The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode Archive

Episode Archive

700 episodes of The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) since the first episode, which aired on October 7th, 2022.

  • Day 41: Origins and Ends (2024)

    February 10th, 2024  |  17 mins 7 secs
    deism, dualism, ends, gnosticism, manichaeism, origins, pantheism

    Together with Fr. Mike, we examine some of the different explanations for God’s existence outside of the Catholic understanding, such as Pantheism, Dualism, Manichaeism, and Deism. Fr. Mike explains that while some understanding of man’s origin can be perceived through human reason and the natural world, we also need Revelation, as it answers many questions about creation we could never possibly hope to answer with reason alone. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 285-289.

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    Day 40: God Is the Creator (2024)

    February 9th, 2024  |  18 mins 15 secs
    creation, creator, earth, god, god the father, heaven, origins

    Fr. Mike explores God’s role as “Creator” and the vital importance of understanding God as the Creator of all things: heaven and earth, seen and unseen. Together, we examine the questions of our origins, such as “Where do we come from?” and “Where are we going?” Fr. Mike emphasizes that man is created for a purpose because of the great and eternal love our Father in heaven has for every one of us. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 279-284.

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    Day 39: The Father Almighty (2024)

    February 8th, 2024  |  20 mins 12 secs
    almighty, evil, god, god the almighty, goodness, omnipotence, suffering

    Together, with Fr. Mike, we explore the nature of God as Almighty. Fr. Mike discusses three important points to keep in mind about the reality of God’s power. The first is that God’s power is universal. God rules over everything; it is an infinite power. He is loving, he adopts us as his sons and daughters and shows us his mercy. Fr. Mike concludes with a reflection on God’s mysterious power in relation to the reality of the problem of evil and suffering in our world. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 268-278.

  • Day 38: Summary of the Trinity (2024)

    February 7th, 2024  |  14 mins 46 secs
    divine economy, divine works, father, holy spirit, son, trinitarian, trinitarian mission, trinity, unity

    We have arrived at the “nugget day” or In Brief section for the paragraphs examining the nature of the Father in the Trinity. Fr. Mike reiterates some of the “nuggets” of wisdom from these past few days. He emphasizes the importance of how Baptism allows us to share in the life of the Holy Trinity. We conclude this section with a reflection on this profound call to share in the glory of the Trinity even though it exists “in the obscurity of faith.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 261-267.

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    Day 37: The Divine Economy (2024)

    February 6th, 2024  |  14 mins 36 secs
    blessed elizabeth of the holy trinity, divine economy, father, holy spirit, holy trinity, son, trinity

    Fr. Mike continues to unpack the Church’s teachings on the Trinity. Today, we move into an examination of the divine economy or how God has revealed and communicated himself on earth. The divine economy is not just the work of the Father, but rather the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit together as one. Fr. Mike concludes this episode with a reflection on the impactful words of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity who asks God to “make our hearts his heaven.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 257-260.

  • Day 36: The Nature of the Trinity (2024)

    February 5th, 2024  |  17 mins 40 secs
    divine persons, father, holy spirit, son, three persons, trinity, unity

    Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our exploration of the Church’s teachings on the nature of the Holy Trinity. We examine three main ideas. The first is the unity of the Trinity, that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all one God. The next is the Divine Persons as distinct from one another: one God, three distinct persons. As Fr. Mike states, “The Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Son, and the Holy Spirit is not either.” Finally, Fr. Mike discusses the relation between each person of the Holy Trinity. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 253-256.

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    Day 35: Formation of Trinitarian Dogma (2024)

    February 4th, 2024  |  15 mins 45 secs
    dogma, father, formation, holy spirit, son, trinitarian, trinity

    Fr. Mike explores the formation of the Church’s dogma on the nature of the Trinity. He unpacks the terms used by the Church in an attempt to explain the nature of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. However, as Fr. Mike reminds us, with the story of St. Augustine and the child on the seaside, the Trinity is a mystery that none of us can fully comprehend. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 249-252.

  • Day 34: Unity in the Holy Spirit (2024)

    February 3rd, 2024  |  19 mins 40 secs
    advocate, constantinople, consubstantial, eastern church, eastern orthodox, father, filioque, holy spirit, niceno-constantinopolitan creed, orthodox church, paraclete, proceeds from the father and the son, proceeds from the father through the son, roman catholic church, son, the great schism, third person of the trinity, trinitarian, western church

    The Catechism introduces us to the Holy Spirit and describes how the Spirit reveals the Father and the Son to us. It also gives us some background and context regarding the way we describe the Holy Spirit in the Roman Catholic Church compared to the way that the Eastern Orthodox Church describes the Holy Spirit. Fr. Mike breaks it down for us and gives us some hope for a future reconciliation between Eastern and Western Churches. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 243-248.

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    Day 33: God as Father (2024)

    February 2nd, 2024  |  14 mins 17 secs
    begotten not made, consubstantial, covenant with israel, god as father, god as mother, god the father, god the mother, john 1, trinitarian, trinity

    The Catechism describes the various ways that God has revealed himself to us as Father over the ages, and gives us insight into God the Father “in relation to his only Son,” Jesus. Fr. Mike entreats us to examine our relationships with our earthly fathers and how they might be impacting our vision of God as Father. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 238-242.

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    Day 32: The Most Holy Trinity (2024)

    February 1st, 2024  |  14 mins 56 secs
    baptism, blessed trinity, christian mystery, economy, hidden in god, in the name of the father, most holy trinity, mystery of faith, mystery of the trinity, oikonomia, one god, sign of the cross, the trinity, theologia, theology, three persons, trinitarian, trinity, truths of the faith

    Christians are baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” not the “names” of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Catechism explains this distinction by introducing us to the “central mystery of Christian faith and life”: the Trinity. Fr. Mike slows us down to meditate on what God reveals to us concerning his inner life, the very thing that “many prophets and righteous people longed to see… [and] hear.” Today’s readings are Catechism, paragraphs 232-237.

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    Day 31: The Meaning of Faith (2024)

    January 31st, 2024  |  12 mins 48 secs
    dignity of all men, god’s greatness, god’s majesty, image and likeness of god, implications of faith in one god, living in thanksgiving, st. joan of arc, st. nicholas of flue, st. teresa of jesus, trusting god, unity of all men

    The Catechism wraps up our “I Believe in God” paragraphs with an In Brief and “The Implications of Faith in One God”—or, what God’s being means for us and our lives. Faith in our God means knowing his greatness, living in thanksgiving, knowing the dignity of all men, making good use of creation, and trusting God in every circumstance. Fr. Mike reminds us that “in every circumstance,” meaning even in adversity, God uses all things for the good. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 222-231.

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    Day 30: God Is Who Is (2024)

    January 30th, 2024  |  17 mins 43 secs
    1 john 4, 1 john 1, 1 john 5, 2 samuel 7, communion of persons, deuteronomy 7, exodus 34, father son holy spirit, fullness of being, god alone is, god is love, god is truth, god’s promises, god’s secret, i am who am, infidelity, james 1, john 17, john 18, john 3:16, malachi 2, psalm 102, psalm 115, psalm 119, psalm 138, psalm 85, the divine name, trinity, wisdom 13, wisdom 7, yahweh

    God is truth, God is love, and God is being itself. Today's Catechism readings begin to unpack the eternal nature of God and share with us God’s “innermost secret." Fr. Mike teaches us that because God made us in his image and likeness, then we too are called to embody truth and love. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 212-221.

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    Day 29: Knowing the Name of God (2024)

    January 29th, 2024  |  15 mins 57 secs
    almighty god, belief, catechism, catholic belief, catholic teaching, catholic wisdom, christian belief, creator, explaining faith, father, god alone, god revealed, god the father, god’s people, growing in faith, holiness, i am, mystery, mystery of god, name of god, respect for god, reverence, sacred name, shared faith, sharing faith, statement of faith, structure of faith, testimony, witness, yahweh

    We can learn a lot about the nature of God from his Divine Name revealed in Scripture. When God said to Moses, “I am who I am,” this was a revelation of a name as well as a refusal of a name. Fr. Mike explains how this mystery reveals truths about God: he is infinitely above all things; we cannot comprehend him, yet he draws close to us. This Divine Name expresses the steadfast, faithful, unchanging love of God for his people, even when we betray and abandon him. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 205-211.

  • Day 28: The Nature of God (2024)

    January 28th, 2024  |  15 mins
    almighty god, apostles, belief, catechism, catholic belief, catholic teaching, catholic wisdom, christian belief, creator, creed, explaining faith, father, gift of faith, god the father, growing in faith, nicene creed, persecuted christians, shared faith, sharing faith, statement of faith, structure of faith, testimony, what we believe, why we believe, witness

    In this episode, we discuss the nature of God, “who” God is, beginning with God the Father. Our reading explains how the Creed begins with God the Father because he is the first Divine Person of the most Holy Trinity. God is one Divine Being made up of three persons, and his identity is a deep mystery. Fr. Mike explains that God is a single ‘what’ made up of three ‘who’s.’ Despite this mystery, God is not an anonymous force. He has revealed himself to us by making his name known to us, and he has thus made himself accessible. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 198-204.

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    Day 27: The Gift of the Creed (2024)

    January 27th, 2024  |  11 mins 19 secs
    apostles, belief, catechism, catholic belief, catholic teaching, catholic wisdom, christian belief, explaining faith, gift of faith, growing in faith, nicene creed, persecuted christians, shared faith, sharing faith, st ambrose, statement of faith, structure of faith, testimony, what we believe, why we believe, witness

    The Catechism we are reading follows the structure of the Apostles’ Creed with frequent references to the Nicene Creed for further details and explanations. Together, these Creeds aid us in articulating the beliefs we share with all members of the Catholic Church. Fr. Mike discusses why St. Ambrose refers to the Creed as “an ever-present guardian” and “treasure of our soul.” He encourages us not to take this gift for granted. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 193-197.

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    Day 26: Communion of Believers (2024)

    January 26th, 2024  |  19 mins 29 secs
    apostles creed, baptism, beliefs, believe, believers, catholic tradition, common language, communion, nicene creed, pledge, sharing faith, summary, summary of faith, symbol of faith, understanding, what we believe, witness, witness of faith

    Today we further realize the sense of the word “credo,” meaning “I believe.” As we read the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed, we discover the differences between the two and come to understand how the Nicene Creed, which came centuries later, expands upon and explains the beliefs of the Apostles’ Creed. Fr. Mike tells us that these Creeds help us to share the essential elements of Catholicism, acting as “symbols of faith,” and encouraging communion between believers. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 185-192.