The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
A day-by-day walk through the transformative beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church.
About the show
In Ascension’s The Catechism in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz guides you through the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church in 365 episodes, providing explanation, insight, and encouragement along the way.
Unlike any other Catechism podcast, The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) podcast follows a reading plan inspired by Ascension’s Foundations of Faith approach, a color-coded approach that reveals the structure of the Catechism, making it easier to read and understand. With this podcast, you’ll finally understand what it means to be Catholic and how the beliefs of the Catholic Faith come together.
Listen and…
- Read the ENTIRE Catechism of the Catholic Church in 365 days
- Understand the essentials of the Catholic Faith and why they matter
- Understand how Church teaching is rooted in Sacred Scripture
- Absorb over 2,000 years of Sacred Tradition
- Encounter God’s plan of sheer goodness for your life
Each 15-20 minute episode includes:
- A guided prayer to help you enter into each episode
- A reading from the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- An explanation from Fr. Mike Schmitz about the reading
The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Episodes
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Day 247: The Weight of Sin
September 4th, 2023 | 21 mins 47 secs
bullfighting, freedom, hell, love, mercy, reconciliation, sin
We can consider the variety of sins in light of their gravity or seriousness. In doing so, we see that some sins weaken charity while others destroy it. The first we call venial sins, the second mortal. Our very freedom makes possible this rejection of God. Yet, God’s mercy has no limits. God can and will forgive every sin of which we repent. Fr. Mike invites all listeners to seek this forgiveness and go to Confession. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1854-1864
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Day 246: Mercy and the Mystery of Sin
September 3rd, 2023 | 24 mins 37 secs
conversion, forgiveness, love, mercy, reason, sin
Jesus reveals God’s offer of loving mercy to sinners. To accept this gift, we must identify and admit our failings. Recognizing our sins enables us to further cooperate in our redemption. Sin can be understood and categorized in several ways, but every sin wounds our nature and damages our relationships with God and neighbor. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1846-1853.
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Day 245: Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Spirit
September 2nd, 2023 | 19 mins 19 secs
courage, gifts, joy, love, perfection, spirit
As we end our exploration of the virtues, we learn about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts perfect our virtues and increase our ability to respond to God’s guidance and inspiration. The fruits of the Holy Spirit perfect us, are signs of a life lived in the Spirit, and are “the first fruits of eternal glory,” as the Catechism tells us. Our cooperation with the Holy Spirit sustains and perfects our moral life, enabling us to live a more full and joyful life. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1830-1845.
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Day 244: The Virtue of Charity
September 1st, 2023 | 21 mins 43 secs
charity, love, virtue of charity, virtues
The greatest of all the theological virtues is charity. Fr. Mike explains that charity, or love, is to love God above all things for his own sake and to love our neighbor as ourselves. This includes loving our enemies and also obeying God's commandments, two actions that are not always easy. Most importantly, today's readings remind us that true charity is not loving the Father as servants in fear or as mercenaries looking for a reward but rather as his beloved children responding to him who "first loved us." Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 1822-1829.
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Day 243: The Virtue of Hope
August 31st, 2023 | 14 mins 24 secs
beatitudes, eternal life, gods promises, hope, hope of abraham, theological virtue of hope, trusting god
A desire for the Kingdom of heaven and eternal life is at the heart of the virtue of hope. Fr. Mike breaks down the definition of the theological virtue of hope and explains how it protects us from discouragement and selfishness. By placing our trust in Christ’s promises, we are free to love the people around us and endure all circumstances because we know that God is faithful. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1817-1821.
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Day 242: The Virtue of Faith
August 30th, 2023 | 18 mins 26 secs
belief in god, believing in god, faith, theological virtues, trusting in god, virtue of faith
The origin, motive, and object of the theological virtues are God himself. Today, we dive into the theological virtues, beginning with the virtue of Faith. Fr. Mike unpacks the meaning and purpose of the virtue of Faith and emphasizes that Faith is deeply rooted in trust in God. Lastly, Fr. Mike reminds us that Faith should be lived out along with Hope, and Love, and also professed to those who do know yet know God. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1812-1816.
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Day 241: The Cardinal Virtues
August 29th, 2023 | 22 mins 2 secs
being a good person, cardinal virtues, fortitude, human virtues, justice, moral life, morality, prudence, temperance
A virtuous person is someone who consistently chooses the good. Fr. Mike unpacks the four human or cardinal virtues that are essential in helping us become more like Jesus: prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance. We learn that these four virtues make possible “ease, self-mastery, and joy in leading a morally good life.” Today’s Catechism readings are paragraphs 1803-1811.
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Day 240: Erroneous Judgment of Conscience
August 28th, 2023 | 12 mins 58 secs
conscience, culpability, erroneous judgments, ignorance, moral conduct, moral conscience, sin
It is possible for our moral conscience to remain in ignorance for a variety of reasons. Fr. Mike delves into the sources of errors of judgment in moral conduct and how habitual sin blinds our conscience. As we wrap up this article, Fr. Mike reminds us that a well-formed conscience sets us free and gives us the power to do what we ought. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1790-1802.
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Day 239: The Formation of Conscience
August 27th, 2023 | 22 mins 18 secs
conscience, morality, reason, truthful, upright, well-formed conscience
Together, with Fr. Mike, we unpack the formation of our conscience. Fr. Mike emphasizes that a well-formed conscience is one that is both “upright and truthful.” He also highlights the idea that a well-formed intellect is vital to having a well-formed conscience. We cannot just say something is either right or wrong, we have to understand why we think that. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1783-1789.
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Day 238: Our Moral Conscience
August 26th, 2023 | 18 mins 51 secs
conscience, evil, good, judgement, moral, morality, prudence, reason, responsibility
Together, with Fr. Mike, we explore the moral conscience. Fr. Mike emphasizes that even though our intellect has been weakened by sin, we still have some sense, our conscience, that tells us that there is a right and wrong. He also emphasizes the difference between our conscience and our passions. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 1776-1782.
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Day 237: The Morality of the Passions
August 25th, 2023 | 22 mins 45 secs
anger, desire, fear, feelings, hatred, joy, love, morality, passions, sadness, sensitive appetite, vices, virtue
Together, we examine The Morality of The Passions. Fr. Mike unpacks and explores the different elements of the definition of “passions”. He emphasizes that while passions, themselves, are neither good nor bad, there still is a moral component to them. It is what we do with our passions that can either contribute to virtue or vice. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1762-1775.
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Day 236: The Morality of Human Acts
August 24th, 2023 | 18 mins 24 secs
agency, circumstances, evil, freedom, good, human acts, intention, morality, morality of human acts, object, right, sin, wrong
Together, with Fr. Mike, we examine the article on the morality of human acts. Fr. Mike unpacks the three “sources” of morality: the object chosen, the end in view or the intention, and the circumstances. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the categories of right or wrong, good or evil. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1749-1761.
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Day 235: Human Freedom in Salvation
August 23rd, 2023 | 16 mins 57 secs
freedom, grace, human acts, liberation, moral law, morality, morality of human acts, salvation, sin
Together, with Fr. Mike, we examine the reality of our human freedom in the economy of salvation. Fr. Mike emphasizes that the right to freedom does not imply a right to say or do anything. Rather, it is the power to choose the “right.” He also emphasizes that the moral law actually allows us to live with freedom and joy, and that when we violate the moral law, we violate our own freedom. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1739-1748.
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Day 234: Freedom and Responsibility
August 22nd, 2023 | 16 mins 2 secs
article 3, choosing evil, choosing good, definition of free will, definition of freedom, free will, freedom and responsibility, imputability, involuntary, man’s freedom, negative freedom, original sin, positive freedom, religious freedom, slavery of sin, vice, virtue, voluntary
The Catechism gives us an overview of what it means for humans to have freedom, as well as some of the ramifications of that freedom. It introduces us to the countercultural notion that true freedom is to choose the good—the “freedom” to choose evil is merely the abuse of freedom. Fr. Mike ensures that we understand imputability and culpability because questions about intention, ignorance, and other social factors will be the hinges upon which swing the doors of sin. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1730-1738.
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Day 233: The Beatitudes
August 21st, 2023 | 19 mins 40 secs
apostolic catechesis, augustine, beatitudes, confessions, decalogue, discernment, eternal life, in brief, kingdom of god, kingdom of heaven, meek, nuggest day, poor in spirit, pure in heart, sermon on the mount, vocation to beatitude
“The Beatitudes are at the heart of Jesus’ preaching,” the Catechism tells us. Jesus’ proclamation in Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Matthew purifies our hearts, sets a standard for earthly discernment, and directs our actions towards heaven. Fr. Mike invites us to choose God’s ways and forsake our own ways. Today’s readings and paragraphs 1716-1729.
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Day 232: Man Is Made in the Image of God
August 20th, 2023 | 19 mins 46 secs
beatitude, chapter one, dignity of the human person, divine charity, divine image, filial adoption, for its own sake, free will, human solidarity, image and likeness, in brief, life in the spirit, likeness of god, man’s vocation, nugget day, section 1, section one, the image of god, vocation of man
We enter a new chapter examining the dignity of the human person, and Article 1 shows us that we have dignity because we are made in the image and likeness of God. We preserve that dignity when we exercise virtue and charity, and we do violence to it when we commit sin and evil acts. Fr. Mike hones in on the bold statement that we as humans are “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1699-1715.