Hearing God's Call

Welcome to Session 1 of this 30-session program of recordings, Hearing God’s Call: An Audio Introduction to the Catholic Faith. The series is produced by the National Centre for Evangelisation. The title of this session is Welcome and Introduction.

As you listen to this series of audio recordings you are invited to enter into a deep, rich and fulfilling relationship with God through the Catholic faith.

These recordings are designed to be listened to from beginning to end, at your own pace with each 10-minute session building on the sessions that have come before.

There are a broad range of topics explored in this program, which begins with stories of saints and heroes from the Bible and the history of the Church, moves then to examine some of the core beliefs of the Catholic Church before exploring the topic of prayer.

The program concludes with a session on the topic of Catholic social thought and offers some suggestions as to what resources you might want to get to assist you in your search for God who is calling you.

Each of us is called by God to fulfil a particular mission or vocation. Our task is to respond to the call. In this session we explore stories of call as recorded in the Old Testament, the first part of the Bible. We begin with the call of Abram, later named by God, Abraham.

In this session we explore stories of call and response as proclaimed by the prophets in the Old Testament.

The prophets provide us with powerful examples of call and response in prayer and action. Each prophet writes of his experience in his own way. From the many great prophets we briefly examine four: Amos, Hosea, Jeremiah, and Micah.

This session explores stories of call as recorded in the Gospels, which are found in the second part of the Bible; the New Testament. The specific stories examined are the call from God to Mary through an angel, the call to Joseph in a dream and the call from Jesus to the first disciples.

The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ. The apostles Peter and Paul provided the foundation and vision for the Church to consolidate and grow through the exercise of pastoral care and authority and the clear articulation of teaching. The Church celebrates a combined feast day for Saints Peter and Paul on the 29th June each year.

In sessions 2, 3 and 4 we explored the idea of call and response by looking at figures in the Bible. In this session we examine Saint Mary MacKillop and Saint Francis of Assisi.

Image used with permission of the Trustees of the Sisters of Saint Joseph. Must not be reproduced without permission of the Trustees. © 2023 

In this session we look at two different heroes of the Catholic Church: Dorothy Day and Saint Vincent de Paul.

In this session we look at two different stories of call or vocation. The first story tells of a young woman Thérèse of Lisieux who found God in the midst of the small joys and sufferings of life. The second story tells of a bishop, Saint Francis de Sales who, in the midst of violence and division, wrote about the rich diversity of the Christian world.

The Bible is the most printed book in history. The Bible is also referred to as Sacred Scripture or simply, the Scriptures.

The Holy Spirit is the source of life for the Church. This one source has two aspects: The Bible and the living tradition of trustworthy teaching. This living tradition has been handed down in an unbroken line from the apostles who knew Jesus to the present time.

Lectio divina or holy reading is a slow reflective method of praying the Bible. Through contemplating on a passage from the Bible and allowing it to enter into our daily life, this way of reading the Bible invites us to discover an underlying spiritual rhythm. Attuned to this rhythm we have the opportunity to discover a little more about ourselves and our relationship with God.

This session is informed by a booklet called “Lectio Divina; Praying the Scriptures in Lent and Holy Week, 2011”, prepared by Bishop David Walker, the Emeritus Bishop of Broken Bay Diocese, north of Sydney.

There are many stories told in the Christian community and we have already heard some stories of bible figures, heroes and saints. The most important story for Christians is the story of Jesus Christ, who lived, died and was raised from the dead about 2000 years ago in the region now known as Israel and the Palestinian territories.

In the Bible there are four Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each Gospel tells the story of Jesus Christ in its own way. In this session we explore the reason why there are four gospels and examine the similarities and differences between them. This will help us come to a deeper understanding of the message and meaning of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

In this session we explore the story of the Prodigal Son. The full story can be found in the Gospel of Luke chapter 15, verses 11‐32.

While there has been almost constant change in the Church, we can be sure that there has been no new revelation to replace the revelation given through Jesus Christ. There has been no new Bible written; and there has been founded no new church to link us with Christ.

This is the first of two sessions in which we explore an early Christian statement of belief.

In this session we explore the meaning of the last nine points that make up this ancient prayer.

In the Book of Exodus in the Old Testament, God gives Moses many laws related to a whole range of matters, from taxation and slavery to instructions on building an altar and furnishing a sacred space. Out of all of those laws and instructions ten are set aside as having special significance.

These ten are described in Exodus chapter 31, verse 18 as being written with the “finger of God”, that is they are special amongst the large list of commandments and instructions.

In the last session we explored the Ten Commandments as God’s gift to his people and as a sure guide for action. In session 13 of this program we heard about the reason why there are four Gospels with each of the Gospel writers or evangelists shaping their Gospel to tell the story of Jesus to a particular audience.

In this session we explore the relationship between the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Ten Commandments as portrayed in the collection of sayings that have come to be known as the Sermon on the Mount.

The tragedy of Jesus crucified, the mystery of the Church, the Scriptures, and the Sacraments only make sense when they are viewed in the light of Jesus risen from the dead. Without the Resurrection, the stories of Jesus are reduced to the reported sayings and actions of a holy and wise, wandering preacher.

In this session we explore the notion of life after death as understood by the Catholic Church.

“The Lord’s Prayer”, or “Our Father” as it is also called, is perhaps the world’s best known prayer. The reason it is called the Lord’s Prayer is that it was given to the apostles by Jesus himself.

Worship in the Catholic Church follows a calendar that is based on a cycle of periods called Liturgical Seasons. In the midst of these seasons the Church also sets aside special feast days to celebrate the memory of saints.

This session explores the meaning of the principle of Sacramentality and the importance of the seven Sacraments of the Catholic Church.

For Catholics, the celebration of the Mass is the centre of their life of faith. Mass is also called Eucharist, a Greek word which means “to give thanks”. The Eucharist is the heart and soul of the Catholic Church. Without the Eucharist there would not be a Catholic Church.

The popular prayer The Hail Mary provides a framework to begin our reflections on Mary and her relationship to Jesus and to us. In this prayer we have a combination of direct quotes from scripture and stanzas that illustrate how thinking about Mary developed in the life of the Church.

The Rosary is an ancient Christian prayer form in which a string of beads is used to help the person praying. It is grounded in the mystery of Christ and brings to mind episodes from his life, his suffering, his death and his Resurrection.

This practical session is designed to teach you the Rosary, and as such is mainly made up of prayers and instructions including with the recommendation of a film that may assist in appreciating the Rosary.

The Prayer of the Church is also called the Liturgy of the Hours or the Divine Office. It is the prayer of the whole People of God. It is a form of official liturgy or public prayer of the Catholic Church but you do not have to be a priest, brother or nun to pray it.

The mission that Jesus gave to the Catholic Church is to make disciples of all nations; ”baptise them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands he gave.” See Matthew’s Gospel chapter 28 verses 19 to 20. One of the challenges that the Church faces is identifying practical implications that arise from the teachings of Jesus.

Congratulations on reaching the final session of Hearing God’s Call. In this session we look back over the whole program as a reminder of the journey you have been on as you have listened, perhaps written or drawn responses to the questions and maybe viewed some of the films that were recommended.