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

Episode: Day 348: The Battle of Prayer (2025)

Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz (Ascension)
Date: December 14, 2025
Covered Catechism Paragraphs: 2725–2731

Overview

This episode delves into one of Fr. Mike Schmitz’s favorite sections of the Catechism: “The Battle of Prayer.” He discusses why prayer is described as a battle, emphasizing its dual nature as both a gift from God and an act requiring determined effort on our part. The episode challenges common misconceptions about prayer, explores the obstacles and failures often experienced in prayer, and offers practical encouragement for perseverance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Prayer is Called a Battle

• Effort Required: Prayer is not simply a passive or always easy activity; it requires intent and engagement.
• Gift and Response: Prayer is “both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort.”
  • “My vision of prayer for so many years was just… this should be easy. If I love God, this should all come easily … like getting into a warm hot tub.” (Fr. Mike, 02:06)
• Consolation in Difficulty: Difficulty in prayer is normal; it doesn’t mean something is wrong.
  • “Prayer is difficult. That makes sense. And if that’s the norm, then I’m not doing something wrong.” (Fr. Mike, 03:30)

2. Sources of the Battle

• Battle Against Self and the Tempter
  • “Prayer is a battle against whom? Against ourselves, and against the wiles of the tempter, who does all he can to turn man away from prayer, away from union with God.” (Read from Catechism, 08:18)
• Living and Praying Are Intertwined
  • “We pray as we live, because we live as we pray. If we do not want to act habitually according to the Spirit of Christ, neither can we pray habitually in his name.” (Read from Catechism, 08:55)
  • Our moral and spiritual lives are inseparable—the way we live impacts the depth of our prayer.

3. Common Objections & Misconceptions About Prayer

• Erroneous Views:
  • “Some people view prayer as a simple psychological activity, others as an effort of concentration to reach a mental void. Still others reduce prayer to ritual words and postures.” (Read from Catechism, 09:30)
• Busyness:
  • Fr. Mike shares an anecdote from Fr. Thomas Dubay:
    • “If you’re a mom or dad, you don’t have to pray. That’s no problem. You can be a mediocre mom, you can be a mediocre dad, no big deal.” (Fr. Mike, 16:14)
    • The point: Prayer isn’t just ‘another thing to do’; it is essential to not being mediocre in vocation and life.
• Modern Attitudes:
  • “Some would have it that only that is true, which can be verified by reason and science. Yet prayer is a mystery that overflows both our conscious and unconscious lives.” (Read, 18:23)
  • The world’s focus on usefulness and comfort can undermine commitment to prayer.
  • “Prayer is deemed unproductive, thus some think it is useless.” (Summarized, 19:15)

4. Obstacles and Feelings of Failure in Prayer

• Discouragement During Dryness
  • Dryness in prayer should not cause despair; it is a normal part of the spiritual journey.
• Sadness and Disappointment
  • “Sadness that because we have great possessions, we have not given all to the Lord. Disappointment over not being heard according to our own will…” (Read, 23:12)
• Pride and Resistance to Grace
  • “Wounded pride stiffened by the indignity that is ours as sinners, our resistance to the idea that prayer is a free and unmerited gift…” (Read, 23:30)
• The Universal Temptation
  • “The conclusion is always the same: What good does it do to pray?” (Read, 23:50)

5. Responding to the Obstacles: Practical Encouragement

• Humility, Trust, Perseverance
  • “To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility, trust, and perseverance.” (Read, 24:00)
• Distraction in Prayer
  • Don’t harshly chase away distractions; gently return attention to God.
    • “To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap; all that is necessary is to turn back to our heart.” (Summarized, 25:00)
• Dryness in Prayer
  • First, examine if you have separated your heart from God.
  • If not, accept dryness as a test and purification—an act of pure faith.
    • “If there’s nothing obvious [separating you from God], then be at peace. Lord God, use this dryness to purify my love for you. Because that’s what he’s doing now.” (Fr. Mike, 28:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Prayer is both a gift of grace and a determined response on our part. It always presupposes effort.” (Read from Catechism, 08:06)
• “It is gift and grit. It is grace and grit. That is what it is.” (Fr. Mike, 10:55)
• “We don’t white-knuckle our way to holiness. Prayer comes from the Holy Spirit... It is a gift of grace.” (Fr. Mike, 11:50)
• “Our lives, how we live, are inseparable from how we pray.” (Fr. Mike, 14:48)
• “Prayer is not simply a psychological activity, or just ritual words and postures. You can’t just go through the motions.” (Paraphrase, 15:55)
• “If you’re a mom or dad, you don’t have to pray. ... You can be a mediocre mom, you can be a mediocre dad, no big deal.” (Anecdote, 16:14)
• “Prayer is at the love of beauty—Philokalia—is caught up in the glory of the living and true God.” (Summarizing Catechism, 20:16)
• “To cling faithfully to God, simply knowing I trust in your promises... what He does in those moments is He makes your heart bigger, makes your love purer. Because why? I don’t love the gifts—I love the giver.” (Fr. Mike, 29:26)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Gift, Effort, and the Nature of Prayer – 02:06 to 08:18
• Reading Catechism Paragraphs 2725–2731 – 08:18 to 09:55
• Explaining Battle Against Self and Tempter – 10:30 to 12:17
• “We Pray as We Live” Insight – 13:00 to 14:48
• Objections to Prayer, Modern Misconceptions – 15:30 to 20:40
• Failures in Prayer, Obstacles and Emotional Struggles – 23:00 to 24:00
• Distraction and Dryness: Practical Guidance – 25:00 to 29:26

Takeaway

This episode frames prayer as a spiritual battle that integrates both divine grace and human effort. Fr. Mike encourages listeners not to be troubled by difficulties, distractions, or dryness. Instead, these are signs that one is on the right (and common) path. True prayer draws us into deeper humility, trust, and perseverance—reminding us always to show up for God, not the gifts, but the Giver Himself.