Shows / The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
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…
Episodes
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 9: The Fullness of Revelation (2026)
In our Catechism reading today we learn how out of love, God has fully revealed himself by sending his Son, Jesus Christ who established God’s covenant…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 8: God Forms His People (2026)
God chose Abraham and made him the “father of a multitude of nations.” Then God formed Israel as his people, freeing them from slavery in Egypt. Fr. Mike…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 7: God Reveals Himself (2026)
God reveals himself to man and gives us the capacity to know and love him beyond our own natural abilities. From the very beginning, even after the first sin…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 6: Knowing God With Certainty (2026)
Today’s reading is a summation of what we have learned so far. Man is made for God, and we are born with a capacity for knowing God. Using our senses…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 5: How We Know God (2026)
What can we know about God? The Catechism tells us three important things: 1) We can know God with our human reason, but 2) that knowledge will always be…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 4: Our Capacity for God (2026)
The Catechism begins to explore what it means “to believe” by examining our innate desire for God and all the ways we can come to know him. Fr. Mike grounds us…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 3: What We Believe (Part 1 Introduction with Jeff Cavins) (2026)
Part 1 of the Catechism—the first pillar—is the longest part of the four parts of the Catechism, and arguably the most foundational. Fr. Mike sits down with…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 2: How the Catechism Works (2026)
The Catechism reveals to us its intended readership, structure, and some practical directions for use. Fr. Mike and the Roman Catechism remind us that—above…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 1: To Know and Love God (2026)
Welcome to Day 1 of The Catechism in a Year! Today, we begin our journey with Fr. Mike through the Catechism from the very beginning: the Prologue. The…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: How Do We Trust in Church Authority? (with Bishop Cozzens)
In this special bonus episode, Bishop Andrew Cozzens joins Fr. Mike Schmitz to talk about his role as a bishop of the Catholic Church, his involvement in the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 365: So Be It (2025)
Congratulations, you have reached Day 365! We conclude our journey through the Catechism with the final “nugget day” as we review the seven petitions of the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
BONUS: Why Scripture and Tradition? (with Jeff Cavins)
In this bonus episode of The Catechism in a Year, Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to share the connection between Scripture and Tradition, and provide the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 364: Deliver Us from Evil
Toward the end of the Lord’s Prayer, we implore God to protect us from temptation and from the evil one. Fr. Mike clarifies what we mean when we ask God not to…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 363: Forgive Us Our Trespasses (2025)
Forgiving those who have hurt us is a challenging call. Fr. Mike explains what it means to "forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 362: Our Daily Bread (2025)
Asking God for our “daily bread” is a petition for him to fill our physical and spiritual hunger. Fr. Mike breaks down this simple yet profound petition that…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 361: The Kingdom and Will of God (2025)
When we pray for God’s Kingdom to come and God’s will to be done, we are asking for the final coming of the reign of God and for his plan of salvation to come…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 360: Hallowing God’s Name (2025)
What does it mean to hallow God’s name? We are not the source or cause of God’s holiness. As the Catechism says, we hallow God’s name so it may be glorified…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 359: The Seven Petitions (2025)
In the Lord’s Prayer, we make seven different petitions to our Father in heaven. Together, we examine what makes each set of these seven petitions different…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 358: Who Art in Heaven (2025)
As we reach the conclusion of the article on the opening words of the Our Father, we take a closer look at the phrase, “Who Art in Heaven.” Fr. Mike emphasizes…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 357: God, “Our” Father (2025)
God’s love has no bounds, and neither should our prayer. Fr. Mike emphasizes that when we say “our” we are highlighting that we have become God’s people. We…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 356: We Dare to Say (2025)
When we pray the Our Father, we are invited to pray with “filial boldness” as children of God. Fr. Mike emphasizes that we are God’s adopted sons and…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 355: Summary of the Lord’s Prayer (2025)
The In-Brief, or the “nugget day”, for the article on the Lord’s Prayer, emphasizes that understanding the identity of God is essential when it comes to our…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 354: The Prayer of the Church (2025)
Through the Catechism, we learn more about the Lord’s Prayer and how it should be included in our personal prayers as well as in community during the liturgy…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 353: The Lord's Prayer (2025)
Diving into the Lord's Prayer, we look at the origin, meaning, and significance of this prayer. The Catechism reveals the Our Father as "the summary of the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 352: Summary of The Battle of Prayer (2025)
Fr. Mike reviews this section of the Catechism, summarizing the battle of prayer and the prayer of the hour of Jesus. We are reminded that prayer is active…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 351: The Prayer of the Hour of Jesus (2025)
Looking at the prayer of the Hour of Jesus, we learn from the Catechism that it “embraces the whole economy of creation and salvation, as well as his death and…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 350: Persevering in Prayer (2025)
The Catechism teaches about the effectiveness of prayer and how to persevere in prayer. Fr. Mike explains that although God already knows what we need before…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 349: Temptation, Trust, and Prayer (2025)
What motivates our prayer? Do we see God as our “divine genie,” or do we look to him as our Father? We learn that the most common temptation in prayer is a…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 348: The Battle of Prayer (2025)
Prayer is "grace and grit," as Fr. Mike phrases it. In this section, one of Fr. Mike's favorites in the Catechism, we hear that "we pray as we live because we…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 347: Contemplative Prayer (2025)
In contemplative prayer, we seek Jesus. As St. Teresa of Avila put it, contemplative prayer “is nothing else than a close sharing between friends.” The…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 346: Meditation and Vocal Prayer (2025)
Because man is both body and spirit, our prayers can be vocal and meditative. We learn that vocal prayer expresses the movements of our hearts and minds…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 345: Animated by Prayer (2025)
We know we can pray anywhere at any time, yet certain places are more favorable for prayer. There are also certain rhythms of prayer in the life of the Church…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 344: Guides for Prayer (2025)
We are lifelong learners in the school of prayer. The Church offers various guides to help us grow and cultivate our prayer lives. These include the family…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 343: Praying Through Mary (2025)
To love Mary doesn’t mean our hearts belong any less to Jesus. Today, the Catechism explains our Blessed Mother’s role in prayer and why the Catholic Church…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 342: Trinitarian Prayer (2025)
What is the significance of praying to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit? As we explore the path of prayer, the Catechism elaborates on the concept of…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 341: The Theological Virtues (2025)
The Catechism reveals the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love as additional “wellsprings” of prayer for us to connect with the Father. Fr. Mike…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 340: Scripture and the Liturgy (2025)
How do we pray? Prayer is essential for our relationship with the Lord. The Catechism teaches that we must study the Scriptures, learn how to pray, and have…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 339: Prayer of Praise (2025)
We examine both prayers of praise and also the “nuggets” for this section on the forms of prayer. Fr. Mike emphasizes that praise is giving God glory for who…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 338: Intercession and Thanksgiving (2025)
We look at two more forms of prayer: intercession and thanksgiving. Fr. Mike emphasizes that in the age of the Church, intercession, or asking on behalf of…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 337: Blessing, Adoration, and Petition (2025)
Prayer in the age of the Church takes on many different forms. Together, we examine specifically blessing, adoration, and petition. Fr. Mike emphasizes the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 336: Jesus Hears Our Prayer (2025)
We arrive at the conclusion of the article on how Jesus prays, teaches us to pray, and hears our prayer. Fr. Mike examines the remarkable beauty and simplicity…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 335: Jesus Teaches Us to Pray (2025)
At the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us to pray through his own prayer to the Father. As we watch Jesus pray, his prayer becomes our template for our own…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 334: How Jesus Prayed (2025)
We look at how Jesus prays in this section of the Catechism. It is revealed how Jesus learned to pray, the frequency of his prayers, and where he prayed. Jesus…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 333: The Psalms (2025)
The Psalms are essential and powerful prayers. Through praying the Psalms, we are giving praise to God and expressing our belief while simultaneously…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 332: Prayer Converts Our Heart (2025)
The Catechism discusses the significance of prayer beginning with the prophets and their observations about the Temple and ritualism. It is noteworthy that…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 331: The Foundations of Prayer (2025)
Do we know how to pray? The Catechism depicts Moses learning how to pray and uses this as an example of prayer and relationship with God. The Catechism goes on…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 330: The Revelation of Prayer (2025)
As the Catechism reveals, we are made for worship and called to a relationship with the Lord through prayer. God is the initiator and wants us to walk with him…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 329: The Gift of Prayer (2025)
St. Thérèse said that “prayer is a surge of the heart.” Do we pray from our pride or from a place of humility? The Catechism tells us that “humility is the…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 328: How We Pray (Part 4 Intro w/ Sr. Miriam James Heidland) (2025)
In this fourth and final pillar of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, we learn how to take everything we’ve absorbed this year and apply it to our…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 327: Poverty of Heart (2025)
Where should we find consolation? It's essential to remember that our ultimate goal and true source of happiness is God. With this in mind, Fr. Mike emphasizes…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 326: Envy and Jealousy (2025)
Envy is “the diabolical sin,” says St. Augustine. Christians should better understand this capital sin, its manifestations, and the temptation toward envy of…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 325: Battling for Purity (2025)
As Fr. Mike suggests, the battle for purity is never more difficult than in our own day. With God’s grace, we can prevail and find freedom from our…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 324: The Ninth Commandment (2025)
What does covetousness mean? Today, we launch into the ninth commandment, which deals with carnal concupiscence. This commandment addresses the tension between…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 323: Truth, Beauty, and Sacred Art (2025)
Have you ever been moved by beauty? As we conclude our journey through the eighth commandment, we learn that beautiful art points us to the truth and…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 322: Respect for Truth (2025)
Charity dictates who we reveal the truth to. We learn today that the “right to the communication of truth is not unconditional.” Fr. Mike explains that this…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 321: Offenses Against Truth (2025)
What does it mean to live out the truth? This theme carries over as we continue our evaluation of the eighth commandment. We learn the Catechism’s teachings on…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 320: The Truth (2025)
We begin our dive into the eighth commandment: “You shall not bear false witness.” The Catechism defines truth, identifies the importance of truth, and…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 319: Summary of the Seventh Commandment (2025)
We have reached the In Brief section, or nugget day, on the seventh commandment. Father Mike reiterates that the right to private property comes from our…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 318: Love for the Poor (2025)
The Church’s charity for the poor is a “part of her constant tradition.” Fr. Mike unpacks how the poor are the “true treasure of the Church.” He emphasizes…
- The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 317: International Justice and Solidarity (2025)
Internationally, there is often a large gap in the resources between countries. The Catechism explains the justice and solidarity that should exist among all…