Review: Father Robert Barron's Priest, Prophet, King

It took a while for my review copy of Priest, Prophet, King to come. And then it took a while for me to watch it. However, once we began we binge-watched all six episodes.

Partly it was because we enjoy Father Barron's style. And this was like a really good Bible study taking us through Biblical history so we really understood how Jesus's fulfilled his titles of "priest, prophet, and king."

Partly it was because we couldn't figure out how he was going to get from "here" to "there." "Here" being Old Testament priests, etc., and "there" being the new evangelization.

Of course, he pulled it off. By the time we finished the sixth episode we had plenty of food for thought. We talked about it the rest of the evening and the next morning.

What's the format? Father Barron gives a series of six connected talks to an audience. Each is around 20 minutes long. This isn't as dull as it sounds because they intercut shots of masterpieces for illustration. This could have been released also in an audio format and I think I'd have gotten just as much from it. However, the video undoubtedly encourages group participation and discussion (there's a study workbook and leadership guide, though I haven't seen those). It did for us.

Was it worthwhile? Yes. Many of the concepts and information presented may be new to viewers and will be eye opening in how they understand Christ. Although we were familiar with a fair amount of it already, Father Barron connected everything in a way that engaged us, made us think, and even had us stopping the dvd mid-episode sometimes to discuss things.

Did it change our lives? Yes and no.

Why no?
Because, as my husband said while we were watching, "The new evangelization is really the old evangelization. It's just that everyone forgot to do it lately."

I myself am always wondering why I can't stick to a resolution to not bring up my Catholic faith. You wouldn't think you'd have to make such resolutions but time and again God's in the conversation. At the grocery store, at my movie group, on my nonreligious podcast. With believers and nonbelievers. All the time. He just ... comes up. I can't help it. And we help with various ministries at our parish as well as a few independent projects. So, as I say, we're already evangelizing just by the way we live our lives.

Why yes?
Father Barron gave us new ways to think about our own culture and where we fit in it as Catholics. Especially valuable and thought provoking were his discussions of:

• The rose window imagery of ordering life
• The devil as scattering, as dis-integration
• Sin as wrongly oriented worship with focus on pleasure, wealth, power, and honor
• Living in a society of accusers
• Rene Girard's ideas about scapegoats and society

These are points resonated so strongly that they've been the focus through which we've discussed local news, politics, and personal relationships in our own lives. It has been very clarifying in a lot of cases.

Do I recommend it? Yes. Definitely yes. 

This is something that will benefit every American Catholic, no matter how involved they are, no matter how well they understand the Bible, no matter how well they feel they have a handle on living their faith.

I'm passing my copy on to our pastor. Hopefully it will be studied in our parish soon.

DVD Review: The Faithful Traveler in the Holy Land

This review is by Scott Danielson, my podcasting partner over at A Good Story is Hard to Find podcast.

I haven't made a trip to The Holy Land, but would like to go. There's got to be something special about walking where Jesus and his contemporaries walked. The escape from day-to-day life into a world that's very different (for me) yet very familiar. I imagine contemplative moments taken after stepping away from the groups, where one can really process the fact that one is truly and actually in the Holy Land. I imagine that such a trip would be faith affirming, and... well, there's no need to imagine what it would be like because Diana von Glahn took us along with her on a tour.

The Faithful Traveler in the Holy Land is a joyful, personal, and informative travelogue. Diana is the host and her husband David shoots and directs the show.

I thoroughly enjoyed all six episodes. The tour starts at Mount Carmel and ends with the Via Dolorosa and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. On the way, Diana shows us the Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Jerusalem's Walls, the Sea of Galilee, and many other places.

On of the reasons for my enjoyment is that Diana not only explains the historical significance of the art and architecture she encounters, but she also shares her faith. Sometimes clearly moved, she shares her personal thoughts at several of the sites. In turn, I come away from this series moved myself. I'm both thankful for the experience of having watched and am more eager to take a trip myself.

But whether I take that trip or not, I appreciate and agree with what Diana said near the end of the series as she muses about whether or not the contested sites along the Via Dolorosa are the actual path that Christ took to Golgotha:

What matters is what's in our hearts and what we bring to these windy streets. Whether we meet Jesus along them, I think, depends on our willingness and desire to do so. Our frame of mind. And the openness of our hearts.

Amen.

The Faithful Traveler is available on DVD and is also airing on EWTN. For more information, visit The Faithful Traveler website.

PILGRIMAGE
Diana and David von Glahn have organized a pilgrimage to the Holy Land for this summer. I've got to say that were I ever to go on pilgrimage, this is the group I'd want to go with. Who wouldn't want to hang out with Diana? (Probably with David too, but I haven't seen him on screen ... so I've got nothin' to work with here.)

Review: Catholicism - The New Evangelization from Father Robert Barron

I've been a fan of Father Barron's ever since reading his book Catholicism (my review here) and then getting to watch the DVDseries it was written to accompany. He's personable, reasonable, relatable, and communicates joyful faith. Anyone who has seen him on YouTube already knows that but since that's not where I hang out, I was pleased to encounter such a "normal" Catholic. As a more important litmus test, my husband is a big fan and that's not an easy accomplishment where religious broadcasting is concerned.

I was really surprised when I picked up the mail yesterday and found Father Barron's Catholicism: The New Evangelization dvds and study guide (written by Brandon Vogt, who I have met and respect a great deal). I never get review items like this so it was a wonderful treat.

We didn't wait, but watched the main dvd last night.

What's it about? The dvd package puts it best of all, I find.

CATHOLICISM taught us what the Church believes and why.

CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization shows us how to put our faith into action.

The main message is documentary style and takes us through evangelization in the recent past after Vatican II and today with emphasis on ministries by lay people. Father Barron discusses not only major objections to the Church but movements and individuals who answer those objections through both traditional and new methods (such as new media).

I would say the one thing gap I noticed was that Father Barron tended to focus on ministry begun to "tell people about Christ or the Church" especially within the context of using new media. This is very understandable because it is where he himself is focused. It is too bad that they didn't find a few lay people who found themselves caught up in ministries simply because their joy couldn't be contained and the Catholicism was part of the whole package. It is a quibble, I realize, but there you go. It is how I fall into ministries myself and so I felt that area was left unaddressed.

I came away from this viewing feeling inspired. Joyful. Part of something bigger than I am.

And that was exactly what I needed that very evening. (No coincidences, as I said.) It allowed me to completely take my mind off of my own frustrations and recall that any ministry I am involved in is because I encountered Christ there ... because I felt such joy and surprise and ... yes ... love that I couldn't wait for others to experience it too.

The New Evangelization imbued me with that feeling once again.

It comes with a study book suitable for individuals or parish use. I haven't read the entire thing, but I continually caught myself reading on where I meant to skim. Brandon Vogt's style is engaging, compelling, and nicely complements Father Barron's dvd. The other dvds have additional interviews and materials for a study or formation program.

I'm going to give this to our priest and ask where he may need help in our parish with any new evangelization seeds that it plants. (As Tom points out, our parish is pretty active, but you never can tell where the need is not being met.)

Highly recommended.

DVD Review: Understanding Sunday Mass: A Kid's Point of View

A review from Scott Danielson. I have to say this looks like a good resource.


What a great idea this movie is. Understanding Sunday Mass: A Kid's Point of View's goal is to teach young people the mass, and it unconditionally succeeds at being both entertaining and informative.

The film opens with a scene we see nearly every Sunday. A family, including two kids, are attending mass. We see dramatic eye-rolling sighs of the kids as they prepare to tolerate another hour in church. "I confess, to Almighty God," says the priest as their eyes wander around the church, trying to find something to help them pass the time… but then everyone and everything freezes. Father Jerry, with his magic remote control, appears from the back of the church, and spends the rest of the time explaining the mass to the two kids while using the remote to fast forward or reverse.

What's an "ambo"? A "chasuble"? What does "Liturgy of the Word" mean? How about "Liturgy of the Eucharist"? Father Jerry explains it all.

In today's world, as catechists compete with movies, TV, YouTube, and a host of other shiny objects for the attention of students, it's wonderful to have this effective and entertaining film that was created by people who clearly understand that engaging the imagination is a terrific way to educate.

You can find all the information you need about this DVD at http://www.sundaymass4kids.com.

The Faithful Traveler and the Miraculous Medal Shrine

Two of my favorite books are Catholic Shrines of Western Europe and Catholic Shrines of Central and Eastern Europe, both of which are subtitled "A Pilgrim's Travel Guide. I have often wished for as comprehensive a guide to the United States. Lo and behold, here comes The Faithful Traveler to fill that need, beginning in Philadelphia.

I am not much for watching travel DVDs, unless they are those that Michael Palin has done with clever commentary and an interesting theme (such as traveling around the world in 80 days). However, Diana von Glahn sent me a review copy of this DVD so I dutifully sat down to watch it, expecting to sample a bit and skip around before quitting. Unexpectedly I liked it so much that I watched the entire thing, including extras, and then told Tom he will have to watch. (He is much less resistant to this sort of thing than I am.)

First of all, Diana's screen presence is charming. She is serious about the subject yet there is always the hint of an underlying merriment that is most inviting.

Secondly, I didn't expect this to be a partial Catholic history class with plenty of fascinating information about the origin of the Miraculous Medal as well as about the Philadelphia shrine. Additionally, in order to make sure that viewers understand the concepts well, there is are brief explanations of Catholic concepts along the way (such as why Catholics venerate Mary or that the medal is not superstitiously viewed "as a good luck charm"). This means that the DVDs can also be passed on to nonCatholics who might have questions or be interested in the shrine. A nice touch.

The music is contemporary Christian but is not some of the sappy, overly sentimental stuff that I shrink from hearing. It is either upbeat or heartfelt, but good.

My only critiques would be that the information on the extras page is not large enough to read easily and that the word "amazing" gets a bit overused. However, as a podcast who has found that her favorite "make a noise while thinking of what to say next" word is "and" I can understand this tendency.

The Faithful Traveler website is loaded with information, including a blog that has many pertinent facts that would be helpful when visiting a location. You can see samples of the dvd or order it here.