Connecting Scripture and Life

The Rite of Election at the Cathedral brings together literally thousands of people who desire to be part of the Sacramental life of the Catholic Church. To see them gathered together gives all of us hope that the Church is alive and well and ready to enter the world to love God with all our hearts, souls and might and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We see our mother Church reflected in those...

This is a song of prayer by Moses and the Israelites after God separated them from their Egyptian masters forever. It extols the steadfast love of God for His people. The language may be archaic but the deliverer, the savior, God, remains the same and love for his people is eternal, to the ends of the earth.

Fr. Pedro Lopez walks us through the history of what we know today as Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. He shows us the development of the process from our Jewish roots, through times of growth, waning, and revival. Please join us for this fascinating podcast that helps us to understand that OCIA did not start in 1972. It began with the birth of the Church herself. The same truth brought to...

Jonah is a mirror. Not just the character, but the whole book. We are at once Jonah, the sailors, and the Ninivites. We are asleep in the hold of the ship and running around tossing things overboard. We are obstinate then obedient, rabble rousing yet able to hear the voice of God and repent. The story of Jonah reflects our complex humanity. It is like an icon, the faithful being the point of vanis...

The change in the name from Rite to Order of Christian Initiation of Adults orients our hearts toward the process of becoming Catholic. The changes articulate that journey and clarifies steps and terms. What has not changed is the vision: “The Order of Christian Initiation…is designed for adults who, upon hearing the proclamation of the mystery of Christ as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts, cons...

This podcast begins with the parable of Good Samaritan in which the Church Fathers saw the foundation of our Sacraments. Fr. Juan Ochoa beautifully describes the life of the Church in her experiences of Grace. He show us how we are called to approach the sacraments with faith like the woman who touched the tassel of Jesus's cloak and was healed. Please join us for this excellent teaching about Fai...

In this second part of our conversation about the story of the prophet Jonah we contemplate the sailors and their process of conversion from desperately calling on their own gods that do not answer to sacrificing and making vows to "the Lord". Through these men and Jonah we see that people of different faiths can guide us to the Truth. Cast into the deep Jonah calls out to God in a gathering of ps...

The National Statutes guide pastors and teams through the OCIA process so that they might better guide the lives of Inquirers and Catechumens toward community worship and a habit of prayer, in Church teachings and living a moral life, and participation in works of charity and service. In other words - to a life configured to Christ. In this podcast Fr. Juan Ochoa and Barbara Murphy talk about the...

In part one of our dive into the Book of Jonah we talk a lot about the sailors who were thrust into the duel between Jonah and God. These were men of conviction and good will who came to understand what it truly means to fear God. What of Jonah? At this point in our story he has been tossed into the churning seas (SPLASH!). We wrestle with the motivation of Jonah. Did he ask to be thrown overboard...

Welcome to our new weekly podcast, Go and Make Disciples: Order of Christian Initiation of Adults. The title is from Mathew 28:19, the Great Commission, to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. That is what OCIA is all about. OCIA draws us away from a program mindset of initiation toward an approach that embraces a s...

In this very special podcast we talk about God's promise to restore those who follow God's way and do not put other gods before HIm. These chapters are God's response to human lamentation at the destruction of the Temple and the misfortune that follows the loss of "pride". We hear God's lamentation for the loss of faith from his people. These chapters have much to say about us today, how the world...

The shepherds were the first to hear the word that the Messiah of God has been born into our world and in haste these humble laborers went to see the child in the manger. Then they went out to share what they experienced with others and were believed! Like those ministers of the word before us, we are shepherds of the message that a savior has been born, that light has come into the world. This ye...

“Another way to put it is ‘Blessed are you who allowed life to matter’…This whole story is a story of letting it be as beautiful as it is without any edge, without any masks, with just being present…especially if the point of Advent is to prepare ourselves for God…” Rabbi Jason Fruithandler Please join us for a deeply transforming homily from Rabbi Fruithandler and our reflections on Elizabeth, Ma...

Celebrate Mary's yes! This conversation ponders what sort of message Gabriel brought to Mary and her response. Reflections for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

The Gospel for the Third Sunday of Advent is about the people asking what they need to do to receive God's mercy. To give away half of what they possess to someone who has none is the kind of mercy John the Baptist tells them they must have. He does not tell them to give away everything. They get to keep half their stuff! Will that be enough? Rabbi Fruithandler shares a beautiful prayer from the T...

The readings for Second Sunday of Advent are filled with joy and hope. They speak of God's promise that the valleys will be raised up and the mountains will be lowered and the winding road of our lives will be made straight through the Gospel that preaches the love of God, neighbor and self. It brings an increase in our love in all "knowledge and all perception". Join us in this conversation about...

Advent is the promise of God coming into the world, the promise of love fulfilled. Paul said to the Thessalonians: "May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all..." This love for God and for each other will be the way we are able to raise our heads and find purpose and meaning in life. How do we find our way through the "roaring of the sea and the waves"? Abound in...

"Let everything that has breath give praise to the LORD! Hallelujah!" Psalms 145-150 are known as the Hallelujah Psalms. Through them the generations of faithful tell of God's patience, kindness and abounding mercy. "How good to sing praise to our God; how pleasant to give fitting praise!"

It is difficult to read a passage like the one in Genesis 34 and find God’s inspiration. It is a hard story to comprehend when we believe it to be the revealed word of God and yet struggle to find any hope in it. Catholics and Jews find this one particularly vexing and would just as soon skip over it. Because it is so difficult we confront it. Rabbi Fruithandler and Barbara Murphy wrestle with the...

Cain made an offering of some fruit while Abel offered the choicest of his flock. God paid heed to Abel's proper sacrifice, and when God did not pay heed to Cain's, Cain became angry and jealous. God told him all you have to do is what's right and things will be well. Instead, Cain killed his brother. He chose exile from God rather than humility. How do our envies and anger keep us out of God's si...

The Transfiguration of Jesus before the eyes of Peter, James and John is a profound experience of something deeply private and immensely public. The three closest to Jesus did not understand the meaning of the theophany until the Holy Spirit in the upper room glorified Christ within them. Then the few set out and changed the world one person at a time. We do not know what Moses and Elijah spoke ab...

Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement - a day that reveals God's great and inexhaustible forgiveness. To know there is always a way back from our wanderings off the true way is a gift from God that is for all time. Catholics understand this ritual of forgiveness in the Sacrament of Penance. Leviticus 16 is a beautiful chapter about return, repentance and forgiveness. Join us for this moving conversation a...

Join us for this special podcast about Rosh Hashanah, the holiest day of the Jewish liturgical calendar. Rabbi Fruithandler shares the meaning of this special day and time of year. Click the following link that will take you to the video, Shofar 101, for Jason's teaching about the blasts of the ram's horn. https://youtu.be/iDr53o23u14

We complete our conversations about the Commandments, the Tablets given to us from God. They are a gift for a good life for us as individuals and as a community, as a society that understands that without boundaries, with these laws we have no true freedom.

We are ultimately responsible to create a world in which murder does not happen. Jews and Catholics both place boundaries around the reality that we live in a world where killing exists. This conversation discusses those boundaries and how they play out in our day-to-day reality. Join us.