The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 265: The Call to Holiness (2024)

Episode Date: September 21, 2024

Each of us is called to holiness. As Fr. Mike puts it, we’re all called to the “heights of holiness.” No matter our station in life, we’re meant for ever greater union with Christ, devoting ourselves to the love of God and neighbor. The path of holiness also entails the Cross, self-denial, and the sacrifice that ultimately leads to peace. And as Fr. Mike reminds us, even if we stumble or fail, we know that we can, time after time, “begin again.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2012-2016. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast, where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture, and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 265, you guys. We are 100 days away from the end.

We're reading paragraphs 212 to 2,012 to 2,016. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach, but you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in your reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C I Y and you can click follow or subscribe to your podcast app for daily updates, daily notifications.

Thank you so much. Also, by the way, PS, PS, thank you for all those who have supported the production of this podcast with your prayers, your, your financial gifts. Honestly, we couldn't do this without you. We today, we're talking about Christian holiness. You know, yesterday we talked about merit and I was, I shared that I was so, so grateful to be able to talk about merit today. I want to be even more grateful if it's possible. This recognition that every one of us is called to be a saint. Every, every one of us

has been created by God, for God. Every one of us has been redeemed by Jesus Christ and we're called to cooperate with that redemption, we're called to cooperate with His grace, and we're called to ultimately be holy. And so this is just this huge, huge, in paragraphs 2012 to 2016, just this reminder of the depth to which God has created, redeemed, and now is calling all of us to the heights of holiness. And this is you, and this is, pause on this for one second,

the heights of holiness, that's where you're called. And so to be able to hear these next five paragraphs and just realize, wait, this is for me, this is God's plan for my life. And especially when we're discouraged, especially when we're tired of persevering, especially when we've failed and fallen so much that we just need, we need this reminder. And maybe for the first time, to hear it for the first time, that actually this is what God wants for you, now and literally into eternity. So let's pray because we need God's grace. Without God's grace, we cannot do it.

Without God's grace, we are bound to fail. And so we pray and ask God to give us his grace. Father in heaven, we walk in, we stumble into your presence, Father, but because of Your Son, because of the Holy Spirit poured out into our hearts, You have given us access. We have been given access to You and You have called us. You called us to the heights of holiness.

We ask that You, Father, in this moment and in every moment, bestow Your Holy Spirit upon us. Help us to say yes to You. Help us cooperate with You fully with our thoughts, our words, our actions, that everything we do may be for your glory and for the salvation and sanctification of all the people around us. Lord God, make us holy. Help us live in holiness this day and every day. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, in the name of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 265. We're reading paragraphs

2012 to 2016. Christian holiness. St. Paul writing to the Romans stated, We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him. For those whom He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, in order that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. Lumen Gentium further states, All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to

the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness. As Jesus stated, Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Lumen Gentium further stated, In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift, so that, doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus, the holiness of the people of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly

shown in the history of the Church through the lives of so many saints. Spiritual progress tends toward ever more intimate union with Christ. This union is called mystical because it participates in the mystery of Christ through the sacraments, the Holy Mysteries, and in Him, in the mystery of the Holy Trinity. God calls us all to this intimate union with Him, even if the special graces or extraordinary signs of this mystical life are granted only to some for the sake of manifesting the gratuitous gift given to all. The way of perfection passes by the way of the cross.

There is no holiness without renunciation and spiritual battle. Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes. St. Gregory of Nyssa stated, He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows. The children of our Holy Mother the Church rightly hoped for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good Works accomplished with his grace in communion with Jesus Keeping the same rule of life

Believers share the blessed hope of those whom the Divine Mercy gathers into the Holy City the New Jerusalem Coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. All right, there we are, paragraphs 2012 to 2016, which are brief, right? These brief five paragraphs. And yet in these five paragraphs is the call. Like this is the destiny of every human being and this is your destiny. This is what God wants.

That first paragraph, 2012, comes exclusively from St. Paul's letter to the Romans chapter eight, right? We know that in everything, God works for good with those who love him. For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. That is your call. That's my call.

It's amazing. I love this. The next statement, of course, is from Lumen gentium, right? Second Vatican Council, paragraph 2013. It says, All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. If it was ever the case that in your life you thought, well, holiness is for the nuns, holiness is for priests, holiness is for bishops, holiness is for the monks out there.

It's not for me. And holiness may be even for people who work in the church, but it's not for me. The reality, of course, is that the church is crying out all the way from St. Paul writing to the Romans to Lumen Gentium in the 1960s to this moment right now in the Catechism. The church is crying out, God is crying out that all Christians, and all means you, all means all, in any state or walk of life, now think about this, any state or walk of life. If you're single and you longed to be married, but you haven't been able to be married, and you think like, ah, how could I possibly be holy if I'm not in my vocation?

Well, listen, in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. That's you. That means all of us. If you're married, if you had started out in a vocation, if you started out walking and you thought, okay, this is my vocation. And for whatever reason, it has not worked out, right?

For whatever reason, it is not born fruit. For whatever reason, even maybe that ended, maybe that came, maybe there's a massive curve ball that came. You find yourself in a particular state of life or walk of life that you think like, oh gosh, God, what can you do with this? What can you do with me in this moment?

The church still says with the voice of God himself that you are still called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness. This is so important. Now, in order to reach this perfection, right, Lumen Gentium goes on to state here in 2013, in order to get that state of holiness, what do we do? We need to use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift. That is the key, right? Remember, we can only do this with God's grace. Moving on, so that what? Doing the will of the Father in everything, They may wholeheartedly devote themselves

to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. The heart of holiness is very simple. It is simply to do the will of the Father. That is it. The heart of holiness is, I do the will of the Father with the grace provided to me by Jesus. And what's the will of the Father? So often we can say, I don't know,

I don't know what God wants for me in my life. What does he want next? He just wants you to take that next step And that's why I love I love this quote from st. Gregory of Nyssa where he says He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning to beginnings that have no end He never stops desiring what he already knows. You know, there is a venerable. His name is venerable Bruno Lanteri I think it's how you say his last name St. Avernor venerable Bruno Lanteri. I think that's how you say his last name. St. Venerable Bruno Lanteri.

And he founded a religious community. And one of his sayings was very, very brief. It was only two words. And that saying was nunc chepi. Now, if you know of the American football player, Philip Rivers, that he adopted that as well. Nunc chepi, N-U-N-C-C-O-E-P-I, nunc chepi. And it simply means, now I begin.

Now I begin. And that's the heart of it, right? It's, I need to do the will of the Father. Okay, well what's the will of the Father? Well, take the next step. Say yes to Him, right now. With the grace, with the strength provided by Jesus Christ, I simply take the next step.

I simply start again. I go, as Gregory of Nyssa said, I simply take the next step. I simply start again. I go, as Gregory of Nyssa said, I go from beginning to beginning to the beginnings that have no end. That recognition of all you and I are called to do is take the next step. All you and I are called to do is give the next yes. And even if again, even if we've made a shipwreck of our lives, right? Even if we have just like tanked, totally tanked and we've fallen flat on our face, what's the next yes? The next yes is, okay, God, I'm going to go to confession. I'm going to hand over my heart to you. The next yes is always possible. I can always, we can always begin again. In fact, Venerable Bruno Lanterie,

he once said this, he said, if I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day, I will begin again with a new awareness of my weakness, promising God with a peaceful heart to amend my life. This is the grace of perseverance. This is fortitude, right? This is true courage. If I should fall a thousand times a day, a thousand times a day, I will begin again. Nuukchepi,. Now I begin with a new awareness of my weakness. Think about that. I'll begin again, not deceiving myself, not thinking, okay, this time I'll be perfect.

No, I have a new awareness of my weakness. I actually know how deeply my weakness goes. It is only those who have tried to stand up against the wind who truly know how strong they are and who truly know how strong the wind is. It's only those who actually have fought against temptation who truly know how weak they are or how strong they are and who truly know how strong the wind is. It's only those who actually have fought against temptation who truly know how weak they are or how strong they are and how strong temptation is. But I begin again, Nung Chepi, promising God with a peaceful heart to amend my life. Just saying, look at God, I'll start again, I'll begin again. And this last paragraph here,

paragraph 2016, I think is so, so powerful because it talks about, it says, the children of our Holy Mother, the Church rightly hope for the grace of final perseverance and the recompense of God their Father for the good works accomplished with His grace and communion with Jesus. The grace of final perseverance, we might have talked about this before, but you know, it's been on my heart more and more that I am called to, and maybe all of us are called to pray for the grace of final perseverance. I want the grace to say yes right now, right?

I want the grace to say nuuk chepi, to say now I begin again even. But we, we, all of us, it is a unique grace to be given to have that grace of final perseverance, that grace at the end of my life, Lord God, do something miraculous at the end of my life, Lord God, take me into your, into At the end of my life, Lord God, no matter how I've lived, I mean, I wanna live saying yes to you my whole life, right? I wanna be that saint you called me, created me, redeemed me to be.

But also, Lord God, at the end of my life, let me say yes. And imagine that, imagine at the end of your life with your last breath. Imagine walking through this life. Yeah, I fell, I fell, but no chepi. Now I begin. Imagine I take that next step and say, OK, God, a new day. Now I begin no chepi.

Imagine that next step of just, OK, God, you're calling me to this. OK, no chepi. Now I begin. And imagine, imagine with your last breath as you depart this world to start the new life in the next world. That you can say, okay Lord, new chepi, now I begin, now I begin this life in heaven. Incredible. That's what God has made you for. in heaven. Incredible. That's what God has made you for. Holiness in this life, fullness of joy in this life, fullness of peace in this life, with battles, right? With trials. But with that confidence, now I begin, nuqchepe. So then we step into heaven and we can say those words in the presence of God Himself. Nuncepi, now I begin this new life.

Let's pray for that. Let's pray for that gift of daily perseverance and the gift of final perseverance. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.