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

Episode: Day 303 – Summary of the Fifth Commandment (2025)

Date: October 30, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2318–2330

Overview

This episode, designated as a "nugget" or summary day, wraps up the Church’s teaching on the Fifth Commandment: “You shall not kill.” Fr. Mike distills weeks of prior discussion into key takeaways about the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, the ethics of defense, grave offenses such as murder, abortion, euthanasia, suicide, and the role of Christians as peacemakers. The episode emphasizes the consistent life ethic rooted in the dignity of the human person, made in the image and likeness of God.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Foundation: The Sanctity of Life

• Scriptural Anchoring (00:41)
  • Begins and ends the review with Scripture:
    • “In God's hands is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10)
    • “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9)
• Fr. Mike’s Key Point (02:35):
  • “From the very beginning to the very end, our vision of the human person and how we treat other people…comes from Scripture, comes from how God has revealed Himself.”
  • Treating human life starts with understanding both who we are, and who God is.

2. Summary of Catechism Nuggets (03:18–07:23)

• Fr. Mike reads and summarizes Catechism “in brief” section (paragraphs 2318–2330), highlighting that:
  • Human life is sacred from conception to death.
  • Murder violates the dignity of the person and the Creator.
  • Legitimate self-defense is a grave duty when protecting others or the common good.
  • Direct abortion and intentional euthanasia are always gravely wrong:
    • Abortion results in excommunication due to the dignity owed to the unborn.
    • The embryo must be defended “like every other human being.”
  • Suicide is gravely contrary to justice, hope, and charity.
  • Scandal (leading others to sin) is also a grave offense.
  • War should be avoided whenever possible; violence in conflict is still governed by moral law.
  • The arms race is condemned as a grave harm to humanity, especially the poor.
  • Peacemaking is the calling of Christians.

3. Explaining the Consistent Life Ethic (07:30–15:20)

• Sanctity from Conception (08:02)
  • Every human life, starting at conception, has inviolable dignity.
• Memorable Analogy/Quote (09:33):
  • Fr. Mike retells the story of a non-Christian scientist working on human embryos, who is struck by the continuity of human life from embryos to adulthood:
    • “He realized, wait a second…I'm experimenting on children, human beings at days, weeks or months from conception, but they're human beings nonetheless.”
• Clarity on Bodily Autonomy (08:52):
  • “From the moment of conception, that is a new body. That is a new being…It is different. It is other than the body of the mother.”
• Universality of Dignity (10:55):
  • The sanctity of life is not dependent on capability, location, guilt, or circumstances.
• Legitimate Defense & Double Effect (12:05):
  • The Church permits self-defense, or defense of others and the common good, as an act of love—not vengeance:
    • “The prohibition of murder does not abrogate the right to render an unjust aggressor unable to inflict harm.” (CCC 2321)
    • “Even those…who have to defend…the people around them…must not do it as an act of revenge or vengeance, anger or hatred, but as an act…of love.”
• Application to Law Enforcement & Military (12:30):
  • Catholics can serve in these vocations if acting out of love and justice, not hatred.

4. Transition to Broader Catholic Moral Vision (14:00–15:20)

• "Consistent life ethic" connects to the upcoming sixth commandment (sexual ethics):
  • “Every human being is made to be loved, not used…We’re called to actually love one another and never to use.”
  • Just as we do not take life, we do not reduce another to an object—even in thought.
• Freedom in Obedience (15:06):
  • “When we do live this, we experience freedom. And that’s what God wants for all of us.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Heart of Christian Morality (02:49):

  “At the minimum, do not take innocent human life, but goes beyond that to loving our enemies, goes beyond that to praying for those who hurt us…it goes beyond that to caring for those who persecute us. And we can only do that with God’s grace. We can only do that if we have the heart of Christ in us.”
  — Fr. Mike Schmitz

• On Human Dignity (10:12):

  “If human life has value on its own…not given to it by its parents, not given by culture, not given by government…but if human being has a dignity on its own, then this 35-year-old human being has dignity on its own, his 2-year-old has dignity all on its own, and a two-week-from-conception or one-day-from-conception human being has dignity on its own.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz

• On Legitimate Defense (12:05):

  “Legitimate defense is a grave duty for whoever is responsible for the lives of others or the common good. The fact that as Catholics…there are times when we’re called to do that, and that is a consistent life ethic.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz

• On the Ethic of Love (13:47):

  “We may have to do difficult, difficult things, but I’m doing them to protect and preserve the lives of the people around me.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz

• On the Consistent Moral Demand (14:27):

  “Every human being is made to be loved, not used.” — Fr. Mike Schmitz

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:41 — Start of summary, anchoring in Scripture
• 02:35 — Fr. Mike’s big-picture framing: our moral vision comes from knowing God and ourselves
• 03:18–07:23 — Reading and summarizing the Catechism “in brief” (2318–2330), foundational nuggets
• 08:02 — Emphasis on personhood from conception, confronting slogans (“my body, my choice”)
• 09:33 — Scientist’s conversion story on the humanity of embryos
• 10:55 — Application of life ethic to all, regardless of circumstance or guilt
• 12:05 — Clarifying legitimate defense and prohibition on revenge or hatred
• 14:00 — Previewing the sixth commandment: connecting life and sexual ethics
• 15:06 — Experiencing true freedom by living the consistent ethic

Tone and Language

• Pastoral, clear, and direct: Fr. Mike appeals to both reason and faith, shares personal stories, leans on Church teaching, and frequently encourages listeners both to pray and to see the challenge as a path to freedom.
• He reiterates an ethic of love over revenge, and the invitation to always see others as God sees them.

Conclusion

This episode succinctly recaps the Church’s teaching on the fifth commandment and challenges listeners to embrace a consistent ethic of life from conception to natural death. Fr. Mike invites listeners to rely on God’s grace, to value every human person, and to prepare for the next stage: the Church’s sexual ethic, which will continue the theme of seeing others as beloved, never as objects to be used.

Listeners are encouraged to pray for one another, for the grace to live this profound and challenging teaching, and for ever-deeper freedom in Christ.