Episode Overview

Theme:
This episode of The Catechism in a Year centers on the extraordinary privilege and mystery that Christians "dare to say" the words "Our Father." Fr. Mike Schmitz explores the first words of the Lord’s Prayer, explaining the boldness, trust, and transformation involved in calling God “Father.” He reviews Catechism paragraphs 2777–2785 and highlights the heart-level shifts required for authentic relationship with God in prayer.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Boldness of Calling God “Father”

• Fr. Mike marvels at the phrase “we dare to say” and how Scripture and tradition emphasize approaching God with filial boldness.
  • “It’s crazy that if we stopped and thought about—wait a second—we get to stand... and actually call upon God as our Father. We dare to say that God is our Father and that we are actually his beloved and adopted sons and daughters. It is incredible.” (03:15)
• This boldness is possible only through the Holy Spirit and Jesus’ work—humans could not, on their own, address God with such intimacy.

The Meaning and Gift of Divine Adoption

• Humanity is only able to call God “Father” because of adoption through baptism and the Holy Spirit’s transforming power.
  • Fr. Mike underscores, “It’s only by faith and baptism that we become God’s sons and daughters by adoption.” (21:50)
• Personal reflection: Fr. Mike shares how, baptized as an infant, he always knew this identity but marvels that many might not appreciate the infinite difference it makes.

The Lord’s Prayer: Invitation and Identity

• Jesus responds to his disciples’ desire to learn to pray not by teaching formulas but relationship: “When you pray, say: Our Father.”
• Fr. Mike clarifies that Christ isn’t condemning repetitive prayer (like the Rosary), but rather empty, attention-seeking babble.
  • “He’s not condemning repetitive prayer. He’s condemning babbling like the pagans—who think that because of their many words, they’ll be heard. It goes back to the heart of: who do you think you’re talking to?” (25:45)
• Pagan religions required efforts to “get the gods’ attention,” but in Christianity, the Father is already attentive and yearning for our attention.
  • “You don’t need to bleed to get his attention. In fact, we know this truth in Jesus Christ: God has bled to get our attention.” (28:45)

Purification of Our Image of God

• Before we say “Father,” the Catechism insists on humility and cleansing our hearts of false images—drawn from our personal and cultural experiences with parents.
  • “We have paternal or maternal images... from our personal and cultural history and they influence our relationship with God.” (30:40)
• Fr. Mike shares a touching story of a woman who struggles with the term “dad,” showing the real challenge of relating to God beyond our earthly experiences.
• “God our Father transcends the categories of the created world. To impose our own ideas in this area upon Him would be to fabricate idols to adore or pull down.” (Catechism, quoted at 32:25)
• We are called to enter into the mystery of Who God is, as revealed by Jesus—not our own projections.

Effects and Dispositions Fostered by the Our Father

• Two fundamental dispositions should arise as we pray the Lord’s Prayer:

  1. Desire to become like the Father.
     • “Though created in his image, we are restored to his likeness by grace, and we must respond to this grace.” (34:10)
     • St. Cyprian: “We must remember and know that when we call God our Father, we ought to behave as sons of God.”
  2. A humble and trusting heart, becoming as little children.
     • “Trust in the Father, that He is a good, good dad, that He loves us.”
     • St. John Chrysostom: “You cannot call the God of all kindness your Father if you preserve a cruel and inhuman heart.”

• The Lord's Prayer not only reveals God to us—it also reveals ourselves to ourselves.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• St. Peter Chrysologus (quoted):
  “Our awareness of our status as slaves would make us sink into the ground and our earthly condition would dissolve into dust if the authority of our Father himself and the Spirit of His Son had not impelled us to this cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” (07:35)

• St. Augustine (quoted):
  “At this name, love is aroused in us, and the confidence of obtaining what we are about to ask. What would he not give to his children who ask, since he has already granted them the gift of being his children.” (20:50)

• Fr. Mike’s commentary:
  “That’s what God has done to us—in, for us. He has made us his adopted sons and daughters, by the Holy Spirit, by faith and baptism. And so we get to call God our Father.” (21:20)

• Prayerful reflection:
  Fr. Mike’s opening prayer models address to “Abba, Dad in Heaven,” and heartfelt gratitude for making us sons and daughters:
  “Let us return to your heart with trust. Lord God, we praise you and bless you. Thank you so much for making us your sons and daughters. Help us to find our home in your heart.” (04:11)

Timestamps for Important Segments

| Timestamp | Segment | |-----------|------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:05 | Episode opening, theme introduction | | 03:15 | “We dare to say”—the boldness of calling God “Father” | | 07:35 | Saintly quote on “Abba, Father” and filial boldness | | 20:50 | St. Augustine’s quote on the gift of divine adoption | | 21:20 | The difference adoption makes—personal reflection | | 25:45 | Jesus’ teaching: not babbling but relational prayer | | 28:45 | God’s pursuit for our attention; Christ’s sacrifice | | 30:40 | Purification of our parental images of God | | 32:25 | God transcends earthly parental categories | | 34:10 | The two fundamental dispositions developed in prayer | | 35:40 | Summary: what the Our Father reveals and transforms |

Structure and Flow

This episode moves from wonder at the “daring” invitation of Christ to call God “Father,” through a careful reading of the Catechism’s teaching, to practical and spiritual implications for every believer: adoption, humility, purification, formation of hearts to trust, and the transformative power of praying the Lord’s Prayer. Fr. Mike frequently references both Catechism text and Church Fathers to anchor his teaching, while using heartfelt, conversational language characteristic of his pastoral tone.

Summary

Day 356: We Dare to Say is a powerful meditation on the gift and boldness of Christian prayer. Fr. Mike reminds listeners that through adoption in Christ, they can truly—confidently, humbly—address God as Father, not only as a theological truth but as the lived center of Christian life. The episode challenges listeners to purify their hearts, confront and release distorted images of parenthood, and pray with the simple, trusting heart of a child.

Fr. Mike (final thought, 36:45):
“Just that truth can change a life... that truth can change an eternity.”

For those who haven’t listened:
This episode is both teaching and encouragement—inviting you into the mystery, freedom, and transformation that comes when you truly dare to say “Our Father.”