← The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Day 121: The Apostolate (2025)
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For the Church to remain truly apostolic, she must exercise the apostolate, which is the mission “to spread the Kingdom of Christ over all the earth.” Today’s readings remind us that all members of the Church are “sent out” on a mission to proclaim the Good News. Most importantly, Fr. Mike emphasizes that charity, drawn from our unity with Christ, is the “soul” of the whole apostolate that leads us to bear fruit. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 863-870.
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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 sheer 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. It is day 121. We are reading paragraphs 863 to 870. It is nugget day, as well as three additional paragraphs before the nuggets. As always, I'm using 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 own Catechism in a Year Reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com ciy and lastly, you can click Follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. As I said, it is day 121. We're reading paragraphs 863 and 864 and 865. Those are the last paragraphs of this section. One Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. And then we have a couple nuggets. I don't know, we'll say five. We'll call them five. Five nuggets we had from paragraph 866 to 870. One of the things we've been talking about is how these four marks of the Church, one Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic. Yesterday we talked about very, very clearly and hopefully clearly how the Church must be apostolic, right? Based off of the mission that Jesus entrusted to the apostles and also based off the promise that Jesus entru it to the apostles, that he who hears you and receives you, receives me and hears me. That's so important. Now, today, as we hit these last three paragraphs before the nuggets, we're talking about the apostolate. And the apostolate is. I love this first line of 863. The whole church is apostolic in that she remains through the successors of St Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin and that she is sent out into the whole world. Remember that the word apostoloi means those who are sent or emissary, right? Those who are sent out. So for the Church to truly remain apostolic is not just to say that, yes, we have a succession of, you know, Bishops and popes from the apostles. But it's also to say that the Church exercises that being sent out in the apostolate. And what we're going to hear about today is, I love this, that Jesus has to be at the center of this. In fact, not only does Jesus and the Holy Spirit and the Glory of the Father have to be at the center of every missionary activity of the Church as we're being sent out into the world, but even at the very heart of every single Christian, we have to have love, especially coming from the Eucharist as the very soul of the whole apostolate. That's a quote from paragraph 864. It says, Charity drawn from the Eucharist above all is always, as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate. And so we're going to talk about that a little bit today. One thing I wanted to highlight is there is in the midst of paragraph 865, a fun phrase. And the whole sentence is this. It says, the kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him. Yep. Which makes sense. The kingdom has come. Jesus announced, repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand, as He Himself is the heart of that. And also that kingdom grows mysteriously in our hearts. But the end of this sentence is this again, grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him until its full eschatological manifestation. That's the line that I thought, man, when people hear that line. Line, they're going to say what? That the kingdom of Christ has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him until its full eschatological manifestation. What does that mean? That means that there's a beginning. The kingdom of Christ has come in the person of Jesus. It continues to grow in the hearts of all the faithful, all those who follow after Jesus. And it will continue to grow until its full eschatological manifestation. Eschatological means the end times, right at the very end of all things. That is when it will be complete. It'll be full, it'll be whole. And that manifestation, manifestation will be revealed. I hope that makes sense. And I hope I didn't just beat a dead horse there. You're like, yeah, I know what eschatological manifestation means, Father. Move on. Okay, so we're moving on. Let's say a prayer and just lift up our hearts and our minds to the Father, knowing it's not the point to just simply hear about the Lord. Not just point, just hear about his church, but to belong to the Lord and to serve as apostles. I mean to truly be sent out by Jesus and to know that love has to be at the heart of our life. Love has to be the soul of our apostolate as well. So we pray, Father in heaven, we first thank you for pouring love into our hearts and your Holy Spirit, we thank you for revealing the depth of your love in Jesus Christ. We ask you. We ask you to continue to pour that love into our hearts. For all the times, Lord God, that we have wasted the love you've given to us, for all the times that we have been numb or indifferent to your gifts, we ask that you please wake us up. Help us to acknowledge the fact that you are present, you are God, that you are good, that you love us, and give us that love so that we can be emissaries of love, that we can be apostles of love to your world. God, there are so many people in this world who do not know how much you love them. Help us to be united to the apostolate of the whole Church, to do our small part or our large part to just bring your love to whatever tiny corner of the world we happen to find ourselves. Help us to love the people around us well today. Help them to know that in our loving them, they are reminded of your unstoppable and unfailing love for each one of them. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Here we are. Day 121, paragraphs 863. 870. The apostolate. The whole Church is apostolic in that she remains, through the successors of St Peter and the other apostles, in communion of faith and life with her origin, and in that she is sent out into the whole world. All members of the Church share in this mission, though in various ways. The Christian vocation is of its nature a vocation to the apostolate as well. Indeed, we call an apostolate every activity of the Mystical Body that aims to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth. Christ, sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. Thus, the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people clearly depends on their vital union with Christ. In keeping with their vocations, the demands of the times, and the various gifts of the Holy Spirit, the apostolate assumes the most varied forms. But charity drawn from the Eucharist above all is always, as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate. The Church is ultimately one, holy, catholic and apostolic in her deepest and ultimate identity, because it is in her that the kingdom of heaven, the reign of God, already exists and will be fulfilled at the end of time. The kingdom has come in the person of Christ and grows mysteriously in the hearts of those incorporated into him until its full eschatological manifestation. Then all those he has redeemed and made holy and blameless before him in love will be gathered together as the one people of God, the Bride of the Lamb, the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. For as the Book of Revelation states, the wall of the city had 12 foundations, and on them the 12 names of the 12 apostles of the Lamb. The Church is one, she acknowledges. One Lord confesses One faith is born of one baptism forms only one body is given life by the one Spirit for the sake of one hope, at whose fulfillment all divisions will be overcome. The Church is holy, the most holy God is her author. Christ, her bridegroom, gave himself up to make her holy. The Spirit of holiness gives her life. Since she still includes sinners, she is the sinless one made up of sinners. Her holiness shines in the saints. In Mary she is already all holy. The Church is Catholic. She proclaims the fullness of the faith she bears in herself and administers the totality of the means of salvation. She is sent out to all peoples. She speaks to all men. She encompasses all times. She is missionary of her very nature. The Church is apostolic. She is built on a lasting foundation, the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. She is indestructible. She is upheld infallibly in the truth. Christ governs her through Peter and the other apostles who are present in their successors, the Pope and the college of bishops. As Lumen Gentium, the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the bishops in communion with him. Nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines. Okay, so there we are. Paragraphs 863 to 870. Okay, so let's go back to the very beginning. I've been talking about apostolates, and I didn't define apostolate. I probably should have done that. Good thing. The Catechism reminded me that we need to define apostolate. So paragraph 863 highlights this. It says we call an apostolate. Every activity of the mystical body that aims to spread the kingdom of Christ all over all the earth. So everything that the mystical body, meaning whatever Christians are doing, right, in order to spread the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of Christ over all the earth, that is an apostolate. Why going back to that word, apostoloi Emissary, to be sent. To be sent out. That recognition that as we're sent into the world, both ordained, consecrated and lay people, to recognize that every action of the mystical body, every action of the Christian that aims at spreading the kingdom of Christ over all the earth, that is an apostolate. And so one of the things that can include is your life and my life. We recognize that it's not just for the bishops, not just for the Pope, it's not just for people who are in official church sanctioned, I guess we'd say it like that, ministries. But every activity of the mystical body that aims to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth is an apostolate. And I love this, that line right before it says the Christian vocation, the Christian call, right. The call of God to every Christian is of its nature, a vocation to the apostolate as well. That we're meant to be sent. That's it. That we've been set apart to be sent out. And that is so, so important because no one is disqualified from this. I know I share the story in Bible and here about how my mom had always wanted to be a missionary. She always wanted to be on the good ship Hope, and she always wanted to, you know, be a medical missionary to the world and never ended up doing that around the world. She did it. Well, she did that on little short trips. But her vocation, her call was to care for the sick and the homeless that were her children, to care for those who were hungry that were her children, to care for those who couldn't care for themselves that were her children. And then by extension, their friends, by extension, you know, grandchildren. And it goes on from there. But the recognition of every single one of us is called wherever we are planted to say, how can I bring the kingdom of God here? And that's a good question we can all ask, as we've been hearing this, that every single Christian, the very nature of being a Christian is the nature of a call to an apostolate to be sent out to spread the kingdom of Christ over all the earth. So in your life, in my life, where is God calling me? To simply bring his kingdom so his kingdom has a Little bit. Shines a little bit more brightly in my world. In your world. It goes on to say in paragraph 864, I love this. Because why? Because sometimes we look at that and say, I got to do this now. I got to kind of, you know, I don't know, brace myself and let's go out and do the apostolate. Well, listen, here's the quote. Christ sent by the Father is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. Christ is the source, everything, everything the Church does. Jesus, who was sent by the Father, is the source of the Church's whole apostolate. It goes on to say, thus, the fruitfulness of apostolate for ordained ministers as well as for lay people depends on their vital union with Christ. Let's look at that phrase, their vital union with Christ. I love this phrase. We recognize that if we want to bear fruit, then we have to be united with our Source, the source of all life, Jesus. What did he say? He said, apart from me, you can do nothing. And so the fruitfulness of every ministry, the fruitfulness of every apostolate will ultimately depend on our vital union with Christ. And it says here for ordained ministers. Yep. That's the Pope, that's the bishops, that's the priests, deacons, but also for every layperson. Clearly depends on our vital union with Christ. So you're spending time with God's Word in the Bible. You're spending time at Mass, you're spending time in adoration, you're spending time here listening and learning about. Here's God's revelation to us as it is then, you know, distilled and given to us in the summary of the catechism. This is all meant to, like, inflame that love. It's meant to inflame that vital union with Christ, which is so, so important. Of course, love has to be at the heart of everything. That last sentence, we already highlighted it, but it'll highlight it again. Last sentence in paragraph 864. Charity or love drawn from the Eucharist above all, is always, as it were, the soul of the whole apostolate. There is a book, and I could probably do so many book recommendations, but there's a book called the Soul of the Apostolate that is incredibly convicting for someone like me. Oh, my gosh. It is so convicting because it reminds me and everyone who ever reads it is that we can all fall into the traps of, you know, busy means holy. We can all fall into the trap of, okay, I'm doing a lot for the Lord and forget about the Lord. You know, that's one of the problems with people like me is we can talk so much about God that we forget to spend time with him, that we can teach about God so often that we forget that we're meant to. Meant to love him and meant to experience his love for us. And so the soul of the apostolate. That book is such a painful and powerful. I say painful just because it's convicting, but powerful and good in the sense that it continually reminds all of us, anyone who reads it, that love, that vital union, that vital relationship with Jesus Christ, has to be at the heart of everything that we do. Okay, last little piece, man. In brief, the nuggets today, I don't know if you noticed, the first four nuggets are all about how the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic. And I would invite you to go back and just. I think they're some of the best nuggets we've gotten so far. After almost a thousand paragraphs, these are some of the best nuggets we've got. Just where, for example, the first one, 866. The church is one. What do we mean? Well, how about in one sentence you say what we mean? She acknowledges one Lord confesses one faith is born of one baptism forms only one body is given life by the one Spirit for the sake of one hope at whose fulfillment all divisions will be overcome. It's just so powerful and beautiful. And again, holy, Catholic, apostolic. The last paragraph, the last nugget, paragraph 870 is a great reminder because we do experience divisions, right? And we do experience, sometimes there can be tension between believers. You know, I keep mentioning the last few days, here's Catholics and here's non Catholic Christians, and sometimes, sometimes highlighting or even pointing out the fact that we experience division can be painful in and of itself. And that's okay because, right, we're meant to work for unity. We're actually meant to pray that those divisions be overcome. That's what is supposed to happen. That's what God wants to happen. At the same time, the Church does take pains to affirm that there is goodness. If you're a non Catholic Christian, I do believe that the Lord is calling you to be Catholic. But that's not to say that in becoming Catholic, you have to say that, oh, the denomination I was raised in or the church I was raised in was bad or didn't have holiness or didn't have goodness. No, not at all. Not at all. In fact, what's paragraph 870 say, it says, the sole church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, Catholic and apostolic, subsists in the Catholic Church. Yep. So that's what we believe. Which is governed by the successor of Peter, by the bishops in communion with him. That last sentence, though, is so. I think it's powerful. It says, nevertheless, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside its visible confines. So wherever you're coming from, the Church is trying. The Catholic Church is trying to say, yeah, all those elements of holiness, those are real. All those elements of truth. Yeah, those are real as well. It's just the next invitation, which is, would you like to take the next step? And would you like to take the next step? And like I said before, realize your full inheritance that God wants you to experience, he wants you to have. And also to the Catholics who are here, and we're going through the catechism the first time, maybe you're going through the Bible a second time or a first time right now, or a third time even. This is our inheritance. And I know so many people have written to me and said, for years I didn't realize. For years I was Catholic. I did not realize the goodness that God has had for me. But now I. Now I'm slowly realizing this. And that's such a gift. Because all of us, man, all of us need to grow. All of us need to grow. So, Lord, please help us to grow. We need to pray for each other. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.