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

Episode: Day 284: The Fourth Commandment (2025)

Date: October 11, 2025

Readings: Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2196–2200

Episode Overview

On Day 284, Fr. Mike Schmitz introduces the Fourth Commandment, "Honor your father and your mother," marking a transition in the Catechism from commandments focusing on love of God to those about love of neighbor. He explores the foundational role of the family in God’s plan, the breadth of this commandment, and what it means to honor parents and all those vested with authority. Fr. Mike sets the stage for a deeper exploration of family, relationships, and responsibilities within both family and society in subsequent episodes.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Transition from First Three Commandments to the Second Table

• Context: The first three commandments focus on our relationship with God, while commandments four through ten address interpersonal relationships.
  • "We're starting on that second part, or second portion, I guess, what would say it like that division of the Decalogue Commandments four through ten." (02:30)
• The Fourth Commandment is the starting point for our obligations to others, underscoring the pivotal role of the family.

2. The Great Commandments: Love of God and Neighbor

• Fr. Mike contextualizes the Fourth Commandment within Jesus’ summary of the law:
  • "The first is, hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God... The second is, you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (05:00)
• St. Paul summed up the commandments as ultimately founded in love for neighbor (Romans 13).

3. The Family as the Foundational Building Block of Society

• The Catechism underlines the irreplaceable role of the family:
  • "You created the family as the foundational building block, the primordial building block of society." (03:50, prayer)
• "Every one of us comes from a dysfunctional family. And every one of us belongs to a dysfunctional family. And yet you gave us the family." (03:20)

4. The Fourth Commandment: Content and Broader Implications

• The commandment is not only about child-parent relationships but about honoring all rightful authority (08:30):

  • "We are obliged to honor and respect all those whom God, for our good, has vested with his authority."

• Three Levels of Respect:

  1. Respect due to all people as God’s image bearers
  2. Respect for an office/role (parents, teachers, leaders, employers, clergy)
  3. Respect for character, which must be earned (21:00–23:30)

• Notable expansion to authority in society:

  • "It extends to the duties of pupils to teachers, employees to employers, subordinates to leaders, citizens to their country, and to those who administer or govern it." (17:40)

5. The Commandment in Light of Human Brokenness

• God’s Realism:
  • "God gave this commandment knowing that people would receive this commandment while in the midst of dysfunctional families." (12:40)
  • Not a call to honor perfect parents or families but to apply the commandment within our real, broken circumstances

6. Rights and Responsibilities Are Mutual

• The Catechism teaches reciprocal responsibilities:
  • "This commandment includes and presupposes the duties of parents, instructors, teachers, leaders, magistrates, and those who govern — all who exercise authority over others or over a community of persons." (24:40)
• Real relationships involve both rights and duties on both sides (25:10)

7. Spiritual and Temporal Blessings

• Obedience to the fourth commandment brings not just spiritual benefits but societal ones:
  • "Respecting this commandment provides, along with spiritual fruits, temporal fruits of peace and prosperity." (27:00)
  • Neglect leads to harm for individuals and communities.

8. Practical Application & Prudence

• Honoring parents (and other authorities) isn’t always straightforward; it requires discernment:
  • Example of a daughter choosing whether or not to give money to her mother, depending on context (28:55)
  • "The commandment is to honor one's father and mother. The commandment doesn't say, therefore you must do X, Y, and Z. That's where prudence, that's where wisdom comes into play." (30:20–31:00)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Broken Families:
  "None of us have a perfect family... we're all hurt and we've all hurt. And so, Lord God, we ask you to please meet us in that place of hurt." (03:10, prayer)
• On Foundational Relationships:
  "Every single person has that primary relationship... Every human being who's ever lived has had a mom and a dad. And because of that, the Lord's Commandments begin right here." (11:40)
• On Three Levels of Respect:
  "The first level is the most basic... Every human being is worthy of your honor and your respect, worthy of being treated with dignity... The second is the honor and respect that we offer to the role. The third is the character of the person. And that has to be earned." (21:00–23:30)
• On Mutuality:
  "Every real relationship must have real rights and real responsibilities." (25:15)
• On Prudence:
  "To honor your parents will not be the same for everyone. We recognize that some parents, yeah, to give them what they ask would help them. Other parents, to give them what they ask would hurt them." (30:10)
• On Blessing:
  "This is the first commandment with a promise... Honor your father and your mother that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you." (28:10)

Important Timestamps

• 00:05 — Introduction and framing of today’s episode
• 03:10 — Opening prayer emphasizing family’s foundational and broken nature
• 05:00 — Reading and commentary on the Great Commandments
• 11:40 — The Fourth Commandment as the foundation for all interpersonal commandments
• 17:40 — Expanding the commandment to extended family and all authorities
• 21:00 — Fr. Mike explains the "three levels of respect"
• 24:40 — The commandment’s implication for authorities (mutual duties)
• 27:00 — Outcomes: spiritual and temporal fruits of respecting authority
• 28:10 — The "commandment with a promise"
• 28:55–31:20 — Nuanced application: honoring parents when circumstances differ

Tone & Final Thoughts

Fr. Mike speaks pastorally and personally, acknowledging woundedness and imperfection within families and communities, while also highlighting the transformative, healing potential of living out the Fourth Commandment. He balances theological clarity with practical wisdom, repeatedly emphasizing the need for prayer, discernment, and mutual responsibility.

Summary

Day 284 of "The Catechism in a Year" sets the groundwork for understanding the Fourth Commandment as the pivot from duties to God to duties toward others, starting within the family and radiating outward to society at large. Fr. Mike challenges listeners to recognize and respect the dignity, role, and character of all those vested with authority, while also honoring the mutual responsibilities that make authentic relationships possible—even (and especially) in the midst of human brokenness. Honoring father and mother, and by extension all rightful authority, is not blind obedience but a call to relational wisdom, justice, and charity guided by the Holy Spirit.