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

Episode Summary: Day 332 – "Prayer Converts Our Heart" ([Nov 28, 2025])

Episode Overview

On Day 332, Fr. Mike guides listeners through Catechism paragraphs 2581–2589, exploring how the prophets—especially Elijah—and the Psalms teach about the true nature of prayer. The main theme centers on how prayer is meant to transform the heart, moving beyond mere external ritual toward deep personal conversion and intimate relationship with God. The episode reflects on how ancient worship practices and biblical prayers can instruct and form Catholics today, emphasizing honesty in prayer, the dynamic between external acts and internal conversion, and the vital, communal role of the Psalms.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Temple: Place of Education and Prayer

• Timestamps: 02:30–04:10
• The temple was the center for the people of Israel’s worship and learning—where they learned to pray through rituals, offerings, incense, and the sharing of the Bread of the Presence.
• Fr. Mike draws a parallel between the Temple and the Catholic Church’s liturgy:
  • The Mass, altar of sacrifice, incense, and the Eucharist all teach and invite Catholics into real, transformative prayer.
• Quote [04:05, Fr. Mike]:
  "The God Most High is also the God most near for every one of us. This line… just highlights the fact that for the people of God, the temple was that place of their education and prayer. Here for us, the people of the New Covenant, those churches… that's where we learn how to pray."

2. The Problem of Ritualism and External Worship

• Timestamps: 04:15–06:30
• Danger of reducing worship to empty rituals or "just going through the motions."
• The Catechism warns that ritualism can lead to a merely external faith life.
• Fr. Mike addresses a common experience: attending Mass or praying "by rote" can feel hollow; the challenge is to allow these practices to penetrate the heart.
• Quote [05:59, Fr. Mike]:
  "How many times have you heard someone say, 'I go to Mass, but I feel like I’m just going through the motions'? ...Yes. And here is the Catechism that says, yep, we know that happens."

3. Conversion of Heart: Metanoia

• Timestamps: 06:40–07:55
• The prophets’ mission was to call Israel not only to right worship, but to interior conversion ("metanoia")—a real change of heart, mind, and behavior.
• Discussion of how belief can lead to changed behavior—but behavior can also lead to changed beliefs through consistent practice.
• Fr. Mike employs a behavioral metaphor (exercise, vitamins) to illustrate how regular external acts (even if initially "going through motions") do eventually convert the heart.
• Quote [07:27, Fr. Mike]:
  "God invites us into prayer. He invites us into worship. And whether we feel like it or not… I'm going to actually allow these motions to do what they’re supposed to do… allow them to pierce my heart."

4. Elijah: Model of Prophetic Prayer

• Timestamps: 08:00–10:40
• Elijah is called the "father of the prophets," exemplifying how personal encounter with God in prayer gives mission and strength.
• Key Elijah episodes highlighted:
  • At Wadi Cherith, Elijah learns God's mercy (feeds the widow, raises her son).
  • Mount Carmel confrontation, where God answers Elijah’s plea with fire (“Answer me, O Lord, answer me.”)
  • Encounter with God on the mountain—God reveals Himself in a “still, small voice.”
  • The ultimate fulfillment: Elijah and Moses finally see God’s unveiled face at the Transfiguration.
• Quote [09:50, Fr. Mike]: "Only on the mountain of the Transfiguration will Moses and Elijah behold the unveiled face of him whom they sought... The glory of God shining through the face of Jesus upon the face of Moses and Elijah. Incredible."

5. Prophetic Prayer: Honest, Attentive, Not Escapist

• Timestamps: 10:45–12:15
• The prophets’ prayer was honest—sometimes argumentative or complaining, but always engaged, believing God hears and cares.
• Prayer is not an escape from the world, but an engagement—listening, seeking mission, support, guidance, and intimacy from God.
• Quote [11:22, Fr. Mike]:
  "Their prayer is not flight from this unfaithful world, but rather attentiveness to the Word of God… at times their prayer is an argument or a complaint… but always an intercession that awaits and prepares for the intervention of the Savior, God, the Lord of history."

6. The Psalms: Heart of Israel’s—and the Church’s—Prayer

• Timestamps: 12:17–14:50
• The Psalms evolved as both personal and communal prayers, rooted in Israel’s worship and still essential in Christian liturgy (especially the Liturgy of the Hours and Mass).
• The Psalms express the full range of human experience—praise, lament, thanksgiving, wisdom—and are accessible for all times and conditions.
• Fr. Mike notes the Psalms as “the prayer of the Church,” and encourages their use for uniting hearts to God’s.
• Quote [13:33, Fr. Mike]:
  "The Psalms have become the prayer of the church. The Psalms are the prayer of the church. As often as we pray the Psalms, we are praying in God's very word, which is just remarkable."

7. St. Ambrose on the Power of the Psalms

• Timestamps: 14:20–15:00
• Fr. Mike quotes St. Ambrose on the beauty and power of praying the Psalms:
  • “What is more pleasing than a psalm? …A psalm is a blessing on the lips of the people. Praise of God, the assembly’s homage, a general acclamation, a word that speaks for all, the voice of the church, a confession of faith in song.”
• The Psalms powerfully unite individual and communal worship.

8. Final Reflections: Consistency & Openness to Conversion

• Timestamps: 15:05–16:30
• Don’t be discouraged if prayer feels “external” or like going through the motions; God works through repetition and consistency to change the heart.
• The call is to allow prayer—especially the Psalms—to become authentic encounters with God that gradually shape us from the inside out.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On ritual and heart:
  "We have to worship God externally because he’s commanded us to… but it can’t remain external. It’s meant to actually change our heart and then come from our heart." — Fr. Mike [05:22]
• On honest prayer:
  "At times their prayer is an argument or a complaint. And that’s true… Our prayer has to be honest. The prophets knew they could trust God, and so their prayer was honest." — Fr. Mike [11:45]
• On the daily transformation of prayer:
  "I might not feel it at this moment, but I realize that over time something is changing, even if I’m only going through the motions." — Fr. Mike [08:15]
• On the Psalms:
  "Whenever you hear the psalm sung at Mass, or you go to the Book of Psalms or maybe pray Liturgy of the Hours, just so important, because what we’re doing is… we’re uniting our hearts to the heart of God expressed in the Psalms." — Fr. Mike [13:46]
• St. Ambrose (as quoted by Fr. Mike):
  "A psalm is a blessing on the lips of the people, praise of God, the assembly's homage… a word that speaks for all, the voice of the church, a confession of faith in song." [14:30]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 02:30 — The Temple as place of education and prayer
• 04:15 — Ritualism and “going through the motions” in worship
• 06:40 — The relationship between belief and behavior; metanoia
• 08:00 — Elijah as model prophet: his stories and significance
• 10:45 — Prophetic prayer: honesty and attentiveness to God’s Word
• 12:17 — The Psalms as Israel’s and the Church’s prayer
• 14:20 — St. Ambrose on the beauty of Psalms

Conclusion

Fr. Mike closes by inviting listeners to persevere in prayer, stressing that daily fidelity in prayer—even when it feels routine or external—eventually leads to true conversion of heart. He encourages embracing prayer as honest, personal encounter, and particularly highlights the Psalms as a living tradition that binds the Church to God’s heart across generations. He ends with assurance of his own prayers and a request for prayers in return.

For those who haven’t listened:
This episode clarifies the dynamic relationship between ritual and interior conversion, exemplified by the prophets and especially Elijah, and reinforced by the communal and personal prayer of the Psalms. It’s an encouragement to honest, regular, and heart-felt engagement with God—knowing that real change, though gradual, happens through persistent prayer.