← The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Fr. Mike Reflects on 5 Years of The Bible in a Year
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2026 marks the 5th anniversary of Bible in a Year! Over the past five years, the Lord has taken this podcast to extraordinary places -- reaching listeners in more than 150 countries, becoming the #1 podcast in the U.S., and remaining the #1 religious podcast in the world, even five years later. Through Bible in a Year, God has transformed hearts and minds, and we are deeply grateful to every listener who has made this journey possible. As we continue creating new videos, podcasts, books, and articles each day, we invite you to press play once again on Bible in a Year. Join Fr. Mike, and all of us, in the Ascension App, as we encounter God’s voice and learn to live our lives through the lens of Scripture.
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Some people get done with the Bible in a year, and they think, what's next? Press play. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and today I wanted to take a moment as we get ready for another year of the Bible in a year. It's hard to believe, but 2026 is actually the fifth anniversary of this journey. When we launched the Bible in a year, back in 2021, none of us, the Ascension team, Jeff Cavins, or myself, had any idea what God was going to do with it. We never, never anticipated the reach, the impact, or even just the sheer number of people who. Who would say yes to reading Scripture every day, whether with their eyeballs or with their earballs. As you might know, the Bible in here is the number one religious podcast in the world. Still, five years later, it's reached listeners in over 150 countries. Years ago, I was watching a Christian movie, and in this Christian movie, there was a Muslim woman. She was listening to her ipod. That's how old it was. Listening to her ipod, listening to a man preach on, I think First Corinthians, and she had a conversion to Jesus. I remember thinking, God, that would be incredible. It would be incredible to be able to do that. We've got messages from people who were raised Muslim, who have now professed faith in Jesus. And not just in this country, the United States of America, or in Canada, but people in countries where, if they publicly become Christian, their lives are forfeit. But they've listened to the Bible in a year and have come to that place. God's word has transformed their heart, has transformed their minds in such an incredible way that they're like, no, I believe Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is God. When I first heard about the first person, that first story, I remember thinking, oh, my gosh, Lord, that's what I prayed for. Here we are, you know, 150 countries, some of them countries where it would be illegal to listen to the Bible in the air. Talked to another man who talked about how he lives in a country where it is illegal. It is illegal to openly practice your Catholicism, your Christianity. And he said, use a number of VPNs to get around all these things, to be able to listen to the word of God through the Bible, any ear. It's consistently topped, not only actually the religious church, maybe you've heard about this, but it's actually been the top podcast overall, even hitting number one in the entire US Podcast charts a couple times. Usually it's the beginning of every year. You know, people have, but they like to Start, this is good. I always like people when people start listening to the Bible at the beginning of the year. I've heard of whole families, like an 8 year old who like, yeah, I've listened to the whole Bible now. Like, I'm not sure how much they got out of it, but the fact is they heard all of the stories to an 88 year old, 93 year old. Literally. Earlier today I heard from a 99 year old person who listens to the Bible in ear. I remember this one man, he said he was in his 40s, an atheist his whole life. He, he said he read the Bible a couple times on his own, raised his children to be atheists. And he said, I remember this was the first year, maybe a couple months in. And he said, I know, I realize, I believe, I know I've shared this before, but that first year my mom and dad both listened to the Bible in here and they finished the whole thing. And I remember coming downstairs, it was like a Sunday afternoon and I had done with masses and everything and I was visiting them and came downstairs and I heard my voice in the living room. And I come down, I'm like, oh, hey guys. And they're like, shh, shh, we're almost done. They were listening to the Bible in a year together. And I just think, oh my gosh, the people who taught me how to read, I got to read God's word to them. I have my sisters who have listened to the Bible in a year. I have one of my brothers literally just finished for the first time ever, the day365 and he texted me and I just, I literally can't put into words. It's one thing to have stories of people who I've never met before. It's another thing to be able to bring this to people that you love more than anyone in the world. We have so many college students who like low key, you listen to the Bible any year. And at the end they're like, hey, I just finished it. I'm like, really? The whole time. My own bishop at one point, this is either the Bible or catechism, one of the two. At one point he said, father Mike, have been listening. And I thought, oh my goodness, I hope I'm not making mistakes. There are people in prison who say that Scripture has given them hope again. It's literally thousands of stories of what God has done. Because this is God's work, right? I mean, all of this, I got to be the narrator. And so thank you Lord for this. But this is God's work. And then of course, the Ascension team. I read somewhere that just to create one episode, the podcast has to go through like 19 different stations. We have to do this. They have to do this. There's so many people who have worked on social media and letters. I mean, people responding to people. The Holy Spirit has been moving in ways I could never, no one could script. So this is what the fifth anniversary means to me. It just means that God continues to work. Because this is the reality is that this could be year one for you. This could be year one for a thousand, a million more people this year. Some people get done with the Bible any year and they think, what's next? I say do it again. Honestly, I'm doing it. Literally, I am doing it. I'm going through it again. Because it is one of those things where God's word is inexhaustible. There's always more. And so when you get done, press play. Day 366, day 367. Because God's word is never old. It is always new. It is always powerful. It is always living and effective. You know, when I think back to those first days of recording, it was in 2020 we first started recording. Never imagined what God would do with this podcast. It has been one of the coolest things in my priesthood to be able to walk with so many people through God's Word. And it's God's word, right? It's not my words, it's his word. This upcoming year, my invitation, press play again. Because this upcoming year for the first time, there is bonus commentary. As we hit this five year milestone, we wanted to do something a little special after each episode in the early world time period, which is days one through five. And I'll be offering bonus exclusive bonus commentary available only in the Ascension app. If you want to get that commentary on those days one through five, the extra little extra something, I mean, those days one through five are pretty packed with some pretty amazing things. Just go download the Ascension app. There's some things in the readings I didn't share the first time, as well as some questions that pop up from listeners every time every year. So just excited to share some of those insights with you. If you want a little more context or reflection as we start this journey, I'd love for you to join me there for free on the Ascension app. When you open the Ascension app, it's one of the things I did it two days ago yesterday. I was listening and I listened to the readings, listening to the narrator. Do his thing, and I noticed in the bottom, there's, oh, all these questions that I might have. I could tap on them, and there's answers right there. The Ascension app is just. It is. It is the best place to listen to the Bible in here. So whether you've been here since the beginning or you're joining here for the first time, I'm so grateful that you're here. God's word is alive, and he has something for you this year. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike, and I cannot wait to begin this journey with you tomorrow. God bless. We're just. Just shy of 1 billion downloads. Press play today.