Podcast Summary: "Called to Walk with the Poor"

Podcast: Called (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension)
Guest: Kerry Robinson, President and CEO of Catholic Charities USA
Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode explores what it truly means to walk with the poor—not just serving from a distance, but being present, building relationships, and living out the heart of the Gospel. Fr. Mike Schmitz is joined by Kerry Robinson, head of Catholic Charities USA, who shares her journey, insights from her career in faith-based philanthropy, and the radical call Christians have to serve those in need. The conversation moves from personal vocation stories to practical advice, with an emphasis on the unity of faith and service.

Main Discussion Points & Insights

1. Faith as Service: The Mission of Catholic Charities

• (00:02, Kerry): "We don't serve people because they are Catholic. We serve people because we are Catholic."
• Catholic Charities USA serves all, regardless of faith, because service is rooted in the Catholic identity, inspired by Christ’s love and the call in Matthew 25:40.
• Catholic Charities is the U.S. branch of Caritas Internationalis, a global Catholic network combating poverty.

2. Kerry Robinson’s Vocation Story

• Raised in a legacy of service—her great-grandparents established the Raskob Foundation, focusing entirely on supporting Catholic causes.
  (06:01) "Part of the secret sauce... we are invited formally to serve when we are teenagers."
• Exposed young to people of faith working at “the vanguard of human suffering”—compelled to aspire to their joy and sense of purpose.
  (06:55) "I honestly thought, these really are my heroes and heroines. But I will never be that selfless... I want to be like them."
• First professional roles included work with FATICA (Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities) and fundraising for Catholic campus ministry at Yale.
  (11:45) "To my astonishment, I called him after five days of praying and said, I don't know how to raise money... but I will do it."

3. On Living Vocationally

• Kerry has always accepted roles through invitation and discernment, not by active pursuit or applications.
  (14:00) "I have never applied for a job in my life. It is always this invitation."
• Living vocationally means intentionally responding to God's call in the face of suffering—being present, providing what is needed, and finding joy in serving.
  (16:56, Kerry): "They have so much joy, like palpable joy... The moral life made sense. And I just wanted to be a part of it."

4. Scope and Spirit of Catholic Charities

• CCUSA comprises 168 independent U.S. agencies, each unique but united by “a radical commitment to living the gospel” and human dignity.
  (20:24) "If you've seen one Catholic Charities, you've seen one Catholic Charities."
• What sets Catholic Charities apart is not just the aid but the merciful, dignifying, and relational approach to those who are poor or vulnerable.
  (22:27, Kerry): "The presenting problem is never the only thing that Catholic Charities learns about the family... It's so highly relational."
• Service as both gospel motive and gospel method—striving to help in the heart of Christ.
  (24:46, Fr. Mike): "Would it be fair to say that Catholic Charities is really Catholic... before you is a person who needs to be served, but you do this with the heart of Christ?"

5. Stories of Hope, Challenges, and Avoiding Burnout

• Kerry is deeply moved and motivated by daily encounters and stories in Catholic Charities’ work, which now inspire a new “People of Hope” initiative: a mobile museum of volunteer stories.
  (26:31, Kerry): “Every single day and every single trip... I encounter and learn of a story that is just riveting.”
• The grind and discouragement in social work and charity are real, but connection with others and with God is essential to avoid despair.
  (30:53, Kerry): "We just have to make sure we're connected to each other so we never... feel isolated in this." (31:38) "We spend so much of our lives being told that we're loved by God, but actually we don't really believe it... But every now and then we really do know that we are utterly loved by God."

6. Practical Ways to Live Out the Call

• Generosity takes many forms: time, attention, listening, extending the benefit of the doubt—not just money.
  (35:25, Kerry): "We can be generous with our time... We can be generous listeners... Extending the benefit of the doubt..."
• Start with those around you; poverty can be material or relational (e.g., the loneliness epidemic).
  (38:25, Fr. Mike): "To walk with the poor might be to walk with the person who has a poverty of attention..."
• Authentic Christian service means deeply recognizing the inherent dignity of every person.
  (39:42, Kerry): "The gospel call... is a radical call for us. We are called to see every person as our brother and sister."

7. Limits, Collaboration, and the Joy of Service

• It’s important to recognize personal limitations: offer what you can, and do not burden yourself for not being able to do it all.
  (45:00, Kerry): "Caring alone won't change the world, but caring together will."
• Collaboration between clergy and laity is vital—the Church is diminished if it fails to harness all the gifts of its people.
  (46:50, Kerry): "We all only have a piece of the wisdom... we need each other to be healthy and whole."

8. The Parish as a Hub for Encounter and Mission

• Vibrant, welcoming parishes should act as missionary hubs, forming and sending people out in service—in partnership with Catholic Charities and other ministries.
  (52:35, Kerry): "It's really important for Catholic Charities and parishes to align themselves... because it really is true, that is the best way to bind people together."
• The recent apostolic exhortation De Lexite (Pope Leo) emphasizes the connection between Eucharist, parish life, and love for the poor.
  (55:09, Kerry): "Just a couple of weeks ago, Pope Leo issued his very first apostolic exhortation, De Lexite, which is entirely devoted to the connection of the Eucharist, the parish and love of the poor."

9. Final Takeaways: The Invitation to Everyone

• (56:07, Kerry): "We find our lives by giving them away. The more that we can be other-centered... you will be amazed at how much life you gain in the process."
• Every Christian is called to help the poor—not as obligation, but as an invitation, and a path to deeper joy and authentic faith.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We don't serve people because they are Catholic. We serve people because we are Catholic.”
  – Kerry Robinson (00:02)
• "I have never applied for a job in my life. It is always this invitation."
  – Kerry Robinson (14:00)
• "It is a faith-based service... everything is about human dignity and recognizing human dignity, lifting people up out of poverty, defending their dignity."
  – Kerry Robinson (22:27)
• "When you really take seriously... we are called to see every person as our brother and sister. Every person."
  – Kerry Robinson (39:42)
• “Caring alone won't change the world, but caring together will.”
  – Kerry Robinson, quoting Mac McCarter (45:00)
• “We find our lives by giving them away.”
  – Kerry Robinson (56:07)
• "The Gospel is more than words. The Gospel is a way of life... Whatever you did for one of these least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me."
  – Fr. Mike Schmitz (opening and closing remarks; see 00:56 and 57:27)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |-----------|--------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:02 | Kerry: Why Catholics serve everyone ("we are Catholic") | | 03:15 | Kerry’s family legacy and Raskob Foundation | | 06:16 | Early exposure to service as a teenager | | 11:45 | Called to fundraising at Yale; vocational discernment | | 14:00 | Accepting roles by invitation, not by application | | 16:56 | Defining vocational living | | 18:03 | Scope and reach of Catholic Charities USA | | 20:24 | Uniqueness and unity of local agencies | | 22:27 | Relational mercy as Catholic Charities’ hallmark | | 26:31 | “People of Hope”: Sharing stories of impact | | 30:53 | Combating burnout and isolation through connection | | 35:25 | Practical generosity: beyond just giving money | | 39:42 | The radical call to treat all as brother and sister | | 45:00 | Caring together: the need for collaboration | | 46:50 | Why lay-clergy collaboration matters in the Church | | 52:35 | Parishes as missionary/community hubs in partnership | | 55:09 | Pope Leo’s De Lexite: Eucharist, parish, love of the poor | | 56:07 | Final takeaway: “we find our lives by giving them away” |

Conclusion

This episode offers a motivating look at how Catholic faith and service to the poor are inseparable. Through stories, personal experience, and practical wisdom, Kerry Robinson and Fr. Mike show that walking with the poor is an invitation to joy, not merely an obligation. Everyone—clergy, lay, youth, and elders—has a vital, irreplaceable role. The call is simple and demanding: see every person, serve as Christ serves, find your life by giving it away.

Listen if:
You want both the inspiration and practical advice to make your faith a living, joyful service—starting with the person in front of you.

Learn more:
thecatholicinitiative.org