I had been on a path to God for a while but had a severe distrust of religion and those proclaiming to speak with any authority on the matter. How could anyone really know? My husband is a cradle Catholic and we had fervent debates about him going back to the Church and wanting to live his Catholic faith. He had found the Church’s teachings on particular moral subjects very compelling now that he understood their basis, and I felt like I was losing the man I thought I knew.

But we would talk about his journey and I’d try to listen with an open mind. I finally realized the change in his life that was making him a better husband and father and started being less antagonistic toward it. I started accepting it and trying better to understand the Catholic Faith myself.

Finally, at the gentle nudging of my husband, I watched the first episode of the CATHOLICISM series. Bishop Barron put it so simply, in a way I had never considered before: Jesus can’t be a good spiritual leader, an all-around good guy, and not be the son of God (paraphrasing poorly). That would make him a liar. So he must be either a liar, or he is who he says he is.

It was like a light switched on in my head. That simple argument at the beginning of the first episode was what I needed to understand to convert me, to help me let go of my distrust.

I started RCIA the following week and was baptized and confirmed on Easter Vigil in 2016. Thank you Bishop Barron and Word on Fire for your beautiful ministry. It has truly changed our lives.

I am 33 years old, I have a beautiful wife and two beautiful children, a big house, and a great job. But about 18 months ago, I found myself lost and fell into a deep depression. I had all the symptoms that go with this, including extreme self-pity, high anxiety, and suicidal thoughts. Surges of pride, envy, and jealousy ravaged my life and nearly destroyed my marriage. I strongly considered taking my life.

For months I searched for answers, everything from Western medicine to self-help gurus, alternative religion, you name it. Nothing helped, until one day I came across a video by Bishop Barron on the devil. I was blown away by it.

It’s been twelve months since I saw that video, and through prayer, the resources of Word on Fire, and listening to Bishop Barron, I’ve had one epiphany after another. Through humility, truth, prayer, and a lot of hard work, I am 100% cured from what nearly destroyed me.

I am not saved yet, but I hope one day I will be. Thanks to God, and through Bishop Barron and prayer, I am now at peace. Please continue doing what you do; it saved my life and I’m sure it will save many more.

I was raised in an Evangelical family by parents who taught us to love and cherish the Word of God. When I got older, however, I began to have intellectual problems with the theology in which I had been raised. Because all my friends and family were also Evangelical Christians, I didn’t know where else to go, so I became one of the many who identify as “spiritual but not religious.”

During college, I discovered Lutheranism and found a historical and intellectual Christianity that answered the doubts and objections I had had about Evangelicalism. For three years I was happy. Then I began to attend a Catholic university for graduate work, and suddenly I was confronted with the reality that Catholicism was not at all what I thought. In fact, everything I thought I knew was wrong.

My curiosity was sparked and I began looking for resources to help me understand what Catholicism actually taught. It was then that I discovered Word on Fire and Bishop Barron’s YouTube videos. When I asked a professor to recommend a book on Catholic beliefs, he suggested Bishop Barron’s Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith. From there I utilized every Word on Fire resource I could find, as well as other Catholic apologetics, and before I knew it, I had been utterly convinced.

And when I had to explain to my skeptical parents why I was converting, I used the CATHOLICISM DVD series to introduce them to my new faith. I was finally received into the Catholic Church in September of 2016, and am eternally grateful to the good Bishop for the invaluable role he and this organization played in my coming home.

Your ministry woke me up to the disillusionment and emptiness of the secular culture that was seeping into me and harming my body, mind, and soul. It was like applying a physical protection against the harmful egocentrism that was seeking to dominate my life.

This “physical protection” was my full return to the sacraments. Word on Fire brought me to re-encounter Christ, but with deeper clarity and understanding than in the Catholic formation of my youth. It has changed my life and led me into a deep love for Christ and the Catholic Church. I thank all of you and God bless from the bottom of my heart.

Bishop Barron has had a huge influence on my conversion to the Catholic Church. Until just over a year ago, I was an Episcopalian, though brought up in the Scottish Presbyterian church.

Bishop Barron’s highly educated and erudite arguments, coupled with his culturally sophisticated approach, dispelled the image I had of an obscurantist Catholic priest. He presented highly relevant issues and didn’t dumb them down. He also took on others at their own game.

This meant that what had seemed perhaps impossible, me becoming a Catholic, no longer seemed so outlandish. I’ve come home and I thank Bishop Barron for this!