The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
A day-by-day walk through the transformative beliefs and teachings of the Catholic Church.
We found 10 episodes of The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) with the tag “catholic”.
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Day 36: The Nature of the Trinity (2025)
February 5th, 2025 | 17 mins 40 secs
ascension, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teachings, catholicism, divine persons, father, father mike, father mike schmitz, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, holy spirit, jesus, scripture, son, three persons, tradition, 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 (2025)
February 4th, 2025 | 15 mins 45 secs
ascension, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teachings, catholicism, dogma, father, father mike, father mike schmitz, formation, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, holy spirit, jesus, scripture, son, tradition, 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.
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Day 34: Unity in the Holy Spirit (2025)
February 3rd, 2025 | 19 mins 40 secs
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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 (2025)
February 2nd, 2025 | 14 mins 17 secs
ascension, begotten not made, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teachings, catholicism, consubstantial, covenant with israel, father mike, father mike schmitz, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, god as father, god as mother, god the father, god the mother, jesus, john 1, scripture, tradition, 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 (2025)
February 1st, 2025 | 14 mins 56 secs
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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 (2025)
January 31st, 2025 | 12 mins 48 secs
ascension, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teachings, catholicism, dignity of all men, father mike, father mike schmitz, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, god’s greatness, god’s majesty, image and likeness of god, implications of faith in one god, jesus, living in thanksgiving, scripture, st. joan of arc, st. nicholas of flue, st. teresa of jesus, tradition, 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 (2025)
January 30th, 2025 | 17 mins 43 secs
1 john 4, 1 john 1, 1 john 5, 2 samuel 7, ascension, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teachings, catholicism, communion of persons, deuteronomy 7, exodus 34, father mike, father mike schmitz, father son holy spirit, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, 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, jesus, john 17, john 18, john 3:16, malachi 2, psalm 102, psalm 115, psalm 119, psalm 138, psalm 85, scripture, the divine name, tradition, 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 (2025)
January 29th, 2025 | 15 mins 57 secs
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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.
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Day 28: The Nature of God (2025)
January 28th, 2025 | 15 mins
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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 (2025)
January 27th, 2025 | 11 mins 19 secs
apostles, ascension, belief, bible, catechism, catechism in a year, catechism of the catholic church, catholic, catholic belief, catholic church, catholic doctrine, catholic faith, catholic teaching, catholic teachings, catholic wisdom, catholicism, christian belief, explaining faith, father mike, father mike schmitz, foundations of faith, fr mike, fr mike schmitz, gift of faith, growing in faith, jesus, nicene creed, persecuted christians, scripture, shared faith, sharing faith, st ambrose, statement of faith, structure of faith, testimony, tradition, 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.