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

Episode: Day 357: God, “Our” Father (2025)
Date: December 23, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Reading: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 2786–2793

Episode Overview

This episode centers on the significance of the word “our” in the Lord’s Prayer—“Our Father.” Fr. Mike Schmitz delves into how this single word transforms our understanding of God, prayer, community, and the radical inclusivity of Christian life. Drawing from the Catechism, he unpacks the theological and spiritual dimensions of calling God “our Father,” emphasizing unity, the universal scope of Christian love, and the call to abandon individualism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: Revisiting Adoption and the Lord’s Prayer

• Previously, the podcast explored God as “Father” (“Abba”), focusing on the need for continual conversion, a desire to become like Him, and cultivating a humble, trusting heart.
• Today, the focus shifts to the first word of the Lord’s Prayer—“Our”—and its profound implications.

“We do not pray to my Father. We pray to our Father, which is beautiful.”
(Fr. Mike, 01:35)

2. The Meaning of “Our” in “Our Father”

• The term “our” introduces a new kind of relationship with God, not just possession or exclusivity.
• Fr. Mike highlights the Catechism’s clarity:
  • Paragraph 2786: “‘Our’ Father refers to God … this adjective as used by us does not express possession but an entirely new relationship with God.”
  • Through Christ, we have become His people, and He is now our God—a mutual belonging.

“It does not express possession, but an entirely new relationship with God.”
(Fr. Mike reading Catechism, 06:45)

• This means belonging to each other as Christians—not just to God, but to one another.

“You belong to God and He belongs to you. … Not possession, but this entirely new relationship. … We belong to each other.”
(Fr. Mike, 08:05)

3. Trinitarian Communion in Prayer

• Fr. Mike clarifies how prayer to the Father fits within the Trinity:
  • We address the Father personally, yet in doing so, we “do not divide the Godhead” but recognize the Son and the Holy Spirit’s relation to the Father.
  • To pray to the Father is to “adore and glorify him together with the Son and the Holy Spirit.”

“When we pray to our Father, we adore and glorify him together with the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
(Fr. Mike reading Catechism, 05:09)

4. Communal Prayer & Christian Unity

• The “our” in the Lord’s Prayer speaks to the communal nature of faith:
  • All the baptized are united in praying “our Father.”
  • Even amid divisions among Christians, this prayer invites unity and remains “our common patrimony.”

“By faith in Christ and by baptism, they ought to join in Jesus’ prayer for the unity of his disciples.”
(Fr. Mike summarizing Catechism, 11:25)

5. Leaving Individualism Behind

• Sincerely praying the “Our Father” liberates us from individualism:
  • God’s love received in prayer frees us from exclusivity—a sense of being “in” while others are “out.”
  • The “our” and “us” in the Lord’s Prayer exclude no one.

“If we pray the Our Father sincerely, we leave individualism behind because the love that we receive frees us from it.”
(Fr. Mike quoting Catechism, 12:25)

• To truthfully pray “Our Father,” divisions and oppositions must be overcome.

6. Universal Scope of Christian Prayer

• The Catechism teaches that we can’t sincerely pray to “Our Father” without bringing before him all those for whom he gave his beloved Son.
  • God’s love has no bounds—nor should Christian prayer.
  • Praying “Our Father” opens up the “dimensions of his love revealed in Christ,” even praying for those who do not yet know him.

“God’s love has no bounds. Neither should our prayer.”
(Fr. Mike referencing Catechism, 13:45)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the inclusivity of prayer:
  “Praying Our Father opens to us the dimensions of his love revealed in Christ, praying with and for all who do not yet know him, so that Christ may gather into one the children of God.”
  (Fr. Mike reading Catechism, 14:15)

• On wishing for a heart like God’s:
  “God, make my heart like yours. Make my heart like yours. Excluding no one, because your love excludes no one.”
  (Fr. Mike, 15:48)

• On reflecting deeply on every word:
  “I think it might have been St. Teresa of Avila who had said that she could pray the Lord’s Prayer… meditate on each word or each phrase for the rest of her life, even just meditating on this first word, our.”
  (Fr. Mike, 14:47)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:05 – Introduction and recap of previous episode (on God as Abba)
• 01:35 – Setting up today’s theme: the word “our” in “Our Father”
• 05:09 – Explanation of addressing the Father within the Trinity
• 06:45 – Reflection on “our” as a new relationship, not possession
• 08:05 – Implications for Christian belonging and unity
• 11:25 – “Our Father” as a call to unity among all Christians
• 12:25 – Breaking free from individualism through prayer
• 13:45 – God’s love and prayer have no bounds; we must include all
• 14:47 – Depth of meditation on even a single word in the Lord’s Prayer
• 15:48 – Final reflection: longing for a heart like God's; closing prayer

Final Reflections

Fr. Mike concludes by tying the richness in the word “our” to the heart of Christian discipleship: desire for likeness to God, humility, trust, and a love that excludes no one. He invites listeners to pray for hearts expansive enough to embrace all, echoing God’s boundless love.

“The whole point is: I desire to become like Him and I want to have a humble and trusting heart. And so we pray: Our Father. God, make my heart like yours.”
(Fr. Mike, 15:48)