By Bishop Robert Barron

As secularism gains influence, and increasing numbers see religion as dull and backward, Bishop Robert Barron of Los Angeles wants to illuminate how beautiful, intelligent, and relevant the Catholic faith is.

In this compelling new book—written in conversation with award-winning Vatican journalist John L. Allen, Jr.—Bishop Barron, founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, proclaims in vivid language the goodness and truth of the Catholic tradition. Through his smart, practical, artistic, and theological observations as well as personal anecdotes—from engaging atheists on YouTube to discussing his days as a young diehard baseball fan from Chicago—To Light a Fire on the Earth covers prodigious ground.

Touching on everything from Jesus to prayer, science, movies, atheism, the spiritual life, the fate of Church in modern times, beauty, art, and social media, Barron reveals why the Church matters today and how Catholics can intelligently engage a skeptical world.

• Binding: Hardcover
  Pages: 272

Father Robert Barron is the founder of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, the Rector of Mundelein Seminary, and the host of CATHOLICISM, a groundbreaking, award-winning documentary about the Catholic faith. He received a master’s degree in philosophy from the Catholic University of America (1982) and a doctorate in sacred theology from the Institut Catholique de Paris (1992). He has published numerous books, essays, and articles on theology and the spiritual life. He has also appeared on several media outlets including NBC, PBS, FOX News, CNN, and EWTN. His website, WordOnFire.org, has reached over 3.8 million people and his weekly YouTube videos have been viewed over nine million times. His pioneering work in evangelizing through the new media led Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, to describe him as “one of the Church’s best messengers.”

John L. Allen Jr. is associate editor of The Boston Globe after 16 years as the prize-winning Senior Correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter. He also serves as the Senior Vatican Analyst for CNN. He’s the author of seven best-selling books on the Vatican and Catholic affairs, and writes frequently on the Church for major national and international publications. He’s also a popular speaker on Catholic affairs, both in the United States and abroad. His weekly internet column, “All Things Catholic,” is widely read as a source of insight on the global Church. John divides his time between Rome and his home in Denver, Colorado. He grew up in Western Kansas, and holds a Master’s degree in Religious Studies from the University of Kansas.