The Intellectual Life

[@Melissa-us4zk]

You truly are my intellectual hero. You’re brilliant in my opinion and you inspire me to read more and to continue learning about my faith. I have purchased more books in the last two years than I have in my whole life. May God continue to bless you. Thank you for all you do.

[@Melissa-us4zk]

Citizen X LOL. 👌🏽

[@santiagolgb]

“Looking through very still and clear water at the base of the lake.” Beautiful image! Will remember it. Thank you, Bishop Barron and Brandon. Great discussion.

[@josecardona839]

I am currently reading "Jesus of Nazareth" from Pope Benedict XVI and I can understand this idea that the easier it is to read a book the better the arguments. This book by Benedict XVI is very precise in language and arguments, no sentence or word is wasted. The pope emeritus is truly a masterful writer.

[@DonalLeader]

When it comes to the Intellectual Life there is a wonderful book by a Jesuit called Sertillange which would deserve discussion. The book is almost like a handbook, and a very practical one, for people who are engaged with intellectual enquiry.

[@worframtimothy1738]

Do you have a soft copy my friend!?

[@MatrixRefugee]

"It's [writing] like breaking rocks." - This is reassuring to writers everywhere!

[@roniquebreauxjordan1302]

The more you read..the easier writing becomes..

[@wendyfield7708]

Thankyou….very useful advice.

[@ponzianomanning3071]

Your spot-on about Thomas Merton's writings and style; especially his books on contemplative prayer that Ive found very helpful in my spiritual journey. Thank you FR Barron!

[@aleecheekhong]

Thanks for sharing your wisdom of intellectual life, Bishop Robert Barron! May I paraphrase one of the pieces of your wisdom in this video ,' Life is short and I need to really discern wisely the KZbin videos that I am going to watch! '

[@EspadaKing777]

I loved hearing about your University time, it reminds me so much of my time doing my Philosophy Degree. I agree wholeheartedly that Philosophy is the art of drawing distinctions; sometimes distinctions so thin that they're almost translucent, but upon which a huge amount depends. I wish the world had more time for nuance and precision in thought; I think that'd go some way to helping bring people together to face the challenges that face us as a species.

[@jerryg3524]

Thanks, especially for introducing Thomas Merton to us

[@wendyfield7708]

Thanks. May I suggest 3mg. Melatonin 30 minutes before new bedtime when you arrive after a long haul flight! I am very widely travelled, aged 88, and it switches my body clock back immediately.. very useful when you are busy and have to work.

[@dariofromthefuture3075]

I love this topic. Thanks for selecting it

[@xuancarloshdz]

Thanks for the very personal and biographical episode. Lo queremos mucho Obispo Barrón, y a ti también Brandon.

[@catherinelavallee4073]

Thanks for sharing, Bishop Barron.

[@a1channel54]

I love this topic! I am a fan of Bishop Barron 😍

[@jamesblack8173]

Really loved this episode.

[@robertmiller5258]

Thank you Bishop! Please discuss when you can fit them in to your busy schedule two heroines of mine: Eleonore Stump and Elizabeth Anscombe.

[@nheshn3734]

Young generations, even Millenial generation, should engage in intellectual life. A gradual change in habit or lifestyle.

[@whit2642]

This was a great change of pace yet extremely enjoyable episode!!!

[@praxidescenteno3233]

The knowledge come from God! 😇😇😇

[@Shevock]

Like s mirror. My writing is in a different field, but same challenges and techniques have made me successful.

[@gents6379]

I’m reading the Word on Fire edition of The Seven Storey Mountain and I agree that Merton is a spare and masterful writer.

[@josephsimoncurran9994]

This is really fascinating. I particularly liked the focus on the importance of clarity (and on the difficulty of writing!). I'm coming to this video very late but I as someone who works in academia (albeit working at a much lower level) I was wondering if you could say something about the dangers of intellectual life and how to counter them, especially the tendency to promote pride. I think Zena Hitz's recent books have been really good on this but it would be great if you could say something too. Thanks

[@peterm.fitzpatrick7735]

S-V-O structure is prescribed for radio and tv writers, but not for literary writers. I like to write and paint, both creative outlets for myself.

[@ritabiro5105]

It must bee the best intellectual training for you the last Rome trip whith cardinals and pope?!gratulation for your writings dispite of myself not knowing but what you tolk about are interesting specially Thomas aquino.thanks

[@Andantalas]

Summarized in a single line: It takes a genius to do simple.

[@ketinporta4994]

Thank you for sharing BB! I am wondering if you or anyone could elaborate on the beauty of the mind of those people who have the revelations about our Lord and have no scholar preparation whatsoever. It would be beautiful to share with the world the beauty of the truth and how to welcome it rather than keep chasing it.

[@Chandransingham]

Seen in London on 10th Feb 2020. Thank you.

[@diegoperalta196]

Thank you both for making this video. It's really helpful. Could you make a list of book recommendations for aspiring intellectuals? Thank you!

[@margueritelangton6362]

You mention jargon. Which you and Brandon use more often than you realise....PLEASE make list of these terms on your FAQ list. Thanks

[@motorbikeray]

@margueritelangton6362 wrote, "You mention jargon. Which you and Brandon use more often than you realise....PLEASE make list of these terms on your FAQ list" Please provide a list of the "jargon" terms that you don't understand.

[@brandoncheers]

Bishop Barron, an affordable book of selections of texts from the church fathers would be very welcome!

[@bizzy5439]

Audio seems pretty choppy. Thanks for the continued content!

[@angrypotato_fz]

Yeah, maybe something is wrong with compression, because both sides of conversation sound damaged :(

[@davidrasch3082]

Does Bp. Barron have a video on how to read Aquinas? If not, whom does he recommend as teacher?

[@coldforgedcowboy]

@Bishop Robert Barron... speaking of saving the eyes from eye strain. Do you think you could make the Word on Fire website friendly to the "Pocket App"? The Pocket app allows you to save articles for off line reading and also a has a text to speach reader so you can also listen to them on the go. :-)

[@1atbab]

My favorite book right now is "The Intellectual Life" by Antonin Sertillanges. I'm so excited to watch this tomorrow! This very topic has been top of mind for me recently. I'd also love to know your opinion on Mortimer Adler's body of work.

[@Demitroff]

Thank you for recommending "The Intellectual Life". I just downloaded it to my computer.

[@arenelcolosal]

How to read a Book! Is a most read, and also Adler gave us the Syntopicon, I just hope to have enough time to read all those Book taking part on The Great Conversation

[@davidalexander5495]

@@arenelcolosal, I found "How to read a book" more practical than "The intellectual life" when it came to academic work.

[@roniquebreauxjordan1302]

Eat lots of #carrots 📚📚📚...picked up reading for further intellectual gains while living in Germany...the bookstores there and in Paris were always packed! I can only imagine the UK's 📚📚🏫

[@sprezzatura8755]

No doubt it is true what he says about our eyes losing some of their acuity as we age. But books on tape are fantastic and more readily available for an ever-increasing number of books. You can listen while you are driving or working at home or in the bathtub.

[@wreloise1]

...argument, beginning and ending, problematic, key distinction, resolution 🙏🏾 thank you

[@robertmiller5258]

Bishop - have you engaged with the Anglo-American analytic tradition in philosophy? I’m thinking of prime example - Wittgenstein who was such a major influence on Catholic philosophers like Elizabeth Anscombe and Peter Geach?

[@Zematus737]

Lol, way to miss the forest for the trees with that quote about reading those authors when young. Think on why he didn't use the Aquinas or Augustine as the example, though their work is a tome. I didn't read those authors when I was young either, but my eyes cannot stand reading Descartes today, even though I have zero problems with long sessions of reading. He soon finds himself flying across the room to the farthest wall. Who can read a flying book?

[@Mommyandtux]

You know something I like about your countenance Your Excellency? You've always got the "thinkers/thinking frown" that look where there's a frown while someone's caught up in deep thought.

[@marypinakat8594]

Love your comment. Thanks☆

[@louisbelzil3105]

Wonderful as always. Can you please link Bishop Barron’s book list, I could not find on wordonfire.org

[@dannyallen2894]

Bishop Barron, you mention Sokolowski a few times in this video. Where is a good place to start in getting into his work as someone very interested in philosophy

[@bigphilly7345]

God bless Bishop Barron - a Living Saint.

[@xi7837]

I’ve heard from a very high up source (Cardinal supposedly) that the Catholic Church is fully aware that with deep meditation prayer and certain yogas (most notably kriya) that hermits who devote there whole life to god can do powerful miracles is this true father. Much Love I love your work and the Catholic Church:)

[@evandelaalquarame4171]

It sounds self-contradictory and vague enough to dismiss as a rumor that leads people away from God. Even miracle-working Saints can't *do* any miracles, despite God deciding to do so near them. By definition, only God can do miracles, though people can ask with persistence and faith, and we can trust that God will do what is best. Expecting miracles due to certain actions, as though we could pay God for control over the laws of nature, is very dangerous spiritually. Only God knows whether it's best to grant what we want how we want it. Yoga as a spiritual practice involves adhering to an Eastern religion (or alternatively New Age) and is therefore against the first commandment.

[@xi7837]

Evandela Alquaráme well look I’m just saying Iv read such books as autobiography of a yogi and have spoken to people who is a good friends with a Cardinals. He himself is a very devout Buddhist he is a monastic and claims he’s witnessed some very odd things with his master like bilocality. Given the Roman Catholic Churches very mystical nature I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say these highly educated bishops know of these particular phenomenon

[@evandelaalquarame4171]

@@xi7837 Ah, so it's a matter of devout lifelong Buddhists and not encouraging Christians to do such things? Yeah, that is a very different situation where the first commandment is irrelevant to their view of the world. We've had enough Christians encourage Christians to follow Eastern religious practices so this sounded a lot like that. It's not like God excludes non-Christians or great sinners from miracles, as seen in the Bible. Only he knows what's truly best. Nevertheless, official Church acknowledgement of specific events that you mention is very unlikely, especially bilocation with its scant evidence in circumstances that would cause confusion and endanger peoples' souls. I imagine that many in the Church (especially bishops who are tasked with investigating local miracles) have heard talk of such things, but like most claimed miracles bilocation wouldn't pass evidence-based tests. That's not to say that a miracle couldn't happen. It just wouldn't have enough evidence, so the Church couldn't be "fully aware that with deep meditation prayer and certain yogas (most notably kriya) that hermits who devote there whole life to god can do powerful miracles". This still sounds like it's attributing miracles to certain human actions, by the way. The Church is extremely cautious about calling an event a miracle. Evidence that there's no natural explanation has to be extremely strong when relevant experts investigate it. It requires a miracle that leaves a good trail of evidence as well as the funding and a strong reason to conduct those investigations, so the vast majority of possible miracles I've heard about fall through the cracks. Even if one is well substantiated during an investigation, we're not required to believe the miracle happened! Mysticism needs to balance with reason, as they are both good and therefore can point to God. They can also be taken to extremes and abused to lead away.

[@Retrogamer71]

I was taught God's greatest gift was the potential of the biological human mind to be developed and refined.

[@JMJ.516]

That is not a Christian teaching.

[@savingsarah9456]

I would love to see you do a show on Saint Alphonsus Liguori

[@Retrogamer71]

Robert Sapolowsky, has written on Phenomenology.. Hmm Hope that's more Hegel than Husserl.

[@SevenDeMagnus]

Cool

[@Jarek_73]

Sad to hear such low quality of sound despite such massive microphones on both sides. Fix it please this is such a pity.

[@ultro6904]

31:26

[@williamkamahele9547]

Intel etch. On the brain

[@rexrocks4337]

Dear Bishop have a swim then a sleep

[@LostArchivist]

Just don't sleep while you swim.

[@williamkamahele9547]

👍🤙

[@nononouh]

17

[@abandonrz]

"Something relaxing" going to read the napoleon biography

[@praxidescenteno3233]

All dance at Churches in animation músic pastoral for never happen Robocop movie

[@lillispren3651]

I am surprised that you who are an intellectual and bishop can be so excited about Pope Francis. His ponific, after all, appears to be very anti-intellectual, with strong elements of what you have previously described as new paganism and which is the Church's greatest challenge of our time.

[@chunumummy4161]

Live with Life as none a live as photography for just, memory's for live Life from aall collectives from because have you invested times and money's energy's, must. Gained ?? Save must after lost butt keepp have with selfe recall memory's share must with my Soule and it's loss less strength" is ??

[@tinman1955]

Like the bishop said, "life is short". Most of us could not and would not want to devote our lives to studying nerdy academics who create God in their own image....but I guess somebody's gotta do it.

[@armsaroundsierraleone4928]

L

[@mvhLinda]

Could you please do a video about climate change and sin. Is "flight shame" something the catholic church talk about? Is it okey to mindlessly consume and support air traffic, when is it a sin? You talk so carelessly about travel...

[@ХристоМартунковграфЛозенски]

Why should flying be a sin? Is there any moral wrong caused to one's soul? Or is it wrong because Greta said so?

[@kristinaperic2950]

Ko je? Kristofor kolumbo i njegov drug igor.

[@eugengolubic2186]

Kakav Igor?

[@kristinaperic2950]

@@eugengolubic2186 njegov vjerni drugar