Podcast Summary: The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode: Day 356: God Is Love (2025)
Date: December 22, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension)

Overview

In this late-stage episode of The Bible in a Year, Fr. Mike Schmitz explores the deeply theological and practical statement from 1 John: “God is love.” He reflects on how this foundational truth shapes our understanding of God, our relationship to Him and one another, and the Christian life as recounted in the readings from 1 John 4–5, 1 Timothy 1–3, and Proverbs 30:24–28. Drawing on St. John’s emphasis on love, St. Paul’s teachings on mercy and church leadership, and the wisdom of Proverbs, Fr. Mike both unpacks scripture and connects it vividly to daily life and Catholic teaching.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Revelation: God Is Love

• Central Theme: At the heart of St. John’s letter is the emphatic declaration, "God is love." This simplicity belies the depth—God’s very essence is not merely to love, but to be love.
  • “Love is not what God does. Love is who God is.” (Fr. Mike, 18:36)
• The catechism teaches that the Trinity is an “eternal exchange of love—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” We are made in God’s image, thus made for love.

Memorable Quote

“There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and he who fears is not perfected in love.” (1 John 4:18, cited at 19:07, echoed by Fr. Mike)

On Responding to God’s Love

• We never earned or requested existence; God created out of love, not for pain or suffering.
• True response to God’s love involves both loving others and obedience to God’s commandments.
  • “We love because he first loved us. …The way to love God is to obey his commandments.” (Fr. Mike, 19:45)

2. Practical Ways to Love God and Neighbor

• Love of neighbor is a concrete path to loving God. If we don’t love those we see, we can’t claim to love the unseen God (1 John 4:20).
• Obedience (fulfilling God’s commandments) and worship are other dimensions of loving God.
  • “We love God by obeying his commandments. That’s the test.” (Fr. Mike, 20:22)

3. Sin: Mortal and Venial

• St. John differentiates between “deadly” and “not deadly” sin (1 John 5:16-17), a scriptural basis for the Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin.
  • “That is where we get that doctrine of the difference between mortal and venial sin.” (Fr. Mike, 21:15)

4. St. Paul’s Letter to Timothy: Mercy, Teaching, and Church Order

• Paul’s Testimony: Paul embraces his past as “foremost of sinners” to demonstrate God’s overwhelming mercy and to offer hope to all, even those who feel far from redemption.
  • “I am the foremost of sinners, but I received mercy…that in me…Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example…” (1 Tim 1:15-16, reflected at 23:22)
• Warning Against False Teachings: Paul urges Timothy to correct heterodoxies and focus on the heart of Christian teaching—faith and love from a pure heart.
• On Working Out Salvation: Faith can be lost (“shipwrecked”) by rejecting conscience—salvation requires ongoing faithfulness.

5. Universal Salvation and Mediation

• God’s Desire for All: God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:3-4).
  • “God does not predestine anyone to hell. God has made every human being to belong to Him.” (Fr. Mike, 26:09)
• One Mediator: Jesus Christ is the sole mediator between God and humanity, but Paul teaches that others can pray for and mediate on behalf of others in various ways.
  • “There’s only one way to the Father. And the one way to the Father is Jesus Christ. He is the one mediator…” (Fr. Mike, 27:05)
  • Fr. Mike emphasizes that every act of intercessory prayer or sacramental ministry (like baptism) participates in Christ’s unique mediation.

6. Leadership in the Early Church

• Qualifications for Bishops and Deacons: Paul gives practical criteria for church leaders—emphasizing moral character, household management, and faith.
  • Bishops and deacons could be married in the early church; clerical celibacy developed later.

7. Scripture and Tradition: The Church as Pillar of Truth

• Paul teaches that “the Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth” (1 Tim 3:15), not just the Scriptures alone.
  • “What would you say is the pillar and foundation of truth? …the Bible says the Church is the pillar and foundation of truth.” (Fr. Mike, 31:02)
• Oral tradition and magisterial teaching are part of God’s design and delivery of truth alongside the written word.
• Fr. Mike cites St. Augustine affirming the authority of the Church in interpreting the Gospels.

8. Wisdom from Proverbs

• The reading from Proverbs (30:24-28) draws lessons in humility and resourcefulness from small creatures (ants, badgers, locusts, lizard).
  • Demonstrates that wisdom and strength are not exclusive to the mighty.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “God is love.” (Numerous times, e.g., 18:12)
• “We love because he first loved us.” (19:45)
• “Perfect love casts out fear.” (19:07)
• “God did not make death. … He does not rejoice in the destruction of the living.” (26:09)
• “There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus…” (27:05)
• “The Church is the pillar and bulwark of truth.” (31:02)
• “No one is flawless except the Lord alone…Paul was able to say … God used me as the foremost of sinners to be an apostle.” (23:54)
• “Are they thinking I’m crazy right now? Maybe you think I’m crazy right now, but I’m just…crazy for Him, crazy for the church…and crazy for y’all.” (34:19)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [00:04] – Episode Introduction & Reading Plan
• [03:45] – 1 John 4: Testing the spirits, God is love
• [07:04] – 1 John 5: Faith, obedience, overcoming the world
• [11:00] – 1 Timothy 1: Paul’s warning, his past, mercy
• [14:52] – 1 Timothy 2–3: Instructions for prayer, church order, bishops and deacons, women in the church
• [18:11] – Proverbs 30:24-28: Small but wise creatures
• [18:29] – Prayers and Main Reflection: God is love—what that means, loving others and obedience
• [23:22] – Paul’s gratitude for mercy and his model of conversion
• [26:09] – God’s universal will for salvation and Christ the one Mediator
• [31:02] – Church as pillar of truth: Scripture, tradition, and magisterium
• [34:19] – Fr. Mike’s closing words: gratitude, humor, and encouragement

Tone, Style, and Approach

Fr. Mike maintains an affectionate, encouraging, and sometimes humorous tone, weaving together deep theological points with pastoral warmth and clarity. He is forthright about Catholic teachings and offers personal asides, always drawing listeners back to “the heart of the matter” in Scripture: the love of God and our response. His teaching is rooted in both scripture and tradition, bridging scholarly insight with accessible, down-to-earth examples.

Final Takeaways

This episode drives home these themes:

• God’s very being is love, and we are called and enabled to love because He loved us first.
• Christian love is inseparable from obedience and compassion for others.
• God offers mercy to all, exemplified in St. Paul’s transformation.
• Church structure and tradition serve the Gospel and the truth, as guided by Scripture and the magisterium.
• Salvation is for all, through Christ the Mediator—yet believers are called to intercede and mediate Christ’s love to others.

Fr. Mike closes with deep gratitude, prayers for listeners, and a joyful reminder of the enduring, transformative love at the center of Christian faith.