← The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 106: Symbols of the Church (2025)
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There are many different symbols of the Church that can help us to understand it. We learn some of these symbols today, including a sheepfold, a cultivated field, the building of God, the spotless lamb, the bride of Christ, and our mother. Fr. Mike reminds us that, like us, the Church on earth needs constant reform. Jesus loves the Church and gave himself up for her. If we have any hostility or indifference toward the Church, we must check our hearts and pray to love what God loves. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 753-757.
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Fr. Mike Schmitz
Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast where we encounter God's plan of pure goodness for us, revealed in Scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 106. We read in paragraphs 753 to 757, as always, the translation, the addition of the Catechism using I think this yesterday too, my mind went to the Bible In a Year I'm using the Catechism, the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach. But you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your Catechism in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com ciy and also, you know, you can click Follow, you can click subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Today is day one of 106. As I said, we're reading paragraphs 753 to 757. Yesterday we talked about, like, the words, right? Not only the source of the Church being the Son and the Spirit, but also how the Church is holy, Catholic, she's one, she's apostolic. That word ekklesia, right, means the call to call out of the word Kirchha, or church, means what belongs to the Lord. We talked about how you and I belong to the Lord. Now we also highlighted the three kind of like levels or three designations of the church, meaning the liturgical assembly, the local community, which can be parish or diocese, and the whole universal community of believers. And those three meanings are inseparable. Now, today we have a little bit it's more poetic. We'll say it's the symbols of the Church. And so throughout Scripture, there's a whole host. This is paragraph 753 in scripture, we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. And so those are taken up. They begin in the Old Testament and they are fulfilled in the New Testament. So the images are pretty straightforward. I don't know if any of these images are going to be shocks to anybody. But first of all, we have the Church is a sheepfold, right? And the necessary gateway, the only gateway to the sheepfold is Christ, and so it's also the flock, right? So that sense of just the imagery of Jesus as the good shepherd and the prince of shepherds who gives his life for his sheep. So first is the sheepfold. Second is the image of the church as a cultivated field. And there's this image, it goes on to say in paragraph 755, it says, the tillage of God on that land the ancient olive tree grows, whose holy roots were the prophets, and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about and will be brought about again. And so, as I said, there seems to be at certain times in the catechism just a poetic strain. And this is one of those times. So we have the sheepfold and that flock, right? Of the Lord. We also have the cultivated field, the tillage of God, this land that God will continue to bring forth fruit, where he will continue to bring forth fruit. Also remember the image of the vine and the branches. And so Jesus is the true vine, and he gives life and fruitfulness to the branches. That is to us going on paragraph 756 talks about the church as the building of God. Specifically, the best. The. The best of buildings is the temple, like the temple of God, the holy temple. And not only do we have that in the Old Testament that foreshadowed, we also have that in the New Testament where John sees that holy temple, the holy city, the new Jerusalem coming out of heaven. And living stones are Christians, right? Living stones are you and me. So we're part of that temple, that holy building. And lastly, and this is the shortest one, which is just remarkable because there's a couple different images. We talk about not only the church as the Jerusalem that is from above, so it's the city of Jerusalem in this unique way. It's also our mother and also described as the bride of Christ, right? The spotless spouse of the spotless lamb. And so those three images are simply kind of referenced, but they're not really dived into deeply. And so just keep in mind, we might talk about those at the end of the day today, the new Jerusalem, our mother is the church, and also the spotless spouse, the bride of Christ as the church. As we go into these images, as we begin talking about and just reflecting on these symbols, these images of the church, I think it's important for us to assess, maybe say it like this, to actually stop and say, okay, as we're talking about the church, do I have any. Are any defenses, defenses, defenses? Are there any defenses that have been stirred up. Are there any hackles right on the back of my neck that kind of. Whenever people mention the church, that's where I start getting defensive. Because I think if that's the case, then we just have to recognize that, you know, that's possible. In fact, it might even be likely because, again, as I said yesterday, God is good. There is no darkness in God. And yet the church, although the church is good, we sometimes have a harder time with the church, not just because of the sinful members of the church, but also because. Isn't it strange how God can seem distant? And so because God can seem distant sometimes, and this might not be you, but sometimes because God can seem distant, it's just easier to accept him. But if he was, like, right up and close and in our faces, we might find it more difficult to accept him. And here's the church, right? Here's the church that not only is divine, but also has broken humanity in it. That also has a great track record, but also really bad track record, right? There's great, incredible saints who have lived up to the church's teachings. There's also incredible saints, sinners like you and me, who have not lived up to the church's teachings. But there's this unique thing about the church, and that is that the church is close. The church is kind of in our face, and the church continues to teach us. And because of that, sometimes I know in my own pride and my own brokenness, I can get defensive, say, of course, oh, everything about God I accept. But here's this church that is so close, and it is so close that it actually makes demands on me. And that's when I start getting a little bit, whatever the word is, that's when I start getting a little defensive. Does that make sense? So if we just acknowledge that, if that's a reality in your life or in my life, today we're just going to come before the Lord and ask the source of the church, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to help us to be open to being taught. We're going to pray right now for docility. Father in heaven, you've called us. Your son is the teacher. He's the great teacher. And you've given us through your son and the power of the Holy Spirit, the church as our mother, our mother and our teacher. And so we just ask you to help us to have minds and hearts that are open to being taught. Help us to have minds and hearts that are open to your church in a way that maybe they haven't been Open before we ask you to please give you permission, help us to give you permission to draw close to us in your church, to teach us through your church, and give us a willingness to trust you in your church. We know we can't always trust the members of the church. We can't even trust ourselves. Lord God, we do trust you, that you will never lead your church astray. You'll never abandon her, even in her brokenness. So give us hearts. Give us minds that are open to being taught and hearts that are open to you in your church. Give us this grace. Give us this Holy Spirit, this day and every day. In the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it's day 106. We're reading paragraphs 7 53, 757. Symbols of the Church In Scripture we find a host of interrelated images and figures through which revelation speaks of the inexhaustible mystery of the Church. The images taken from the Old Testament are variations on a profound the people of God. In the New Testament all these images find a new center because Christ has become the head of this people, which henceforth is his body. Around this center are grouped images taken from the life of the shepherd, or from the cultivation of the land, from the art of building, or from family life and marriage. The church is accordingly taken a sheepfold, the sole and necessary gateway to which is Christ. It is also the flock of which God himself foretold that he would be the shepherd, and whose sheep, even though governed by human shepherds, are unfailingly nourished and led by Christ himself, the good shepherd and Prince of shepherds, who gave his life for his sheep. The church is a cultivated field, the tillage of God. On that land the ancient olive tree grows, whose holy roots were the prophets, and in which the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles has been brought about, and will be brought about again. That land, like a choice vineyard, has been planted by the heavenly cultivator. Yet the true vine is Christ, who gives life and fruitfulness to the branches, that is to us, who, through the Church, remain in Christ, without whom we can do nothing. Often, too, the church is called the building of God. The Lord compared himself to the stone which the builders rejected, but which was made into the cornerstone. On this foundation the church is built by the apostles, and from it the church receives solidity and unity. This edifice has many names to describe the house of God in which his family dwells, the household of God in the Spirit, the dwelling place of God among men, and especially the holy Temple. This temple, symbolized in places of worship, built out of stone, is praised by the Fathers and not without reason, is compared in the liturgy with to the holy city, the new Jerusalem, as living stones. We here on earth are built into it. It is this holy city that is seen by John as it comes down out of heaven from God when the world is made anew, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. The church further, which is called that Jerusalem which is above. And our mother is described as the spotless spouse of the spotless lamb. It is she whom Christ loved and for whom he delivered himself up that he might sanctify her. It is she whom he unites to himself by an unbreakable alliance and whom he constantly nourishes and cherishes. Okay, so there we have it, paragraphs 753 to 757, just a few short paragraphs, but also these profound images. You know, I kind of introduced all of those images as we kind of went into it. The sheepfold, through whom again, Christ is the only, the sole and necessary gateway. We know that Jesus is the one Savior. There's no salvation through any other name, and no salvation through any other person in the world. And so we recognize that. Here's the sheepfold. We're the flock of Christ. He is the shepherd, the good shepherd, the prince of shepherds. Why, he's the one who gave his life for his sheep. He is God himself. Also, paragraph 7:55, the cultivated field. And again, we just recognize, here's these images that in the Old Testament are begun but are fulfilled in Jesus, who points out that he is the true vine and we are the branches and we can only bear fruit, we can only have life if we remain in Christ. Again, that word of the Lord's who said, without whom we can do nothing, we have to remain in Christ without whom we can do nothing. I love the image also of the church as the building of God. And Jesus compares himself to the stone rejected by the. By the builders who's become the cornerstone. But Also, you know, St. Peter describes us as living stones built into this again, this holy temple of God. It's just incredible. But these last images, the last images that are the new Jerusalem and our mother and the spotless spouse of the spotless lamb, like the bride of Christ, are also so important. I mean, they're. Huh. Remember back in the Old Testament, when here is the Lord God who speaks to the people of Israel, and he says, you know, your builder has become your spouse. There is this love, you know, Remember how often, how often are the sins of idolatry and adultery linked? Where here is God himself who says, I love you. I've loved you like a spouse, and yet you've turned away from me like an adulterous lover. And that recognition of here, now, in the new covenant, there is this fulfillment of this right where Jesus is the bridegroom and the church is his bride. Now, this goes back to the last kind of note I made before we started talking about the church, and that the reality, of course, is that, I guess I'll say it like this. We can be justly upset with the church, right? We can be justly upset with bureaucracy. We can be justly upset with hierarchy and people in power. We can be justly upset with our pastor. You can be upset with me. I mean, that's a reality. We can be upset with the Holy Father, like, you know, the Pope. We can be upset with the failings of people in the church. Absolutely. So I'm not arguing that. I'm not even. I would say that we need to be right. We need to constantly be reforming the church. The church always is in constant, just like individuals, right? As us in the church are constantly looking at ourselves and saying, okay, where have I said no to God? Where am I not saying yes with my whole heart? Where am I not representing him to the people around me? So just like we do that, we're constantly reforming ourselves or being reformed by the Lord in His grace. The church has to do that. And since we're part of the church, that means we have to actively do this. So again, I'm not saying that criticism is not warranted at times. In fact, that might even be our role at times as those who are repenting and those who are pointing out where our brothers and sisters need to repent. Right? So I'm not saying that is a bad thing. That's necessary. At the same time, I will hear from many people who have said, you know, this journey of the catechism is a challenge. It was easier to hear the Bible, the words of God. I'm not so sure I love the church. I get that. Remember, we said yesterday, we don't believe in the church, we believe in God. The church is merely God's works, but also the church is God's bride. The church has been given to us as our mother. And so let's look at this for a second. If I were to say, oh, I hate the church, well, what did St. Paul say about what Christ did for the church. He loved her and gave himself up for her. That's what's quoted here in paragraph 7:57. He loved her and he delivered himself up for her that he might present to himself a spotless bride, that he might sanctify her. And so let's just take a moment, you know, as we, especially as we dive more deeply into this teaching on the church, say, wait a second, God, we've always prayed this. We've always prayed, right? God, give me a heart like yours. Help me to hate what you hate. Help me to love what you love. And if I'm someone who says, oh, I hate the church, I have to pause, I have to pump the brakes here, because Jesus Christ's word, God's word says that he loves the church and he gave himself up for her. And so we just have to, again, maybe just again, check ourselves, check our hearts, especially if we have this hostility, especially if we have this hatred or anger or indifference. You know, John Paul ii, I believe at one point he didn't. He said, the opposite of love isn't hate. The opposite of love is indifference, or opposite of love is useless. So if I approach the church and say, yeah, it's just I'm indifferent, or, yeah, I come to the church because it gets me what I want. Yet how does Christ approach the church? He approaches the church in love again. So as we continue to walk, you know, we have a few days where we're going to walk through the Church's teaching on the Church. I don't want to be a broken record. I apologize, but I think it's worth it to just check our hearts and say, God, if I were to be the kind of person, and I have been, I got to tell you this. In my life, I was the kind of person who said, I hate the Church, and I'm going to be the kind of person who hates the Church. I have to understand what that means. It means I don't, I don't love what God loves. It means I don't love what God loves. But we want to, right, Every one of us. So let's pray for each other. Because there are a lot of wounds out there. I mean, obviously there's so many wounded hearts out there, wounded lives and lives that have been hurt again through people in the church, maybe even again through bureaucracy, through hierarchy. And so we got to pray for that. We can't afford to hate what God loves. You know what I mean? Let's pray for each other. I'm praying for you. Please know I know woundedness. Even if I don't know your wounds, I know what they could be because I've been around long enough to know. So we're praying for each other. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.