The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Episode: Day 267 — The Church as Mother and Teacher (2025)

Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz

Episode Overview

This episode introduces the Church as both "Mother and Teacher," focusing on paragraphs 2030–2036 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Fr. Mike unpacks the Church's unique role in guiding, nurturing, and teaching the faithful, especially in the context of moral life and the preparation for a forthcoming exploration of the Ten Commandments. He emphasizes the importance of docility (openness to being taught) and the communal, rather than purely individual, nature of the Christian journey.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Introducing the Theme: The Church as Mother and Teacher

• Why this focus now?

  • The Catechism sets up the Church's teaching role before examining the Ten Commandments and the moral life so that listeners understand Christian morality flows from the Church's maternal and magisterial authority (04:22–05:40).

• Quote:

  • “If the Church is our mother, then she loves us. And if the Church is our teacher, then we need to listen to her. And that can be the challenge for so many of us.” (03:46)

• The Need for Docility:

  • Fr. Mike prays for “docile hearts, teachable hearts, leadable, guidable hearts, hearts that can listen and then can act on what we hear.” (07:28–08:05)

2. Communion: The Christian Call in Community

• The Church's Role in the Christian Vocation:

  • It’s through the Church, in communion with all the baptized, that each Christian fulfills their vocation (Paragraph 2030).
  • “We are made, yes, of course, to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but not a private one.” (11:03)

• Scriptural Basis:

  • The Body of Christ imagery in Scripture signifies that Christianity is fundamentally communal.
  • “How much more clearly could Scripture describe this?... That the body of Christ has many parts, but it’s still one.” (11:15)

3. The Gifts Received from the Church

• From the Church, we receive:

  • The Word of God with the teachings of Christ
  • The grace of the sacraments that sustain us
  • The example and witness of holiness, especially in Mary and the saints
  • The spiritual tradition of those who have gone before us (Paragraph 2030)

• Quote:

  • “The Church is teacher and mother to feed us and to lead us, right? To guide us and to help us become holy.” (13:06)

• Saints as Models:

  • True measure of holiness comes from those who live the Church’s teachings—the saints—not those who fail.
  • “We look not to the sinners in the Church... We look to the saints, those who actually have lived out the teachings of the Church.” (14:23)

4. Moral Life as Spiritual Worship

• Romans 12:1 and 2031:

  • “The moral life is spiritual worship.”
  • Living God’s will, obeying His commands, and living lives of mercy and love constitute acts of worship—not mere rule-following.

• Quote:

  • “Whenever we obey God’s will, the Lord’s will... whenever we obey His spokespeople on earth, right? The Church... that is an act of spiritual worship.” (15:20–15:41)

5. The Teaching Authority (Magisterium) of the Church

• The Church as "Pillar and Bulwark of the Truth":

  • The Church is entrusted with the right (and duty) to proclaim moral principles, including those pertaining to social order and to make judgments necessary for the salvation of souls (Paragraph 2032; Code of Canon Law).

• Quote:

  • “The Church has the right, does have the authority to teach us this is a better way to live and that we are obliged... to attend to the teaching of the Church.” (18:32–19:04)

• Rebuttal of Sola Scriptura:

  • Fr. Mike addresses Protestant concerns:
    • Where did your Bible come from?
    • The Church precedes and gave us the Bible; therefore, tradition is not lesser.
  • “The Church gave us the Bible. And not only that, but the Bible describes the Church.” (12:23)

6. The Magisterium in Practice

• Catechesis and Preaching:
  • Magisterium is exercised in teaching, catechesis, and preaching, supported by theological and spiritual authors (Paragraph 2033).
• Authority of Pope and Bishops:
  • “The Roman Pontiff and the bishops are authentic teachers, that is, teachers endowed with the authority of Christ.” (20:14)
  • Charism of infallibility is limited to teachings on faith and morals (20:50).

7. Prophetic Office: Proclaiming Truth and Calling to Conversion

• Reminding Humanity of Its True Calling:
  • The Church’s prophetic voice is essential—sometimes consoling, sometimes convicting—to remind us of who we are and who we should be before God (Paragraph 2036).
  • Analogy of a cast on a broken leg: Church’s laws aim to heal, not bind.
  • “The prophetic voice of the Church…must both console and convict... good for us, right?” (22:36)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Docility:

  • “Docility is that openness to being taught. If the Church is our mother, and she is, if the Church is our teacher, and she is, then we have to allow her to care for us. We have to allow her to teach us.” (06:14–06:40)

• On Personal vs. Private Faith:

  • “We are made, yes, of course, to have a personal relationship with Jesus, but not a private one.” (11:03)

• On Tradition and Scripture:

  • “The Church gave us the Bible. And not only that, but the Bible describes the Church.” (12:23)
  • “Where did your Bible come from? We recognize that the Church precedes the Scriptures... the New Testament at least, right?” (12:09)

• On Worship and Moral Action:

  • “The moral life is a spiritual worship. It’s an act of worship that when we do God’s will... that’s an act of worship to the Father.” (15:10)

• Challenge to Modern Listeners:

  • “In our world right now... we live in a post-Christian world that wants to silence the Church and say, ‘You don’t have the right to speak in the public square,’ but also so many Catholics... would say, ‘Oh, Church, you don’t have the right to weigh in on my private life.’” (17:14–18:04)

• On the Saints:

  • “The saint, not the sinner, is the model of the Church... We look to the saints, those who actually have lived out the teachings of the Church.” (14:23)

• Closing Reflection:

  • “The prophetic voice of the Church…must both console and convict. And that’s why if we’re challenged over the next few days, good, good for us, right? If we’re consoled for the next few days, good, good for us, because we need it.” (22:26–22:54)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:01–03:45 — Intro talk, personal reflection, and prayer for docility
• 08:06–10:40 — Catechism reading: paragraphs 2030–2036
• 10:41–13:00 — Communion: Christian vocation in the Church
• 13:01–15:10 — The Church as giver of the sacraments and the model of holiness
• 15:11–17:13 — Moral life as spiritual worship, not just rule-following
• 17:14–20:00 — Teaching authority, rebuttal of sola scriptura, Church's duty to speak on morals
• 20:01–21:30 — Role of Popes and Bishops; infallibility
• 21:31–22:54 — The Church’s prophetic office—consolation and conviction

Summary Flow and Takeaways

Fr. Mike’s gentle yet passionate tone invites listeners to trust the Church as both mother (who loves, nurtures, and heals) and teacher (who corrects, guides, and leads). Rather than seeing the Church’s moral authority as restrictive, he frames it as healing: like a cast for a broken leg—meant for restoration, not oppression. As the Church prepares to teach the Commandments, Fr. Mike encourages listeners to approach these lessons with humility and openness (“docility”), ready to receive both the comfort and the challenge that come from authentic Christian teaching.

For anyone new to the Catechism or Catholic teaching, this episode reminds us: the Church’s authority rests not in power, but in love; not just in rules, but in a life-giving invitation to walk in truth and charity together.