Fr. Robert Barron films the Catholicism Project on location in Florence, Italy
Catholicism Project - Official Site
Posted on 08/15/2011 7:58:41 AM PDT by marshmallow
Denver, Colo., Aug 14, 2011 / 06:02 pm (CNA).- A high-definition series exploring the beauty and richness of Catholicism is set to air on over 80 public television stations across the U.S. this fall.
Fr. Robert Barron, head of Word on Fire media and the visionary behind the “Catholicism” series, told CNA his hope is that the films will be used “as a tool of evangelization for everybody.”
“I want the series to go out beyond the walls of the Church,” he said in an Aug. 10 interview. “That's why we're so happy it's going to be on public television.”
Set in 50 locations in over 16 countries, the series examines major themes within the Church such as the person of Christ, the mystery of God, the Virgin Mary, Saints Peter and Paul, the “missionary thrust of the Church,” the liturgy and the Eucharist, prayer and spirituality and the saints, Fr. Barron said.
In the episode on the Virgin Mary, for instance, the crew traveled to the Holy Land, France, Mexico and “around the world to see where the Marian faith shows up.”
“The approach I used,” he said, “was just to go to places around the world that visually show the themes I'm talking about.”
Fr. Barron said that the series comes at time when the U.S. is going through what he believes to be “the darkest period in the history of the American Catholic Church,” and that the “wrong” people are telling the story of what the Church actually is.
He pointed to the secular media's depiction of the Church “as the place where the sex abuse scandal happened,” a narrative that he finds “so tiresome and counterproductive.”
“I think Catholics from the inside have to tell a much richer, broader, fascinating story,” Fr. Barron said, stressing the importance of not allowing the Church to be “reduced to the sex abuse scandal.”
He noted that during challenging times in Church history, the saints “tended to come forward in the times of crisis and bring things back to their evangelical basics.”
Taking his cue from the saints, Fr. Barron said he was inspired to show Catholicism for what it really is.
“Whether its Francis, Dominic, Benedict, or Ignatius – they came forward at a time of crisis and said, 'what is the Church fundamentally about?'”
Fr. Barron also said he wanted to address the modern problem of what he called “domesticating” Jesus.
“I see that happening a lot both in high academic culture and the wider culture too—and that is turning Jesus into one more guru,” along with “sufi mystics, Hindu wisemen, Jewish rabbis or Deepak Chopra.”
“People look around to the spiritual world and then Jesus becomes one more of those figures,” he explained. “And I just think that's the way to miss him.”
“The Gospel presents him as this deeply challenging figure,” Fr. Barron noted. “Jesus is distinctive. He stands out in a sharp profile vis a vis other religious founders and I think Christians have to make that difference clear.”
The Chicago priest, who also holds the Francis Cardinal George Chair of Faith and Culture at the University of St. Mary of the Lake, said the project has taken close to four years to complete since its inception.
After getting permission to begin filming the series from the Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Francis George, the team began the unenviable task of fundraising.
“We had to raise about 3 million dollars to make this possible,” Fr. Barron said, “so we started in Chicago where we're based, but we ended up going all over the country.”
Fr. Barron said the project was done on a “shoe-string” budget compared to most productions of this size and that the team traveled in spurts for nearly two years – from 2008 to 2010 – whenever enough money was raised to journey to each location.
“The experience was immeasurable and I'm still unpacking it,” he added.
Noting the quality of the series, he said that top film and production experts from NBC worked with high-definition equipment to capture the lush colors and intricate details of every location. The episodes also feature an original musical score by Chicago composer Steven Mullen.
“That was from the the beginning a strong emphasis of mine. I said, 'if we're going to show off this beautiful tradition that we have, I don't want to do it in some second-rate way,'” Fr. Barron recalled.
He added that a “wonderful study program” has also been created to go along with the episodes and that it is intended for parish use such as RCIA classes.
The priest expressed his desire that people who are “not religious at all – maybe they're atheists, agnostics, fallen away Catholics – would see the series and maybe be drawn in by the beauty of it, drawn in by culture, drawn in by history.”
“That's my hope – that it would be used inside the Catholic world but also as an evangelical tool outside the Catholic world.”
Liberal PBS is doing a series on Catholicism.
I wouldn’t be a Freeper if I weren’t skeptical of the intent of the series.
Fr. Barron on PBS? How did the liberal thought police let that through?
bookmark
If PBS is going to air it, it will be a hit piece.
The Priest is the real deal...
http://www.youtube.com/user/wordonfirevideo
Now could this be a play to keep federal funding on the part of PBS... maybe.
Before expsoing yourself to the pathology of the PBS virus, best to innoculate yourself with the undeniable historical facts first:
http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civilization/dp/0895260387
Catholicism Project - Official Site
Firenze’s (Florence, Italy) gorgeous il Duomo Cathedral in the background...
Uniquely beautiful, even among Europe’s stunning array of truly awesome Catholic Cathedrals.
“I think Catholics from the inside have to tell a much richer, broader, fascinating story,” Fr. Barron said, stressing the importance of not allowing the Church to be “reduced to the sex abuse scandal.”
Good for Father Barron! Sounds like he wants to present Jesus as the "Son of God", and not just a nice guy who said we all need to love each other. I'll be sure to watch the series, and make my judgement based on what's actually on the screen.
NYER I saw preview this weekend look good I wonder there is bias to it come from same dude who brought you Mormonism that producer look good
Uniquely beautiful, even among Europe’s stunning array of truly awesome Catholic Cathedrals.
Il Duomo
Baptistery
Ponte Vecchio
Michelangelo's David
http://www.amazon.com/Catholic-Church-Built-Western-Civilization/dp/0895260387"
That's and excellent book I highly recommend not only for Catholics but for anyone who wants to get an idea of just how much revisionist bullhockey has replaced real history in our education system. Granted, teaching how much positive impact the Catholic Church has had in history would rub many a protestant the wrong way, but at the very least people can read the book, check the facts, and then look at what has been substituted for the facts that should be a part of the history we teach our children. Whether you are Catholic or not the book is an eye opener for young people and God knows young folks these days need their eyes opened and their minds freed from the plague of propaganda and indoctrination they face every day.
Firenze is a treasure house of remarkable Renaissance/Catholic beauty.
David is a spectacular masterpiece and much larger than people realize or even conveyed in this photo. However, I believe that The Pieta also by Michelangelo, down the road at the Vatican, is the greatest work of art ever created by man.
davinci code for the cocktail set?
Michelangelo's Pieta
The Pietà (1498–1499) is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo Buonarroti, housed in St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. It is the first of a number of works of the same theme by the artist. The statue was commissioned for the French cardinal Jean de Billheres, who was a representative in Rome. The statue was made for the cardinal's funeral monument, but was moved to its current location, the first chapel on the right as one enters the basilica, in the 18th century. It is the only piece Michelangelo ever signed.
There have been many interpretations of this work. I still recall when the statue was transported to NY. The most substantial damage occurred on May 21, 1972 (Pentecost Sunday) when a mentally disturbed geologist named Laszlo Toth walked into the chapel and attacked the sculpture with a geologist's hammer while shouting "I am Jesus Christ." Onlookers took many of the pieces of marble that flew off. Later, some pieces were returned, but many were not, including Mary's nose, which had to be reconstructed from a block cut out of her back.
Like DaVinci, Michelangelo was truly a Renaissance genius. When you visited the Academia to see the David, you walked down a corridor flanked by some of his unfinished works. Michelangelo would tell his students that the figure was already inside the block of marble and their task was to 'release' ii from the block. This notion is evidenced by some of his unfinished works where the hands of the statue seem to be pushing against the block of marble in an attempt to be liberated.
Unfinished Sculpture
Michelangelo was also a renowned painter. What even comes close in comparison to the Sistine Chapel?
Creation of Adam
Sistine Chapel
Final Judgement
Following the death of a pope, it is in the Sistine Chapel, before the Final Judgement, that all the cardinals gather for the conclave to elect his successor.
Michelangelo was an architect.
Model for the dome of St Peter's by Michelangelo.
1558-1561 Painted Wood Scale 1:15 Fabbrica of St Peter's
Interior of the Dome
The Medici Tombs, Michelangelo, San Lorenzo, Florence
Few are aware that Michelangelo was also a poet! He called it “something foolish”. Michelangelo wrote over 300 poems. Many of his most impressive sonnets were written to his close friend Vittoria Colonna. Along with his poems of admiration and devotion are poems of a spiritual and mystical nature.
TO THE SUPREME BEING
by: Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564)
The prayers I make will then be sweet indeed,
If Thou the spirit give by which I pray:
My unassisted heart is barren clay,
Which of its native self can nothing feed:
Of good and pious works Thou art the seed,
Which quickens only where Thou say'st it may;
Unless Thou show to us Thine own true way,
No man can find it: Father! Thou must lead.
Do Thou, then, breathe those thoughts into my mind
By which such virtue may in me be bred
That in Thy holy footsteps I may tread;
The fetters of my tongue do Thou unbind,
That I may have the power to sing of Thee,
And sound Thy praises everlastingly.
This poem was translated into English by William Wordsworth (1770-1850).
Michelangelo Buonarroti
This is a great book and was a great series on EWTN
Great stuff. Thanks so much!
He designed an reversing gear that was used to get bricks and mortar up to the workers. It was operated by oxen and required no man power. He also had a canteen built halfway up so the workers would not have to come down for a lunch break.
During the entire construction only 6 workers died.
He also created single point perspective drawing to present different views of the dome.
PBS about Catholicism?
Hmmm— bet they want to talk about Kerry and Pelosi and other CINOs.
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