Connecting Scripture and Life

Today we talk about hope. Our world is in great need of hope and in the telling of the story of God's love for us we know hope is still alive. Listen to this story about the 18th century Hasidic master, Baal Shem Tov, told below, and understand that hope remains as does the promise that God will be with us. “It is told that in every generation there are times when hope threatens to leave this worl...

Paul's letter about love is the foundation of our faith. Jesus taught that love of God and love of neighbor as ourselves are the two greatest commandments. With love we embrace God's gift of the commandments so that we might live good and happy lives. In this letter, Paul teaches us about the love that comes from God, the love that transcends our human inclination to hold onto pain and anger so th...

The Paper Chicken: A Story of Renewal (As retold by Rabbi Or Rose) A young Hasid once visited his beloved master, Rabbi Elimelkh of Lizensk, during the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuval). The Hasid came to his rebbe with a specific request: "Great Master, as a devoted member of the holy community of Lizensk, I have been blessed to witness you pray the three daily services, recite the b...

Taanit 20a:16 The Sages further taught in praise of the reed: A person should always be soft like a reed, and he should not be stiff like a cedar. An incident occurred in which Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, came from Migdal Gedor, from his rabbi’s house, and he was riding on a donkey and strolling on the bank of the river. And he was very happy, and his head was swollen with pride because he...

Today we do something different. In this podcast we talk about a story from the Talmud. It is about Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish, two learned men of Torah. Rabbi Yochanan was a man of great learning whose beauty could heal. As a young man Reish Lakish was a bandit and one day when he tried to attack the Rabbi, Yochanan told him that his strength would be good to study Torah. Lakish threw himsel...

This curious passage sits between the scene where Moses tries to convince God that he is not the man for job and his joining together with Aaron to begin their journey to Egypt. The verses say that the Lord sought to kill him, so Moses's Midianite wife, Zipporah, circumcised their firstborn son and in this sign of the covenant he was spared. In our conversation we wonder about the language, the su...

The final episode in our OCIA series helps teams understand the Lectionary as "the book" for OCIA and the Gospels as the foundation for topics that form us all in the kerygma. This conversation with Leticia Perez and Adrian Aralar is informative and insightful and provides guidance for OCIA directors, coordinators, and team members to present the Good News in a transformative way. It also provides...

In this story about Jesus healing the Gerasene demoniac there is always the question about the swine and why they jumped off the cliff. Other questions arise about the afflicted man. We try to understand it for ourselves today as trauma, or addiction and these are valid ways to wrestle with this strange story. Isaiah 65:4-5 gives us some clues about it as does the reality on the ground at the time...

Many people come to OCIA who were baptized Catholic when they were infants or baptized in another Christian tradition and wish to complete and become part of the Church community. OCIA provides formation and rites for these people who already know Jesus and are part of the Christian life. Terri Palmer, Regional Coordinator for the San Pedro Region and Adrian Aralar, Coordinator of Liturgical Minis...

Good soil does not just happen. It needs care. Jesus said the seed that falls on good soil is embraced with a good and generous heart and bears fruit through perseverance. There are many kinds of soil and they all need to be weeded, watered, fed, and provided with sunshine. Our hearts need to be nourished too, through the word of God. Join us in this conversation about nourishing the soil of the h...

St. Augustine said "he who sings, prays twice". Music is an integral and Scriptural part of worship. The hymns we choose express the readings and parts of the Mass. Music reinforces the rites of OCIA and helps to articulate them to the catechumens and the assembly. Please join Victor Wheeler, Coordinator of Sacred Music in the Office for Divine Worship and Fr. Juan Ochoa in this important conversa...

The servant song of Isaiah for Catholics speaks of Jesus, for Jews speaks of Israel, but the ambiguity of the Hebrew allows us to explore both and more. This servant is also who we are, while at the same time those who dwell in darkness. The covenant spoken about is a covenant people, a covenant unto the people, a covenant for the people. The nation can expand to the world or be one other person w...

Interior conversion of the heart to Christ is at the foundation of missionary discipleship. Join Fr. Juan Ochoa and Bobby Vidal as they share with us the thresholds of conversion to life as saint as St. Paul describes. Whether we are well off the path that does not stray or firmly embedded in our parish community our hearts, minds, and souls are always turning toward the way Jesus gave us. Open up...

Psalm 13 is a lament for a heavy heart, a sorrowful soul that cries out to God, How Long! It is a voice of one in relationship that ultimately trusts in the love and mercy of God, in God's faithfulness and promise of salvation. How blessed we are that God gives us words to express these deep feelings of anguish and fear and in the same breath relieves them.

In this podcast Bobby Vidal and Anitra Gil of the Office for New Evangelization and Parish Life in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles share their experience of proclaiming Christ who suffered, died and rose for the sake of world. This is the beginning of faith for all and is necessary to proclaim throughout the OCIA process and the life of the Church. A relationship with Jesus is the starting point of...

My dear and gracious friend, Rabbi Jason Fruithandler, suggested in this week's podcast that we honor the life of Pope Francis by sharing reflections and thoughts about one of his writings. We chose a homily composed from his hospital bed that uplifts and calls artists to be prophets of hope for the world. As people of faith our art is to live the beatitudes in the spirit of humility and love as P...

Please join Terri Palmer and Adrian Aralar for our conversation about discernment in OCIA. Discerning Christ in our lives is not limited to our catechumens and candidates but part of the life of the OCIA team and the entire community of faithful. Listen to stories of the faithful who seek to become part of the Church and those who have dedicated their gifts to guiding others to Jesus. Through each...

In this podcast Fr. Juan Ochoa and Adrian Aralar walk us through the beauty and mystery of the Easter Vigil, from darkness into light. From the lighting of the fire and Paschal candle through the sacraments of Initiation of our elect. The Elect have prepared for many months and this is the night on which they now share at the table of the Lord. Wishing each one of you many blessings this Easter as...

In this special podcast to celebrate Passover we talk about the Haggadah teaching of the Four Sons: the wise one, the wicked one, the simple nature, and the one who does not know how to ask the question. This conversation explores the dimension of the Sons as children to be told the story of salvation in the way they can understand, and as the four sons that are within each of us. Above and contai...

Catholic Social Teaching is the guide of our Christian life. We are called as missionary disciples to works of charity for our neighbor based on the story of the Good Samaritan. The Letter of James tells us that underpinning all our work is faith in Jesus Christ. Paragraph 75 of the OCIA Rite instructs all of us to reach out anyone in need, no matter who they are, what they believe, or their statu...

The Raising of Lazarus is the Gospel for the Third Scrutiny of OCIA. In this conversation we talk about Martha, Mary and Lazarus as one in our own journey of faith. There are times when we have died to belief and struggle to find our way out of the darkness into the light. Belief is sometimes a great struggle but it is through the resurrection and the life that, though we stumble, the day emerges...

Mystagogy takes place after Easter Vigil and is a time for neophytes to reflect on what God has done for them in the Sacraments. It is a time often misunderstood or even ignored. In this podcast Fr. Juan Ochoa, Leticia Perez, and Adrian Aralar articulate what mystagogy is and its importance to those newly received into communion with the Church, and for the whole community. Please do not miss this...

The story of the Healing of the Man Born Blind is the Gospel for the Second Scrutiny in the period of Purification and Enlightenment. Just as the blind man was purified in Siloam and given the light to recognize Jesus, we seek the light in order to see him better. No character other than Jesus is named in this story. We are just like them in our journeys of the faith. At any given time we are the...

Please join Erick Rubalcava, Chief of Mission and Catholic Identity, Department of Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles with Fr. Juan Ochoa of the Office for Divine Worship as they share their experience and vision for OCIA and Sacramental formation for our parish children and families. Often the church and school are separate communities and in this conversation Erick and Fr. Juan o...

This is the story of Jesus's encounter with a Samaritan woman who came to draw water that must be drawn again and his promise of water that gives eternal life. The Church reads this Gospel story on the third Sunday of Lent for the First Scrutiny in the Order of Christian Initiation. It is beautifully appropriate for the process of conversion from the common life to a life of spirit and truth that...