How Do I Become Catholic? | Catholicism for Catholics with Blessed is She

The Gathering Place, a Podcast from Blessed is She

Blessed is She

Religion & Spirituality

4.9 • 833 Ratings

🗓️ 1 April 2026

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are you wondering, “How do I become Catholic?” You’re not alone and you’re in the right place! In this episode of Catholicism for Catholics, Alison Oertle walks through the beautiful invitation of the Catholic Church and explains the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), the process through which adults are welcomed into the fullness of the faith.

Becoming Catholic isn’t just about joining a church, it’s saying yes to a lifelong relationship with the God of the universe. Through baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist, we receive His grace, live in communion with the Church, and grow closer to Jesus every day.

Alison compares the OCIA process to a love story with God, starting with inquiry (getting to know Him), moving through the catechumenate (falling in love and learning about the faith), and preparing for initiation at the sacraments. Whether you’re a new Christian or already walking with Him, OCIA is a chance to encounter Jesus and experience His love in a profound way. 💜

“The future depends on love.” What you fall in love with shapes your life. Let this invitation into the Church transform your heart, your daily life, and your understanding of God’s grace.

If you’re ready to explore the Catholic faith, consider contacting a local parish to attend an inquiry session, the first step in your journey with Jesus and His Church. ⛪️

Head over to our YouTube channel to watch our Catholicism for Catholics series.

Transcript

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0:00.0	How do I become Catholic? It's a great question, and I'm so glad that you're here for the answer.
0:13.6	I'm Alison Ortly, and it is my joy to share this response with you because I bet it is far more
0:20.3	beautiful than you could imagine.
0:22.6	I think it's good to think start with what does it mean to become a Catholic?
0:27.6	To be a Catholic is to accept a proposal from the God of the universe to spend your life with him.
0:35.6	The God who created you, who lives in this life and love of the Trinity
0:40.9	poured out, opens the mysteries of faith, pours out his grace through the Catholic Church in the
0:48.2	sacraments. And our understanding of grace is an actual participation in the life and the love that he is and so a God who is
0:57.2	father is asking you to be his child to be an adopted son or daughter of God Jesus who gave his
1:07.1	life is inviting us to receive his salvation the Holy Spirit is inviting us to receive his salvation. The Holy Spirit is inviting us to make his home,
1:15.6	to have heaven come and be within us. And so just as we think of a proposal of marriage, I love you,
1:22.7	I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me me this is the question that's being asked to
1:29.5	you and to me by the Catholic Church in the jeweler shop written by the great saint Pope
1:36.6	John Paul II when he was still Carol Hoytiva the proposal that is made for marriage
1:42.4	is this will you be my life's companion?
1:47.0	And I think for a lot of us that might seem like, wow, that's a lot,
1:51.0	maybe too much too soon, to answer such a big question.
1:56.0	And the church gets that, which is why they've created this beautiful process. It's referred to as
2:02.3	OCIA or the order of Christian initiation of adults and it dates back to the
2:08.8	earliest centuries of the church, third century when Christians were being
2:13.2	persecuted when they were being sent into prisons and the Coliseum to be fed to
2:17.3	the lions.
	...

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