Four saints in four videos
Free post
Not many days ago, a Substacker of my acquaintance took the opportunity to deride Catholic Bishop Robert Barron in a post. I can only suppose that the rationale for the writer’s uncharitable attack on the bishop’s character is the fact that the latter is a consistent defender of his tradition’s integrity, and not “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine.” I can’t imagine what else might have induced it. Bishop Barron is an affable, highly intelligent, and reasonable soul, never accused of any impropriety, and — to all appearances — a notably able shepherd. At any rate, that catty little post motivated me to view Bishop Barron’s fine series of hour-long documentaries entitled Catholicism: The Pivotal Players, and I’m glad I did. Only four have been produced thus far, with more on the way. I will watch those, too, as soon as they’re available. Below, I have posted the YouTube links to the first four titles.
Each video tells the life story of an important, historically and theologically “pivotal” Western saint: St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, and St. John Henry Newman. Bishop Barron is an excellent host, making difficult ideas accessible, and guiding the viewer through the significant places and times in which these luminaries lived and wrote. I found these unabashedly Catholic vignettes fascinating, even though I have chosen Orthodoxy over Rome. Any educated and thoughtful Orthodox (or any non-Catholic, for that matter) should be able to appreciate the series without getting his or her apologetics in a twist. The episode on Augustine, a saint revered by Catholics and Orthodox alike, merits no remark. Beyond that, one will find a solid defense of apophatic theology in the episode on Thomas Aquinas. And although Catherine of Siena might strike one as an unlikely person to share certain features of Orthodox theology, Bishop Barron depicts her in such a way that perceptive viewers should recognize in her an example of the “fool for Christ’s sake”; she also held a view similar to the epectasy of St. Gregory of Nyssa, as Bishop Barron avers (see my post on that subject here). Finally, as a former Anglican and — fairly briefly — Roman, I was again reminded by the episode on Newman of just how much I admire his courage and appreciate his brilliance and inimitable English prose.
So, if you have the time this Thanksgiving week, give these programs a viewing. You probably won’t regret it. I’m grateful to Bishop Barron for making this series, and I’m especially grateful to his recent detractor for making the unjustifiable remarks that moved me — justifiably — to post these episodes here.
God bless the good Bishop; I should like to listen to the one about St. Newman, whom I would like to read in greater detail.
Two miscellaneous questions for you, unrelated:
1. What do you think about historical-critical analyses of the virgin birth (which, as I can tell, usually dismiss it on the grounds that Ss. Matthew and Luke's narratives contradict and seem somewhat constructed, as well as the fact that the rest of the New Testament is silent on the matter)? I have no issues believing it (God does what He wills), and it certainly makes sense. "Thou, without blemish and who hast never known a man, hast brought forth without father a Son in the flesh, begotten of the Father without mother before all ages, Who suffered no change, confusion nor division, but kept in full what is proper to each nature." (Sunday Dogmatikon, Third Tone)
2. Do you know of any good academic resource on the development of the cult of the Virgin?
Reactions to Bishop Barron often mirror criticisms of Jordan Peterson, as both are seen as upholding traditionalist frameworks that emphasize individual morality and hierarchical order over systemic change, while being critical of abortion and LGBTQ rights. Hart chooses to engage with the best of Bishop Barron, much as he has with Peterson, focusing on their engagement with "tradition." This approach has prompted me, and likely others, to step back from judgment and remember that the Spirit moves where it wills, including through excellence. Thank you, Addison Hodges Hart, for what you continue to share with us.