Let's see. He is a priest and world famous preacher,evangelist, and YouTube sensation. I'm a mother of seven and obscure writer.
But Father B. and I are the same age. When he talks about growing up in the post-Vatican II era of "beige Catholicicsm" , a.k.a. "banner & collage catechesis" I know exactly what he's talking about. Those were dark times. Or at least, beige times.
Today I learned something else that Fr. Barron and I have in common.
I had EWTN on again for Pope Francis' vespers at St. Peter's basilica. After it ended, EWTN had to fill in ten minutes or so with various short clips before it was time for the regularly schedule program to begin. There was Fr. Barron, speaking about his first year of college. "Who is the most important person in your life?" the teacher asked. "Naturally we all replied 'God'", Father recalled,"Then the teacher challenged us by asking us how often we talk to this most important person, this best friend--once a week? once a month?"
Robert Barron took his teacher's words to heart, and decided to meet the challenge of maintaining frequent contact with God by--you guessed it--getting a breviary and praying the Liturgy of the Hours faithfully. He was nineteen years old. A year after he made that decision, another college kid made a similar decision.
(That would be me.)
So Father Barron and I share a lifelong attachment to the prayer of the Church, not just as liturgy, but as a way to connect personally with the Lord multiple times per day.
