This session will have a markedly different feel from other podcasts we have produced in this series and for good reason.  It was created in response to a need we felt in our other podcast series, Liturgy of the Hours.  That said, this podcast corresponds perfectly with the catechumenate phase we are now in, namely mystagogia, a time when our newly initiated members, the Neophytes, join us in living a sacramental life and deepening their understanding.  This is the final stage for the catechumenate process known as the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, RCIA.  For us veteran believers this period provides a time for "shaking-up" and reaffirming our life in the Holy Spirit.  Essential to deepening our understanding and living in a sacramental life is prayer.  In this podcast we talk about a prayer form known by several names, the most proper of which is Liturgy of the Hours.  We encourage our listeners to subscribe to each of our Liturgy of the Hours podcasts, currently we have Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Office of Readings.Please visit us at http://www.CatholicClasses.org

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Join us as we discuss the Liturgy.  The full article can be viewed at CatholicClasses.org.

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Show notes are at CatholicClasses.org

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This is an introduction to our new podcast series for Adult Catholics. Subscribe at CatholicClasses.org or on iTunes. This initial session in an eight part series on an Introduction to the Nature of the Church begins to explore the question of why the church is essential.  A first response to the question is that the church passes on divine revelation.  What Christ entrusted to the apostles, they in turn handed on to all generations through their preaching and writing, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.  This process and its products make up Sacred Tradition.  Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture form a single sacred statement of the word of God.  The church contemplates God, the source of all her riches and through her doctrine, life and worship, passes on to all of us everything she believes.In this podcast hear how a simple gesture sets into motion faith being passed from one person to another. Visit CatholicClassses.org to subscribe to this and other podcast series and to have a discussion on anything Catholic.

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The Holy Spirit is not a power or energy -- not to be confused with the "force" (though, perhaps understandable as a metaphor for the influence of the Holy Spirit). The Holy Spirit is a real person -- the identity of the love cited in 1 John 4:8, "God is love." Though the world neither sees nor knows Spirit, according to John's Gospel, we can plainly recognize the work of the Spirit. This podcast explores the work of the Spirit delving into some definitions, some aspects of the Spirit throughout salvation history, and some naming of signs and manifestations of the Spirit. These discussion points are key to understanding who the Spirit is, the Spirit's role in salvation, and ultimately out relationship with the Spirit. They make it plain that the Spirit is God's greatest gift. Visit www.CatholicClasses.org for the full post.

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This conversation covers some other aspects of Incarnation revolving around Jesus's birth. Following the nativity story, we get to explore various dimensions and meanings of the names and titles ascribed for Jesus as we look at the one who grew in wisdom and knowledge. For the full article go to www.catholicclasses.org. Song 1: "God is with us, Emmanual" by Bethany Dillon Song 2: "This is what Love looks like" by For The Cause Song 3: "All that is Hidden" by Helena Buscema & Leslie Smith

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In this second discussion on Mary, we explore her perpetual virginity, the annunciation of her role in the Christ's incarnation, and her assumption into heaven. As stated in the first, what the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illuminates in turn its faith in Christ.  Five key doctrines, rooted explicitly or implicitly in the Bible, that reveal the truth of who Mary is. This discussion continues through these truths. See the full post at wwwCatholicClasses.org

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Join us in our discussion about the Blessed Virgin Mary as we acknowledge her role in salvation. St. Augustine asserts that while Eve is the called the mother of the human race, Mary is called Mother of salvation. St. Jerome claims, death through Eve, life through Mary.àThese ideas illustrate the importance of Mary's role in Christ's redemption. In this the first of two discussions about Mary,Ãïàwe explore the Immaculate Conception of Mary and how she is the Church's model of faith. To read the rest of the post go to www.CatholicClasses.org.

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www.CatholicClasses.orgJoin us in our discussion about the Blessed Virgin Mary as we acknowledge her role in salvation. St. Augustine asserts that while Eve is the called the mother of the human race, Mary is called Mother of salvation.  St. Jerome claims, death through Eve, life through Mary. These ideas illustrate the importance of Mary's role in Christ's redemption. In this the first of two discussions about Mary, we explore the Immaculate Conception of Mary and how she is the Church's model of faith. At the start of this discussion, it must be clear that what the Catholic faith believes about Mary is based on what it believes about Christ, and what it teaches about Mary illuminates in turn its faith in Christ. Doctrines concerning Mary are part of the Word of God that consists of both Scripture and Tradition.  Like Mary, the Church is the faithful handmaid of God's Word.  There are five key doctrines, rooted explicitly or implicitly in the Bible, that reveal the truth of who Mary is. The Catholic Church does not teach that Mary is divine.  She is no goddess but a creature like us.  She is absolutely unique and special because she is the woman out of all of history who was chosen by God the Father to give human flesh and blood to his divine Son. This act of God, the Incarnation, is often misunderstood as the Immaculate Conception. Read the rest of the article at www.CatholicClasses.org More on Mary from the the Cathecism

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First Step - Rite of Acceptance -Once the inquirers have experienced an initial conversion to Jesus Christ, they celebrate the first major liturgical ritual of the initiation process. This first ritual is the Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens. During this rite of acceptance, which is usually celebrated during Sunday Mass, the candidates for initiation are publicly welcomed for the first time. They "declare their intention to the Church and the Church in turn...accepts them as persons who intend to become its members" (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, no. 41). The Rite of Acceptance into the Order of Catechumens completes the first stage, a First Step, of the initiation process and opens the door to the second period of the process, the period of the catechumenate. Read the full post at www.CatholicClasses.org

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Thank You (Listen for details on winning an iPod) Visit us at www.CatholicClasses.org For Catholics, Mass is a heavenly event - a wondrous heavenly banquet. It is a real experience -if only a first taste, of what we believe heaven, or as we profess, "the life of the world to come" to be all about. It is a real experience of the kingdom og God on earth. This vital profession of faith is the topic of this podcast. It expands on the "Mass Session," held last Tuesday when inquirers were first introduced to the Mass as part of the Period of Inquiry of the Catechumenate at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Holladay, Utah, for this year. The conversation begins by referring back to an idea voiced at the session. Since Mass is both the beginning -the source, and the end -the summit, celebrated now, it makes sense that in the early stages of the Catechumenate journey we introduce Mass as THE destination of our journey. In terms quoted from Church documents, Mass is the "fountain and summit" of a Catholic person's life. That is to say, that at one and the same time, mass is the fountain from which our life flows -the source, AND the summit of where our life is going -the destination. Not just from Sunday into the week and to the next Sunday; also, from baptism to eternal life. As well as the summit of our Catechumenate journey at Easter with first communion for adults celebrating the Easter sacraments, and even more importantly, as THE destination of the journey of creation itself, which is eternal life with God, or in a word, heaven! Since Mass is THE means, THE way we get to Easter and really to Heaven, we needed to introduce many of the names for Eucharist. We then introduce some of the many names we have of this real experience of the kingdom of God on earth. They begin to spell out what mass is in broad terms; in the big picture of Catholic life and in terms of our hope and belief in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. These terms lead necessarily to a discussion of real presence. We say explicitly that Real Presence is a proclamation of our faith in Jesus' words from the Gospel of John: "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." (Jn 6:53) and also his words at the Last Supper when he revealed that the bread and wine had truly become his flesh and blood. Real presence is also underlined in many other ways and means of Catholic life. Under all of these signs, Christ is really present and so it is natural for us to profess our faith in Christ's real presence especially in the consecrated bread and wine, as his body and blood. Indeed, we become the Body of Christ! We believe in the Eucharist we become what we receive, we are what we receive! This is our faith!

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Very Real! (The Church) www.CatholicClasses.org This conversation considers the interplay between the word church used for the building as well as the people. We look at two very real aspects of what we mean when we say "church"; First we talk about church as the "people of God" and then, second, we talk about "the mystery of the church." This discussion extends the "Church Tour" session of the Catechumenate at St. Vincent de Paul parish in Holladay, Utah, for this year. We spent Tuesday night on a "scavenger hunt" of sorts. Each of the Inquirers was given a color-coded list of objects and places that can be found in the liturgy space. The color codes corresponded with sponsors who had been assigned one color. Inquirers had to find a sponsor with a certain color who could tell them about a particular object or place. In other words, as the Inquires went about learning about the liturgy space, they were actually meeting various sponsors. In both of these ways, the Inquirers were learning about the church -the people of God as well as the building. The context of this conversation concerning two very real aspects of the church is the Trinity. Without getting into the theology of the Trinity, some of its characteristics are aligned with those of the church. We are able to suggest that the church is the Trinitarian love which saves us from slavery to sin. In this portion of our discussion we inseparably link the mystery of the Trinity with the mystery of the church. We look more closely at the mystery of the people who, through the Holy Spirit, are in union with God and with one another, who form the mystical body of Christ, who are the "People of God." One of the ways we describe the church is the people who try to live life so that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven; the people in whose midst is found the kingdom of heaven.; These people follow Jesus' message, the paschal mystery. This is the idea we started to discuss last time we talked and in this podcast moves further along as we discuss the mystery of the church.  As our conversation progresses we are able to say the Church is how we give ourselves for the good of others, even at great cost, following Jesus' way by the gift of the Holy Spirit. Both of these very real aspects of "church" allow us to conclude that the people who do this, are called church, they are the people of God -the people in whose midst is found the kingdom of endless joy, peace and justice; the reign of love's holiness, the kingdom of heaven. This is our faith!

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Hear This! (The Reign of God) If ever there was a message to hear, the message of the Good News of Jesus that the reign of God is at hand and already in our midst is one you really want to share with everyone and proclaim to one and all, hear this! This conversation takes up the wondrous message about the reign of God -which is another way to say kingdom of heaven, and then how Jesus' life, death and resurrection started it all. This was the topic at the Orientation Session of the Catechumenate for this liturgical year at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, in Holladay, Utah, from which this podcast derives. At that session we spent a lot of time exploring the structures and experiences that are unique to each of the four various periods of the whole Catechumenate. The message that the structures and experiences of the whole Catechumenate raise-up is Jesus -he proclaimed that the Kingdom of God is at hand. His life, death and resurrection invite us to hear this message. Jesus' message continues to be raised-up in the Church and the Church's message is that the Kingdom of God is in our midst. The Catechumenate is an apprenticeship of sorts in which people respond to Jesus' invitation to "come and see" where and how he lives in the Kingdom of God. It leads us to hear his message -the Good News, and see how it transforms life. It leads us to how Jesus lives in the Church, and how the people of the church live in the Kingdom of God. People who hear this have to be asking, how?! There are several answers. First, the kingdom is where he is. Second, the kingdom is in the teaching that we must die in order to live -participation in the "Paschal Mystery." Third, life in the kingdom is offered to everyone. Fourth, the kingdom belongs to the poor. Fifth, and most importantly, Jesus invites sinners -the kingdom is not reserved only for those who behave themselves; it is not a reward for being righteous, for being lawful, or even moral and just.Sixth, once you give yourself to Christ and enter the dying and rising of your own journey of the Paschal Mystery, there will be signs in your life that will amaze you! And seventh, though the Church is not the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God is found in her midst. Thus, to know Christ, is in fact to know his community, just as it had been during his lifetime. During his lifetime his mission was not to free the world from all evils -that remains the church's work, his mission was to free us from slavery of sin; from missing the mark, which divine love sets as our destiny. This is why the kingdom is not something to be studied but a way of life to be lived. We live the life of the Spirit so as to remove the evils of the world, that, like Jesus' prayer, God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Hear this! This is our faith! Read this and all articles at www.CatholicClasses.org  

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On Tuesday night we talked with people who are interested in knowing more about Catholicism.  They were oriented to what happens during the Catechumenate.  This podcast corresponds with that Orientation Session of the Catechumenate for the 2007 liturgical year at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, in Holladay, Utah.  We discuss why we need the Church to initiate faith, how the Church needs the Catechumenate and the Catechumenate needs the Church, to pass it on.  As we renew our faith, we pass it on to the catechumens.  Their witness to faith renews us.  They pass it on, back to church, to us, the faithful. Read the complete article at www.CatholicClasses.org Musical Interlude was "With Jesus There's a Way" by Roland Gervais. 

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The full article with references is at www.CatholicClasses.org.  You may also send email to Catholic at CatholicClasses dot org. Yours Always

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CatholicClasses.orgGreat Expectations The Good News about human destiny can fill us with great expectations all of the days of our lives - lives which are God-created, or seeded for eternity, using the phrase from our last conversation. This podcast is the second in a series of three which correspond with the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, in Holladay, Utah. People who are interested in knowing more about Catholicism were welcomed recently at the parish and this conversation addresses two aspects of human destiny implied during that Welcome Session; first, human happiness, and then, second, its vital link with human freedom. Read the complete article at www.CatholicClasses.org  

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What is your heart's desire? How do you know? What difference does it make in the way you are living your life, now and forever? Our heart's desire is something that people who were welcomed recently at the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Holladay, Utah, sense in themselves or have seen it in others and want to know more about it. The conversation they shared inspired this podcast: Welcome Session 1A: Our Heart's Desire. In it, we explore with discussion, music, prayer and suggested spiritual exercises, how we see ourselves and the world, and then, most importantly, the inborn hunger of our heart's desire. Go to www.CatholicClasses.org for the complete article.

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