Episode Overview

Episode: Day 292: Respect for Human Life (2025)
Podcast: The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Date: October 19, 2025
Main Theme:
Fr. Mike introduces the Fifth Commandment, “You shall not kill,” exploring its scriptural and catechetical foundation — the inviolable dignity of human life. He connects this commandment not only to outward acts of violence but also to the inner attitudes of anger, hatred, and vengeance, challenging listeners to embrace Christ’s higher law of love, even toward one’s enemies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Foundation of the Fifth Commandment: The Dignity of Human Life

• Scriptural Rooting

  • The Fifth Commandment, “You shall not kill,” is rooted in the sacredness of human life, which, from its beginning, reflects the creative action of God (00:45–02:30).
  • Human life’s special relationship with God means only He is Lord over life and death (02:08).

• Doctrine’s Universality

  • The Catechism asserts this prohibition is “universally valid” — binding “each and everyone, always and everywhere” (07:55).
  • “There is no time when a person may justify the taking of an innocent human life.” (08:10)

• Clarifying “Kill” vs. “Murder”

  • Fr. Mike notes the original biblical language specifies “murder,” meaning the intentional taking of innocent human life, ensuring listeners understand this commandment’s focus (06:05).
  • “The term kill…is a word that most specifically means murder, right? So kill is taking an innocent human being’s life.” (06:17)

2. Old and New Testament Witness

• Genesis and the Image of God

  • The story of Cain and Abel highlights not only the gravity of homicide but also how “anger and envy” (consequences of original sin) can spiral into violence (03:35).
  • “God declares the wickedness of this fratricide, saying, ‘What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.’” (03:55)

• Blood as Sacred

  • In the Old Testament, blood signifies life — its shedding is seen as especially grave because God “made man in His own image” (04:25).
  • “This teaching remains necessary for all time.” (05:00)

3. Jesus' Expansion: Beyond Physical Acts to Interior Life

• Sermon on the Mount’s Radical Call

  • Jesus not only forbids murder but commands the elimination of anger, hatred, and vengeance from one’s heart (09:33).
  • “You have heard that it was said…You shall not kill…But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be liable to judgment.” (09:45; quoting Matthew 5:21–22)

• Christ’s Example

  • Christ himself models this higher law, urging disciples to “turn the other cheek” and “love their enemies,” refusing to respond with violence when provoked (10:15).
  • “He did not defend himself and told Peter to leave his sword in its sheath.” (10:28)

4. The Challenge and Reality of Loving One’s Enemies

• C.S. Lewis on Christian Love

  • Fr. Mike invokes C.S. Lewis (from Mere Christianity) to emphasize the extraordinary challenge posed by Christ’s command to love enemies — possibly “the most challenging command that Jesus gives us.” (12:00)
  • “We must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves — to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may…be cured. In fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good…” (CS Lewis, quoted at 14:40)

• Practical Application

  • True love for one’s enemies means desiring their good, not approving of their actions or feelings.
  • Fr. Mike is honest about the difficulty: “I don't know what I would do if I was in that situation... But I do know that Jesus has called me to love them somehow.” (13:35)

• The Impossible Without Grace

  • Fr. Mike underscores that this demanding love is only possible by God’s grace: “It is, as I said, a massive challenge. And we cannot run away from it. But that's how we've been loved… While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (16:10–16:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Source of Human Dignity:

  • “Human life is sacred because from its beginning it involves the creative action of God, and it remains forever in a special relationship with the Creator, who is its sole end.” (Catechism, read at 02:10)

• On Universality:

  • “The law forbidding [murder] is universally valid. It obliges each and everyone, always and everywhere.” (07:55)

• On Anger and Vengeance:

  • “To feed one's anger against one's brother, to feed one's hatred against one's brother, or to seek vengeance…is to go against, directly against Christ's command.” (12:45)

• C.S. Lewis on Loving Enemies:

  • “‘We must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves…to wish his good…That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him, wishing his good, not feeling fond of him, nor saying that he is nice when he is not.’” (14:40)

• On Needing Grace:

  • “It is, as I said, a massive challenge. And we cannot run away from it. But that's how we've been loved…the love with which you have been loved…is the love that we have to bring into all of our relationships, which is a challenge. In fact, I would dare say it is impossible without God's grace.” (16:28–16:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:05–01:50: Introduction, prayer, and contextual setup
• 02:10–05:00: Catechism reading — sacredness of human life, Old Testament foundation
• 05:00–07:30: Clarification of the Fifth Commandment and its binding force
• 07:30–10:28: Scriptural specification (Exodus, Matthew), and Jesus’ radical deepening of the command
• 10:28–13:00: The call to “turn the other cheek” and the difficulty of loving one’s enemies
• 13:00–15:00: C.S. Lewis reflections; the personal difficulty and call to higher love
• 16:10–end: The necessity of God’s grace to live out these commands; closing encouragement

Summary Flow

Fr. Mike Schmitz opens with the foundational Christian truth: every human life is sacred because it is created by God and belongs solely to Him. This inviolable dignity is the foundation for all commandments concerning how we treat one another, especially the Fifth, “You shall not kill.”

He clarifies that the biblical and catechetical commandment prohibits murder — the direct, intentional killing of an innocent person — and establishes that this law obliges all people, in every circumstance, without exception.

Expanding on Jesus’ teaching, Fr. Mike challenges listeners to see the deeper call: it’s not just about avoiding murder, but rooting out anger, hatred, and vengeance. Jesus models non-retaliation and commands his followers to love their enemies, a teaching both profound and difficult.

Drawing on C.S. Lewis, Fr. Mike explains that true Christian love for enemies means desiring their ultimate good, not simply having fond feelings or excusing their wrongs. He admits the command is daunting — even seemingly impossible — but insists this is how Christ first loved us, dying for us “while we were still sinners.”

In closing, Fr. Mike invites mutual prayer: for the grace to follow Christ even in loving those who have wronged us, a feat only possible by God’s own love at work in us.