Hearing God's Call

“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.