basis. We are constantly reminded that life is short and we must live our lives to the fullest now.   

Are there moments of Christian allegory in All The Light We Cannot See? 

When Christians watch movies or read books it is easy sometimes to wonder if there is a Christian underpinning. It may not have been the intention of the author, nevertheless, it can be present. I think  All the Light We Cannot See  has elements of Christian allegory. As Marie-Laure is broadcasting, she wants to get a message to her family, she says that she hoped her family would be able to break bread together once again. The idiom of breaking bread refers to the Eucharist . 

One of the main plots of the film is the quest to find a hidden rock that promises immortality. If you possess it you will live forever. The search for the rock could be akin to our search for eternity by the life that we live. We have found the rock as Catholics, it is the Church, and through the Church and the sacraments we receive, especially the Eucharist, we have the pledge of eternity, where we will live forever.  

Method of Evangelization 

The radio had been used by Marie-Laure’s uncle, known to many as the Professor, to provide instruction and messages of hope to young people.  Marie-Laure used the radio to read  20,000 Leagues Under the Sea . They didn’t know who would be listening.  Those who listened found hope in the lessons taught and words spoken. For decades, the radio has been a source of evangelization. For Americans, the apostolates of Relevant Radio , EWTN , Radio Maria, and other local Catholic stations have broadcasted the gospel and messages of faith into people’s cars, homes, and through apps on smartphones. Radio has changed hearts and facilitated conversions. Figures like Fulton Sheen and Billy Graham used the media for the purpose of evangelization. The Professor and Marie-Laure communicated to an unknown number of people messages of hope in a time of uncertainty and war.  Seeing that in a novel/movie should inspire us today in our works of evangelization to use both old media like radio and television and new media like social media, podcasts, and YouTube.  We have a message, and we have the means to communicate it.  And unlike Marie-Laure, at least for now, we are not doing so in a time where it could cost us our life.  

Can a Catholic Watch  All the Light We Cannot See  

The movie does contain swear words and scenes of violence. It is a war movie. Viewer discretion is advised.  

Fr. Looney’s Rating Of All The Light We Cannot See

 9/10- Great cinematography of a book we have all waited to see play out on the television screen.  

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Bishop Robert Barron Reviews Scorsese’s “Silence”

What in the world do we make of this strange and disturbing story? Like any great film or novel, Silence obviously resists a univocal or one-sided interpretation. In fact, almost all of the commentaries that I have read, especially from religious people, emphasize how Silence beautifully brings forward the complex, layered, ambiguous nature of faith. Fully acknowledging the profound psychological and spiritual truth of that claim, I wonder whether I might add a somewhat dissenting voice to the conversation? I would like to propose a comparison, altogether warranted by the instincts of a one-time soldier named Ignatius of Loyola, who founded the Jesuit order to which all the Silence missionaries belonged. Suppose a small team of highly-trained American special ops was smuggled behind enemy lines for a dangerous mission. Suppose furthermore that they were aided by loyal civilians on the ground, who were eventually captured and proved willing to die rather than betray the mission. Suppose finally that the troops themselves were eventually detained and, under torture, renounced their loyalty to the United States, joined their opponents and lived comfortable lives under the aegis of their former enemies. Would anyone be eager to celebrate the layered complexity and rich ambiguity of their patriotism? Wouldn’t we see them rather straightforwardly as cowards and traitors?

Indeed, the true heroes of the film are the Japanese lay martyrs, not the apostate Jesuits. And, as Barron notes, there are more than a few similarities between how cultural elites in 17th-century Japan and those of today want to “silence” (sorry, couldn’t resist) the faith today:

My worry is that all of the stress on complexity and multivalence and ambiguity is in service of the cultural elite today, which is not that different from the Japanese cultural elite depicted in the film. What I mean is that the secular establishment always prefers Christians who are vacillating, unsure, divided, and altogether eager to privatize their religion. And it is all too willing to dismiss passionately religious people as dangerous, violent, and let’s face it, not that bright.

The whole review, as is the case with anything by Bishop Barron, is well worth your time and can be found here .

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‘Wonder’ film series shows faith, science not at war, says Bishop Barron

WASHINGTON (OSV News) — A new film series aims to show that faith and science are as interlinked as the double helix of a DNA molecule.

The Word on Fire evangelization ministry recently announced the release of “Wonder,” a five-part documentary project that explores the interplay between various aspects of science and Catholic tradition.

Produced through a grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the episodes — narrated by actor Jonathan Roumie — will be released Feb. 13-17, one per day, on Word on Fire’s website and YouTube channel.

The nature of light, Trinitarian traces in the cosmos, human and animal language, St. Augustine and evolution are among the topics on tap, along with a detailed look at how the geometry of Chartres Cathedral’s North Rose Window in Chartres, France, points to the theology of salvation.

The films’ release follows Word on Fire’s Jan. 13-14 Wonder conference in Dallas, which featured an array of experts in physics, philosophy, technology, theology and history.

Word on Fire founder Bishop Robert E. Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minn., said in a Jan. 31 news release that he was ”ecstatic” over the “Wonder” series’ release.

The ministry has dedicated considerable resources over the years “to show that the war between faith and science is untrue,” said Bishop Barron in his statement.

The often oppositional relationship between scientific and religious worldviews “has been a perennial concern of Bishop Barron’s apologetic and evangelization efforts for decades,” said Word on Fire CEO Father Steve Grunow in an email.

Faith often withers due to “perceived discrepancies” between religious belief and science, Father Grunow said.

The issue “is particularly evident in younger generational cohorts … (inhibiting) religious belief and practice,” he said.

Both scientists and theologians bear responsibility for “the false perception that scientific and religious ways of knowing are innately conflictual,” said Father Grunow. “We can all do much better at presenting our positions with clarity and charity.”

He pointed out that Christianity actually helped to lay the groundwork for modern scientific inquiry by viewing the world as distinct from its Creator, rather than “an object of worship,” and “created to be known” on its own terms.

Director Manny Marquez said the “Wonder” films — which were “unlike anything else” he had worked on — presented “an opportunity to make a difference in the conversation” between faith and science.

But from a technical perspective, the task was not an easy one, he admitted.

“When you are talking about things ranging from the omega-minus particle to the Trinity, there will be challenges,” Marquez said.

Marquez said he first spent more than a month reading the “amazing and densely academic” script penned by Chris Baglow of the Science and Religion Initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s McGrath Institute for Church Life.

The trick was “deciphering what we could shoot, and then what would have to be created or animated,” said Marquez, crediting animator and visual effects artist Carl Graham and cinematographer Rod Hassler for their roles in bringing the script to life.

Composer Sean Beeson’s score and Roumie’s narration were also among “the ingredients … for this (series) to be a powerful evangelical tool,” said Marquez, a Catholic, adding that the series deepened his “understanding of God and nature.”

“I have many friends … that question my belief in God, because they are very much of the school of scientism. I felt that maybe this project could lead some of them to a change of heart,” he said. “In the same manner, I have Catholic friends that are hostile to ideas of science. If we could show the goodness, truth and beauty of the two main topics combined, we would be achieving something worthwhile.”

Gina Christian is a national reporter for OSV News.

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Bishop Barron on the Spiritual Crisis: Get In the Army of Christ

Bishop Barron emphasizes the urgent need to engage and challenge youth, and for all the faithful to draw strength from the Eucharist.

ROME — During his recent visit to Rome, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, took the opportunity to address how the Church can provide support to youth amidst the ongoing spiritual crisis.

“By spiritual crisis, I mean the immanentism, the materialism, the secularism that has taken hold of much of our culture, at least in the West, and which I think is haunting the minds of our young people,” Bishop Barron, who is the founder of the Word on Fire apostolate, told the Register.

“If you are told that there is no transcendent point of reference,” the American bishop said, “that there is nothing beyond this world — that produces a deep thunderstorm in the heart and in the soul.” 

To think that “I come from nowhere and I am going nowhere” is also what among other things produces spiking numbers in depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies among young people — “that’s the spiritual crisis,” Bishop Barron explained. 

“The crisis is a materialism that has locked people into this little, tiny space — the ‘buffered self’ as Charles Taylor called it — where we are buffered from any contact with the transcendent.” 

This thunderstorm and separation from God, Bishop Barron continued, “also gives rise to a spiritual longing which you can see in people.” Mentioning the “old idols” of pleasure, power and pride tempting the people of God already in the Bible, Bishop Barron explained that “we try to fill that empty space with anything the world can give us.” 

We know however from St. Augustine and from the Bible, he underscored, that “the heart longs for God” and that “nothing in this world can satisfy the hungry heart. ” While we may be able to deceive ourselves for a little while, “the heart knows otherwise, and will rebel against that sort of immanentism and reductionism.” 

“The problem is, as John of the Cross told us, that we have these infinite caverns inside of us. And so, no matter how much you throw into those caverns, it is not going to fill it up. They can be filled only by God, by the Infinite.”

A Church That Challenges

In response to the concern that the Church might be “pitching too hard” and the suggestion that discussing complex theological concepts, such as the spiritual battle, may drive young people away, Bishop Barron rebuked: “I grew up with that nonsense and it has caused nothing but havoc in the Church.”

First of all, Bishop Barron said, young people are today studying science, engineering, law and mathematics at the highest possible level. “Why in the world would we then think, ‘Oh, they can’t understand these themes of theology?”

“I just came from a conference on Thomas Aquinas who wrote his famous Summa Theologiae for beginners,” Bishop Barron shared. “It is for incipientes , [Aquinas] says, for beginners in theology,” he added, underlining that in the same way as 18- and 19-year-old beginners in theology were able to read the Summa , so young people today can understand theological topics such as spirituality. 

Second, Bishop Barron argued, “we should challenge them more than we do. I grew up with the Church of relevance and ‘let us make it as easy and user-friendly as possible, and let’s give you no challenges.’ That is why [the young people] left. Because who cares about such a Church?’”

Instead of watering down Christianity, Bishop Barron argued that the Church must intellectually and morally challenge young people, and “give them something to fight for.”

‘You Have to Serve Somebody’

Reflecting on how the Church needs to “be in the front seat, speaking these truths,” Bishop Barron recommended that the youth look at St. Ignatius of Loyola’s spiritual exercises and his meditation of the two standards.

“There are two armies assembled. One belongs to the devil. One belongs Christ. The two standards are raised. Which army are you in? What is going to be your fight?” 

Quoting Bob Dylan, one of his “poetic heroes,” the bishop emphasized that “you have to serve somebody. It might be the devil. It might be the Lord. But you have got to serve somebody. The point is, the ‘autonomous self’ is an illusion. We are always serving some Master.”

Reflecting on the meaning of the word Kyrios — the Greek word for “Lord” or “Master” — in the New Testament, Bishop Barron explained: “Caesar was called Kyrios . Caesar is the Lord . And when Paul and company are saying ‘No, Iesous Kyrios’ — Jesus is the Lord — they were proposing another banner. Not Caesar's banner, but Christ’s Banner.”

While we might be able to deceive ourselves by trying not to choose either side, it is imperative that we do so, the American bishop urged: “Fight in Christ’s army. Join his army. Join the cause of the crucified and risen Lord.”

“Look at someone as heroic as John Paul II,” Bishop Barron added. “He was fighting in Christ’s army. He brought down some of the most powerful forces in the rival army in a way that we could not have imagined. When I was a kid, if you had said the Soviet empire would fall apart with barely a shot fired, and that the Pope was one of the main players, I [would have said it was] fantasy.”

Saints as Models for the Spiritual Battle

In order to combat the spiritual crisis and fight in the army of Christ, Bishop Barron urged young people to “not settle for spiritual mediocrity” but rather to look to the saints — not only to ask for their intercessions but also to be inspired by their lives.

“Hold up the Mother Teresas and John Paul IIs and the Pier Giorgio Frassatis,” Bishop Barron said, “these great figures who embody the Catholic way of being and be one of them — be a saint. There’s the challenge if you want.” 

To be a saint doesn’t mean that you have to become a “world famous figure,” Bishop Barron continued. “Follow the little way of St. Thérèse of Lisieux and be a saint, and you will, as Catherine of Siena said, set the world on fire if you become the person God wants you to be.” 

“The main thing is not to try to be relevant or try to get ahead of the curve. It is to be faithful to the Church,” Bishop Barron added, using once again the example of St. John Paul II to illustrate the life of someone who was at first “an obscure figure,” who “spent a lot of his life in classrooms,” yet whose “honesty, integrity and the clarity of his message” made people “flock to him like mad.”

“There is this moment of new spiritual interest,” Bishop Barron said, in reference to a recent survey conducted by the Footprints Research Group of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, titled “ Young People: Expectations, Ideals, Beliefs , ” which showed that interest in spirituality among young people is growing worldwide. 

“Let us take advantage of it. The Church should move into that space and say boldly but lovingly: ‘We have the answers. You have now experienced the hunger. We have got the Bread of Life that will satisfy it.’”

National Eucharistic Revival

While all the greatest saints are “as different as can be,” Bishop Barron noted, “the one thing they all have in common is a love for the Eucharist. Without exception, saints from the first century to the 21st century, all love the Eucharist.”

In contrast, a poll by the Pew Research Center revealed in 2019 that only 31% of Catholics today believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Instead, nearly 7-in-10 Catholics believe that the bread and wine “are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.”

In response to this “ spiritual disaster ,” Bishop Robert Barron, serving at that time as the chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, began working on a Eucharistic solution together with other bishops.

“When I was chair of Evangelization and Catechesis,” Bishop Barron recalled, “I did say to my brother bishops, ‘I think we got a problem here everybody’ because the Pew Forum study had come out about that 70% not believing in the Real Presence, and I just said, ‘I think we should do something.’”

Regardless of whether the questions in the Pew study were asked correctly and whether the numbers in the poll reflect the reality, Bishop Barron admitted that “there are way, way, way too many Catholics who don’t have an adequate sense of the Eucharist” — and so the idea of the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress was born.

Taking place in Indianapolis July 17-21, the Eucharistic Congress — the first National Eucharistic Congress in 83 years — is expected to gather tens of thousands of faithful for Masses, worship and talks to celebrate the True Presence.

Bishop Barron, who will be giving one of the keynote speeches at the Congress, expressed his hope that people attending the congress might experience “a keener sense of the importance of Jesus Christ.” 

“The Eucharist, the Real Presence of the Lord,” he added, “is the great, enduring sign of his presence among us. So I hope it awakens people’s faith.” 

• bishop robert barron
• spiritual care
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• church in crisis
• church teaching on the eucharist
• st. thomas aquinas

Bénédicte Cedergren Bénédicte Cedergren is a Swedish-French freelance journalist. After graduating from the University of Stockholm with a degree in Journalism, Bénédicte moved to Rome where she earned a degree in Philosophy at the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas. She also sings sacred music and works as a photographer. Passionate about spreading the truth and beauty of the Catholic faith, Bénédicte enjoys sharing the testimonies of others and writing stories that captivate and inspire.

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Bishop Robert Barron passes 1M YouTube subscribers

Word on Fire

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Bishop Robert Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester is celebrating a major milestone nearly two decades in the making: accumulating 1 million subscribers on his YouTube channel . He commemorated the occasion in a brief video that highlighted his 17-year journey to become the Catholic bishop with the largest following on social media.

It should be noted that YouTube is not the first social media platform on which Bishop Barron has achieved such a large following. He currently has a flock of 3 million followers on Facebook , with another 261,000 following his X (Twitter) account, and 421,000 following his Instagram . His estimated 1,300 YouTube videos have been viewed more than 151 million times.

In the video announcement, Bishop Barron recalled how he began his efforts on YouTube in 2007, when he was still a diocesan priest. We see images of his original video, a young Fr. Barron seated before a “movie theater” backdrop, in which he reviewed Martin Scorsese’s The Departed . 

“Our work, as always, is evangelization. A million people now subscribing to this channel means that this information, these messages, these videos can go out, and indeed [subscribers] come from all over the [English-speaking] world.”

It may have started with movie review, but today Bishop Barron’s social media presence has grown to include commentaries on many aspects of Catholicism, as well as developments in the secular world. In 2011, he launched the Catholic media organization Word On Fire , which has worked to expand Bishop Barron’s reach and produce high quality Catholic media that educates as well as informs. 

“I think of all the things we’ve done, beginning with the movie reviews, but coming up through all the commentaries I’ve done on different things: the Rosary videos that have been so successful, I think of our Masses during COVID and all the ways we tried to reach out through this vehicle to reach people,” Bishop Barron commented in the video.

Bishop Barron concluded the video by expressing his thanks to all those who follow him and have watched his videos since 2007. He encourages all his subscribers to recommend his videos to their friends to help his channel grow toward its new goal of 2 million subscribers. He said:

“I want to send a word of gratitude as well to everyone who has supported us, especially through using YouTube videos. A word of gratitude to everyone who made that possible. And let’s keep going. That a Catholic bishop can get a million subscribers on YouTube is pretty good, but there’s a whole wider world out there and many many more we can get to subscribe.”

Click here to subscribe to Bishop Robert Barron’s official YouTube channel.

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