What Makes Life Meaningful?

Friends, what makes life meaningful? What is meaning, and where do we find it? Those are the pressing questions Brandon Vogt and I discuss today on “The Word on Fire Show.” We also recap my conversation with Jordan Peterson, Jonathan Pageau, and John Vervaeke, and highlight two recent surveys dealing with the question of meaning.

A listener asks whether it's really true that nobody pursues evil for its own sake.

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[kathleenmullen]

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill our hearts and minds with your love and wisdom....

[mordorobsidian]

Word on Fire is leading me towards the Catholic Church, albeit slowly and thoughtfully. For the first time in years, I'm truly and earnestly seeking Meaning. Exhilarating, yet sometimes frightening!

[STRENGTHFROMABOVE]

Sometimes you need borrowed faith. When you’re too discouraged, too tired, been through too much, that’s okay. God will have friends with faith that are there for you. Someone to call to let you know they’re praying, someone to stop by with an encouraging word, someone to go to God on your behalf. Their prayers will touch heaven for you. I don’t know if you need a friend today or you feel like you don’t have faith for yourself. Or maybe, God has you reading this to remind you to be a friend with faith, to not just have faith for yourself, but to let someone borrow your faith. Thanks for your support and prayers. Amen

[heroicacts]

The happiness in the face of Bishop Barron when Brandon mentioned about his 8th child is something really beautiful to see! We can truly see that he is happy about a new person coming from this blessed family!
Congrats Brandon on the new child! May God bless you and your family!

[blanasky]

Bishop Barron you are truly a successor to the apostles, I’m a older convert to the Catholic Church and listening to word on fire and the Catholicism series a big part of my conversion. Ten years in so in love with the church, thank you Bishop

[ViscountJimmy]

"Perform today the simplest act of love. Will the good of another". So well articulated

[deborahmillette]

I pray 🙏🏽 Bishop Barron becomes the first American 🇺🇸 Pope!!! If it’s Gods will.

[noznip]

"May we always return to you God, the same love that you used to create us". This is something I recently changed in my night´s prayer. Because I was sort of in a mess when I asked to be put in the path that he wanted us to do, without knowing a "system" that corresponds to that goal. So now I found my "meaning". Do everything that I feel that will return that Love back to God. Let it be in prayer, in deed, in my work in everything.

[joseurquia]

Bishop Baron i wish to thank you for all these priceless truths i am hearing from you . You re a person of value indeed in many ways.

[claudiabodewigp]

Congratulations Brandon!!! Thanks Bishop Barron for all the wisdom! Blessings to both of you!

[libanisanunez]

I believe that in the WORD ON FIRE bible bishop Barron penetrates deeply into what Jesus is trying to communicate to us in the gospels.

[lornavaughan]

Congratulations Brandon and Catleen for your 8th child. Your'll are really blessed. And thank you Bishop Barron, i just love listening to you on the Word on Fire show. You are a wonderful speaker. It was so nice to see you so jovial and laughing and smiling on this show. You made me smile too. GOD bless you abundantly. Stay safe ➕❤

[danserrano]

Thank you God for this Bishop and Brandon

[monikacoates]

I liked your words Bishop. They were very beautiful, meaningful and showed depth. I really enjoyed where you talked about the beauty of the world like Plato's Symposium. Thank you!
Thank you for your words too, Brandon. And Congratulations!

[processrauwill]

13:03 I think is some what of a half truth. Socrates once said, “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.” What he meant by this was if you understand the ways in which you are ordered what drives you, what gives you joy, what brings you pain, etc… you can use that to get you in deeper contact with reality and yourself. Then as you self realize you can self actualitize the truth that brings you to God, and that then becomes a reciprocal process

[aileenbordelon]

I liked Bishop Barron’s answer to the question at the end of the show. I believe the only time when we are truly and fully parted from God is in hell but here on earth even amongst wickedness there is at least some good within us.

[artbudington]

Absolutely brilliant! Word on Fire has changed my life!

[JohnR.T.B.]

Thanks Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt.
It's easy to fall into the trap of believing that our meaning in life is to get things from this world that can make us happy, famous, or better than others. I think religious Christians, non-religious, and people of other faiths will fall into that definition one way or the other. Of course, the problem with that is, all of us, no matter what we can do, will in the end lose the things we own, will always have new problems in life no matter how much we've "climbed up", and will never get the ideal situations we imagined previously. And for many people, just to get the sufficient necessities of life can be very difficult and despairing.

The idea of putting our meaning of life into the materialistic mindset is destroying our souls and dignity of life; as though if we don't get what we're "expected to" from our family or society, or if we can't have a "productive" working life, we're a waste in the society and a problem. However, we're alive and conscious not because we've signed a contract to have certain things or do certain things, we're alive purely because of God's love at the very fundamental, if the love of the family is taken away by evil. We're alive so that we can know God and be with God in the eternal goodness, no matter how we're called to do our parts in the pilgrimage to heaven.

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Matthew 24: 35)

[paulapasma]

I work at a charity and we recently had a brainstorming session where we were tasked with thinking of the charity's "Why Statement". I couldn't help but think that this is the equivalent. "Why" am I doing what I'm doing??? This needs to be top-of-mind SO MUCH MORE in today's world!

[Hello-hpyv]

11:45 I love your reaction, so much joy