Day 129: Many Vocations (2025)

Summary

Episode Summary: The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) – Day 129: Many Vocations

Introduction

In Day 129 of Ascension's The Catechism in a Year, titled "Many Vocations", Fr. Mike Schmitz delves into paragraphs 934 to 945 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This episode explores the diverse roles within the Church, emphasizing the interconnectedness of clergy and laity in fulfilling the Church’s mission. Fr. Mike provides insightful explanations, encouraging listeners to understand their unique vocations and the collective responsibility in advancing God’s kingdom.

Opening Prayer and Setting the Tone

The episode begins with a heartfelt prayer led by Fr. Mike Schmitz, inviting listeners to open their hearts to God's message:

“Father in heaven, we thank you... Help us to hear what it is you want to simply remind us of...” ([02:26])

This prayer sets a reflective tone, preparing listeners to engage deeply with the Catechism’s teachings.

Understanding the Structure of the Church

Fr. Mike outlines the hierarchical structure of the Church, distinguishing between sacred ministers (clerics) and laity:

“There exist in the Church sacred ministers who are also called clerics in law, and other Christian faithful who are also called laity.” ([03:21])

He explains that clerics, including bishops, priests, and deacons, are tasked with authentically teaching the faith, celebrating the Eucharist, and guiding the Church as true pastors ([04:30]). The laity, on the other hand, are called to live holy lives amidst the world, serving as witnesses to Christ through their priestly, prophetic, and kingly missions ([05:00]).

The Mission of the Church: Proclaiming Faith and Planting God’s Reign

Central to the discussion is the Church’s mission to proclaim the faith and establish God’s reign. Fr. Mike emphasizes that this mission is rooted in the authority given by Jesus Christ to His apostles and their successors:

“Christ sends his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission.” ([03:50])

He underscores that the Pope, as the successor to St. Peter, holds supreme authority in guiding the universal Church ([04:13]). This authority is exercised through teaching, governing, and sanctifying the faithful, aiming to make the world holy and lead all to the Father ([07:45]).

Call to Consecrated Life and Lay Participation

Fr. Mike highlights the importance of both consecrated life and lay participation in the Church’s mission. Those who take holy vows—poverty, chastity, and obedience—are fully consecrated to God, thereby enhancing their service to the Church ([05:34]). Simultaneously, laypeople are encouraged to integrate their faith into all aspects of life, serving as a leaven in the world through their active participation and witness ([04:57]).

“Lay people share in Christ's priesthood ever more united with Him... fulfilling the call to holiness addressed to all the baptized.” ([05:08])

Comprehending the Communion of Saints

Towards the end of the episode, Fr. Mike briefly touches upon the Communion of Saints, preparing listeners for a more in-depth discussion in the following episode:

“The communion of saints are all the faithful from all time who exist and are alive in Christ right now...” ([08:31])

He reflects on the unity between the living and those who have gone before, reinforcing the Church’s eternal community.

Encouraging Reconsecration

Fr. Mike concludes with a call to reconsecrate oneself to God, emphasizing personal commitment to living out one’s vocation:

“Let's pause and reconsecrate ourselves... I give you permission to set me apart. I surrender myself to you, the God I love.” ([10:58])

This invitation serves as a spiritual renewal, encouraging listeners to reaffirm their dedication to God’s service and the Church’s mission.

Notable Quotes

• “We just get to ask the Lord to speak to us in the way that he wants to speak to us on this day.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz ([01:51])
• “The Bishop of the Church of Rome, successor to St Peter, is the head of the College of Bishops, the Vicar of Christ and the pastor of the universal Church on earth.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz ([03:54])
• “By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people are called to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances...” — Fr. Mike Schmitz ([05:16])
• “We've been consecrated. You've been set apart. To be holy means to be set apart for a purpose.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz ([10:49])

Conclusion

Day 129 of The Catechism in a Year offers a comprehensive exploration of the Church’s structure and the vital roles of both clergy and laity in fulfilling its divine mission. Fr. Mike Schmitz eloquently bridges the theological concepts with practical applications, urging listeners to recognize and embrace their vocations. The episode serves as a profound reminder of the Church’s enduring mission to proclaim faith, cultivate holiness, and contribute to the betterment of the world through diverse and unified efforts.

Listeners are left inspired to deepen their understanding of their own roles within the Church, fostering a sense of purpose and commitment to living out the Catholic faith in everyday life.

Transcript

[A]

Hi, my name is Father 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. This is day 129. We are reading paragraphs. It's nugget day 9:34 to 9:45. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach, but you can follow.

[B]

Along with any recent version of the.

[A]

Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a Year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com ciy and you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates. Daily Notifications Today, as I said yesterday, and as I just said a second ago, it is Nugget day. But not only is it Nugget day, sometimes you get like the Happy Meal nuggets and it's four piece chicken nuggets and you're like, okay, that's a couple. This is like paragraphs 9:34 to 9:45. There's quite a few nuggets.

[B]

I don't know if you realize this.

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The last section we just covered was a lot. I mean we went all the way back to the institution of here's the.

[B]

Papacy, here are the bishops as the successors of the apostles, the priests, also.

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The laity and the fact that the.

[B]

Laity participate in Christ's priestly, prophetic and kingly office.

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We also talked about religious life, right?

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All those people are consecrated to the Lord.

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We talked about the Evangelical Councils. So yeah, it's a lot of nuggets. So it's going to be a lot.

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934 to paragraph 945.

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That is family. That's family sized nuggets. That's I'm talking about right now, today. So as we launch into this, let's.

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Just say a prayer and call upon.

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The Lord and ask the Lord to.

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Allow God to speak to us.

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What it is in this summary, in this in brief, that he wants to just remind us of that the goodness of informing a visible church, the goodness of giving us a Holy Father in the Pope, the goodness of giving us.

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Bishops as a shepherd and priests and deacons as their co workers, the dignity.

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That God has bestowed on each one of us in sharing with us participation in his priestly, in his prophetic, and in his royal office, all of those aspects. We just get to ask the Lord to speak to us in the way that he wants to speak to us on this day. So we pray.

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Father in heaven, we thank you.

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We give you praise and glory. Thank you for bringing us here today. 129 we thank you for walking with us every step along the way. We thank you for every person who has been praying for us on this journey. And we ask you to please help us to take one step at a time. Help us to hear what it is.

[B]

You want to simply remind us of.

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This day and help us to not only hear these words, but to put them into action. Not only to be reminded of who.

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It is you've called us to be.

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And how it is you've called us to live, but truly let our heart, our attitudes, our actions be transformed by this truth, by you, by your grace. We make this prayer in the name.

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Of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

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Amen.

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In the name of the Father and.

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Of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it's day one 2298 Nuggets 9 Nugget 934 to Nugget 945 let's get started.

[B]

In brief. Among the Christian faithful, by divine institution.

[A]

There exist in the Church sacred ministers.

[B]

Who are also called clerics in law, and other Christian faithful who are also called laity. In both groups there are those Christian faithful who, professing the evangelical councils, are consecrated to God and so serve the.

[A]

Church's saving mission to proclaim the faith.

[B]

And to plant his reign. Christ sends his apostles and their successors. He gives them a share in his own mission.

[A]

From him they receive the power to act in his person.

[B]

The Lord made St. Peter the visible foundation of His Church. He entrusted the keys of the Church to Him. The Bishop of the Church of rome, successor to St Peter, is the head of the College of Bishops, the Vicar of Christ and the pastor of the universal Church on earth. The Pope enjoys by divine institution supreme.

[A]

Full, immediate and universal power in the care of souls.

[B]

The bishops established by the Holy Spirit succeed the apostles. They are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular churches.

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Helped by the priests, their co workers and by the deacons, the bishops have.

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The duty of authentically teaching the faith.

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Celebrating divine worship above all the Eucharist.

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And guiding their churches as true pastors. Their responsibility also includes concern for all the churches with and under the Pope, the characteristic of the lay state being a life led in the midst of the world and of secular affairs. Lay people are called by God to make of their apostolate through the vigor of their Christian spirit, a leaven in the world.

[A]

Lay people share in Christ's priesthood ever more united with Him. They exhibit the grace of baptism and.

[B]

Confirmation in all dimensions of their personal.

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Family, social and ecclesial lives, and so.

[B]

Fulfilled the call to holiness addressed to all the baptized. By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people are called to be witnesses to.

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Christ in all circumstances and at the.

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Very heart of the community of mankind. By virtue of their kingly mission, lay people have the power to uproot the rule of sin within themselves and in.

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The world by their self denial and holiness of life.

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The life consecrated to God is characterized by the public profession of the evangelical.

[A]

Counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience in.

[B]

A stable state of life recognized by the Church already destined for him through baptism. The person who surrenders himself to the God he loves above all else, thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God's service and to the good of the whole Church.

[A]

Okay, there we have nuggets 9:34, 9:45, a summary, the in brief of everything from the very beginning here, paragraph 9 34, which highlights kind of almost the entire section here we just read, which is to the Christian faithful by divine institution that God established this Himself. There exist in the Church sacred ministers who are called clerics by law, right? So that would be bishops, priests, deacons.

[B]

And other Christian faithful who are also called laity.

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All those who are not in holy orders and all those who have not made public profession of vows, goes on to say, in both groups there are.

[B]

The Christian faithful who, professing the evangelical.

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Councils, remember poverty, chastity, obedience, are consecrated to God and so serve the Church's saving mission. And this, this is so important, even.

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Though this is simply a review day, right? It's the in brief day.

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There's something about being reminded of this.

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Like for example, Even in paragraph 9:35.

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It'S so important not just to be reminded that, okay, this is the structure.

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Of the Church, this is the gift.

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That we have right now.

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But why? And paragraph 9:35 says this, like why does the Church exist?

[A]

Well, to proclaim the faith and to.

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Plant his reign, Christ sends his apostles and their successors, he gives them a share in his own mission.

[A]

From him they receive the power to act in his person.

[B]

Now this is so important for us.

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Because again we can, I Don't know about you, but sometimes we can be. When we're reading about these things, like we have for the last number of days in this section of the catechism, it can be. I don't know whether it can become dry or it can become a thing where it's just like, oh, you're just talking structures and I'm not really interested in structures.

[B]

You're talking systems.

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I'm really interested in systems.

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I'm interested in the why.

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I'm interested in the heart behind the whole thing. Paragraph 9:35 reminds us this is the heart that Jesus Christ, he sent his.

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Apostles and their successors into the world. Why? To proclaim the faith and to plant his reign. He gives them a share in his own mission.

[A]

And that mission, of course, is to teach. Of course, that mission is to lead, like to serve, to govern, to guide, right to shepherd. And that mission is to sanctify that. The Lord Jesus wants this whole world to become holy.

[B]

He wants this whole world to know the truth.

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He wants this whole world to be.

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Led to the Father.

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And that's why he sent.

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That's why he sent the Church out into the world.

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Now, tomorrow we're going to talk more and more about the fact that the Church, of course, exists in time on earth, but there's also the communion of saints.

[B]

There's also all those people who have.

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Been brought into the family of God who have gone before us. Those people who are living right now.

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But they're living in God's very presence.

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The communion of saints are all the faithful from all time who exist and are alive. Remember what Jesus said. He said the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.

[B]

He is the God of the living, not of the dead. And all those who die in Christ are alive in Christ. So we recognize that the Church, when.

[A]

We talk about the Church, sometimes we.

[B]

Just mean the visible structure of the Church.

[A]

Sometimes we mean the people of God. And when we say people of God, we just mean those who are alive right now. And yet we're going to hit tomorrow the communion of saints, which reminds us that, yes, the Church is the people of God who are alive right now, but also the Church is all of those people who are alive in Christ right now, whether in Purgatory or in.

[B]

The beatific vision in heaven.

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And we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. We're surrounded by this communion of saints. And we just give God praise for that.

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Because why? Because Jesus Christ has sent His Church.

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Out into the world to proclaim the faith and to establish his reign even more fully. And he's the one who did it all. And now we get to do it through his power. And that's just this incredible, incredible gift. Now, last little note, the last nugget is kind of a highlight of yesterday's last point. Yesterday's last point was paragraph 9 31, about those who surrender themselves to the God he loves, the God they love. Paragraph 9:45 is almost a word for word paraphrase, and it says, already destined for him through baptism. Again, destined for who? Already destined for God through baptism. If you've been baptized, you're destined for God. In fact, if you're created, I mean.

[B]

The destiny of all human beings, God wills that everyone be saved.

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That means that's the destination that he created us for. But it goes on at 9:45, already destined for him through baptism, the person.

[B]

Who surrenders himself to the God he.

[A]

Loves above all else thereby consecrates himself more intimately to God's service and to.

[B]

The good of the whole Church.

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And yesterday I made the point that, yes, this means specifically those who are in consecrated life or those who have consecrated themselves to the evangelical councils, but it's all of us, through baptism, when we surrender ourselves to the God we love above all else, we are consecrating ourselves more intimately to God's service and.

[B]

To the good of the whole church.

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And so I think that it's worth it.

[B]

It's worth it. Before we take this next step tomorrow.

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To the communion of saints, to today pause and reconsecrate ourselves, you know, we've been consecrated. You've been.

[B]

If you've been baptized, you've been set apart, right?

[A]

You've been set apart. To be holy means to be set.

[B]

Apart for a purpose, right?

[A]

You have been consecrated.

[B]

You've been set apart for a purpose.

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But we have the opportunity right now to reconsecrate ourselves. We have the opportunity right now to say, okay, Lord, I once again give you permission. I give you permission to set me apart. I give you permission to be my Lord. I surrender myself to you.

[B]

You are the God that I love.

[A]

And I'm yours for your service and.

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For the good of the whole church.

[A]

First of all, help me. Help me to follow you in poverty, chastity, in obedience. Help me to let you love me. Help me to love you back and to serve you and to serve the whole church. I hope that makes sense. I know it's a short day today, but I think today could be a pivot day. I think today could be one of those days where we pause and we say, I need to be reconsecrated. And that doesn't mean I go through an official, like, rite of reconsecration. It might just mean today's a day where I just want to pause in the few minutes that I normally would be still listening and say, okay, Lord, I give you permission. I give you permission to love me. I give you permission to call me forward. I give you permission to give me your grace, and I surrender myself to you, the God I love. Let's pray for each other that we do this right now. I invite you. Pray for every person listening to this.

[B]

That we, all of us, all of.

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Us, reconsecrate ourselves to the God we love. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.