The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 123: The Pope (2026)

Episode Date: May 3, 2026

Who is the Pope? Today, we focus on the role of the Pope in the Catholic Church as the Vicar of Christ and pastor of the entire Church. The Catechism teaches us that the institution of the papacy dates back to that powerful moment in the Gospel when Jesus changed Simon’s name to Peter, the “rock”, and handed him the keys of the Church. Fr. Mike unpacks this pivotal moment and helps us understand why the Pope is so foundational to the Faith. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 880-887. 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 in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. It is Day 123. Congratulations for making it to today. We're reading paragraphs 880 to 887. 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.

Also, you can download your own catechism in your reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash C-I-Y. And I know that there are those of you who have successfully resisted up to this point. But if you'd like to finally give in, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. It is day 123. We're reading paragraphs 880 to 887 talking about the Episcopal college and its head, the Pope. So remember yesterday, I talked about, um, presbyterate refers to

the priesthood, right? Episcopacy. Episcopacy refers to the bishops. So the Episcopal college, also we talked to what colleges, right? Not like a university, but has a collegial character. There's this commonality, then the unity that is given to the bishops. They have a college, right? There is the Episcopal college, which refers to the collegiality or the communion of the bishops. And of course, the head of the Episcopal College, which is the Bishop of Rome. That's going to be like basically there's no need for any more introduction than that because we're talking all about today. The bishops united with the Holy Father, the role of the Holy Father that he has been uniquely assigned by Jesus Christ. You know, the Holy Father is the successor of St. Peter.

And to St. Peter, Jesus gave the office of binding and loosing in a very unique way. It was also shared with the other apostles united to the head, meaning Peter. and that's really remarkable that we have that even down today. And so the bishops, they are the bishop of their own diocese. They are that successor of the apostle in their own diocese. So they have a great amount of authority. But they're always necessitated to be united with the Holy Father in Rome, right? To be united with the vicar of Christ.

So we're going to talk about that today. And it's just, yeah, each paragraph is another kind of just one more aspect. And so as we walk through this relatively slowly today, I'm going to I'm going to try to read more slowly today, just because it's so, it's dense, but every little, I'm going to say this. I'm going to say that every paragraph is kind of like a nugget. It's not really, because nuggets are summaries. We all know that.

But today, talking about the Episcopal College, what is it that the bishops or what is it the bishops do? And also the papacy, what is it that the pope is? And what is it that the pope does? We're looking at that today. So let's say a prayer. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. Thank you that through your son and by the power of your Holy Spirit you established your church.

That thank you for selecting Simon, the fisherman, and making him your vicar on earth, making him the al-habite, making him that prime minister, making him the pope. Thank you for giving him that role and for continuing that by the power of your Holy Spirit down to this day. That visible sign of unity. Thank you so much, Lord. And also thank you for giving us the apostles and their successors, our bishops. Right now, Lord God, I want to lift up. every individual bishop, that every person was listening, just lift up before you,

every one of those bishops that are our bishops. We ask that you please continue to guide them, continue to sanctify them, continue to protect them, that they can lead us well, that they can teach us well, that they can sanctify us through their office. Oh, God, make them holy. and by doing so extend that holiness to your people as well.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it's Day 1-23, reading paragraphs 880 to 887. The Episcopal College and its head, the Pope. When Christ instituted the 12, he constituted them in the form of a college or permanent assembly, at the head of which he placed Peter, chosen from among them. just as by the Lord's institution, St. Peter and the rest of the apostles constitute a single apostolic

college, so in like fashion, the Roman pontiff, Peter's successor, and the bishops, the successors of the apostles, are related with and united to one another. The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter the rock of his church. He gave him the keys of his church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock. The office of binding and loosing, which was given to Peter, was also assigned to the College of Apostles united to its head. This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the church's very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope. The Pope, Bishop of Rome and Peter's successor, is the perpetual and visible source and foundation of the unity, both of the bishops and of the whole company of the faithful. For the Roman pontiff,

by reason of his office as vicar of Christ and as pastor of the entire church, has full, supreme, and universal power over the whole church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered. The college, or body of bishops, has no authority unless united with the Roman pontiff, Peter's successor, as its head. As such, this college has supreme and full authority over the universal church, but this power cannot be exercised without the agreement of the Roman pontiff. The College of Bishops exercises power over the universal church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council, but there never is an ecumenical council which is not confirmed or at least recognized as such by Peter's successor. This college, insofar as it is composed of many members,

is the expression of the variety and universality of the people of God and of the unity of the flock of Christ insofar as it is assembled under one head. The individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity in their own particular churches. As such, they exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the people of God assigned to them, assisted by priests and deacons. But, as a member of the Episcopal College, each bishop shares in the concern for all the churches. The bishops exercise this care first by ruling well their own churches as portions of the universal church, and so contributing to the welfare of the whole mystical body, which, from another point of view, is a corporate body of churches. They extend it especially to the poor, to those persecuted

for the faith, as well as to missionaries who are working throughout the world. Neighboring particular churches who share the same culture form ecclesiastical provinces, or larger groupings called patriarchates or regions. The bishops of these groupings can meet in synods or provincial councils. In a like fashion, the Episcopal conferences at the present time are in a position to contribute in many and fruitful ways to the concrete realization of the collegiate spirit. Okay, so there we have it. lot of, what is it called nuts and bolts? We'll say that. Nuts and bolts about the papacy and the office

of bishop, but it's so good. I mean, the reality is here we have this visible church that Christ instituted and he didn't just say, hey, just go out and do whatever. He actually collected, he called to himself, those whom he chose, those whom he wanted, right? We know this in scripture. And among them, he chose Peter to be the head. Now, in paragraph 881, it highlights this. It says, the Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the rock of his church. We recognize this from Matthew chapter 16. If you remember that Simon's name was Simon, and he was the brother of Andrew. And at one point, when he asked the apostles, he went to this place called Caesarea Philippi. And we know this through scripture. Caesarea Philippi is about 29 miles

north of Copernum, kind of Jesus' home base for so much of his ministry. And if you walk up to Caesaria Philippi, one of the things you see is this massive, massive rock coming out of the ground. I mean, when I say rock, I mean, it's kind of more like a mountain, but I mean, it's a couple hundred feet high, right? So it says a couple hundred feet high, many hundred feet wide, and built into that rock, built into that rock wall, essentially, were at the time numerous temples. And Jesus asks the question, he says, who do people say that the son of man is? And there's a lot of thoughts. You know, some say Elijah, some John the Baptist come back from the dead, one of the prophets. None of those answers are right. So then Jesus asks the apostles the question, and who do you say that I am? And then Simon

stands up and he says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. Jesus, in response, says basically he says flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my father has therefore this is big deal therefore you shall be called peter because on this rock i will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it now this is remarkable for so many reasons one is in scripture whenever someone's name is changed they're given a new mission i mean name is so connected to identity and name is so connected to mission so here's jesus who's changing simon's name to what to rock and upon this rock I will build my church that in Aramaic would be Kefa right C-E-E-P-H-A-S for us in English or Anglicized form but they would say Keifa which means rock and in Latin it be you know Petros which means rock

and upon this rock I will build my church his name has changed his mission has changed identity is changed and it goes on to say and I'll give you the keys to the kingdom which you bind on earth will be bound in heaven which you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Now, this is one of the things that we always talk about when it comes to Matthew chapter 16 is that that is a direct reference to the book of the prophet Isaiah, where they're talking about the office and the old covenant. The office, there's the king. Obviously, the role of the king and Jesus is the king. Matthew makes that incredibly clear. I mean, scripture makes that incredibly clear as well. Jesus is the king. But in the Old Testament was a role that served the king.

That was the role of the al-hapait, the one who's over the house. That's what all, all over ha the and ba'it or beth right the house the prime minister essentially and in that moment in asia 21 it describes the role of the al habaite is describes the role of that prime minister and it said part of his role is what he opens no one shall shut what he shuts no one shall open he says put the keys he has the keys to the kingdom of david on his shoulder so there's all these massive connections between what jesus is saying to simon now called peter now kepha and what was written in the Old Covenant in the Old Testament in the book of the Prophet Isaiah. And so all those apostles standing around would have known exactly what Jesus was doing

that Jesus was making their buddy, their pal, in some ways, their leader. That's what he was doing. Because yes, just like we said yesterday, there's this dignity among all believers, right? There's this unity in their dignity and unity in belonging to the covenant. But there are also roles in that old covenant. And one of those roles being the al-habait in the new covenant, this, again, unique dignity that is shared by all believers, this unity that's shared by all believers. And yet there is a role and that role that Jesus specifically gives to Peter, to be the one

who's the al-habite, in fact, goes on to say in, I know I'm highlighting one paragraph, but it's an important paragraph. In paragraph 881, it says, not only did he give him the keys of this church, goes on to say and instituted him, shepherd of the whole flock. This is so important. happens at the end of the Gospel of John. At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus has risen from the dead. Peter and his brother and some other folks. They're out fishing on the Sea of Galilee. They see Jesus on the shores. Peter jumps into the water, swims to shore. There's this charcoal

fire. Jesus asks for some fish. You know, he bakes him some breakfast. A breakfast of fish. I'm not sure I would like that, but it's Jesus, so I would take it 100%. And what happens? He says, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these? And Peter responds, yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He asks him and he says, feed my sheep. He goes on, says the second time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? Yes, Lord, do you know I love you? Ten my lambs.

Ask him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love me? And Peter is grieved that the Lord asked him if he loved him three times. Ten my sheep. Now, this is in this remarkable moment where if you were to think, because we could be tempted to think this, we could be tempted to think, well, yeah, Jesus, shows Peter in Matthew chapter 16. I understand that. But Peter lost that when he failed. Peter lost that when he denied Jesus. Peter lost that when he ran away. But here is Jesus in John's gospel, not giving any indication that Peter lost his role as shepherd after his betrayal, after his denial.

In fact, it seems like, it looks like Jesus not only reestablished this or reiterated it, but that Jesus knew this was going to happen. Remember in Luke's gospel? that Peter says, Lord, I'm going to suffer and die with you. I'm willing to do all these things. And Jesus says to Peter, he says, Satan has desired to sift you all, all of you, you, the other apostles, to sift all of you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, that's a singular indirect, I prayed for you, Peter, that after you have returned, you may strengthen your brethren.

See, all along the way, Jesus keeps on giving Peter, this unique role. And we believe that the Jesus, the same God who gave Peter this unique role is the same God who continues to call his successors for that same unique role, that role of binding and loosing, that role of governing, that role of sanctifying, that role of leading. And that's what we believe. And that's what we got to hear about all today now at the same time. The Roman pontiff, which Roman pontiff is just a, I think it's kind of a fancy term, which means, you know, Pontiff means bridge and Pontiff X means bridge builder.

So it's not like the Lord because we know that Jesus is the Lord. He's the only Lord. The Pope is not the Lord. Pope is the servant of the servants of God. In fact, that's one of the titles of the Pope is the servant of the servants of God, that he's united with the bishops. And that's remarkable here in paragraph 886. We talk about this, that the individual bishops are the visible source and foundation of unity

in their own particular churches. So your bishop, your local bishop, he's the visible source and foundation of for your diocese. And as such, they exercise their pastoral office over the portion of the people of God assigned to them. So, yep, just like kind of, in many ways, it's kind of similar to the way in which the Pope exercises this pastoral office over the whole world. The bishop exercises that pastoral office over his whole diocese. And goes on to say, he's assisted by the priests and deacons. But as a member of the Episcopal College, remember that permanent assembly, as a member of the Episcopal College, each bishop shares in the concern for all churches. So, again, paragraph 886

highlights this in the middle of the paragraph. The bishops exercise this care first by ruling well their own churches as portions of the universal church. So they're called to, in the Diocese of Dalluth, they're called to serve well the people of the Diocese of Duluth. And so because of that, by doing that, they contribute to the welfare of the whole mystical body, which form from another point of view is got corporate body of churches. So your local bishop, as he's, the more and more, the better and better he serves his local community, the more and more the whole body is strengthened. In some ways, it's kind of analogous to what St. Paul has said, you know, when one member of the body is strengthened, the whole body is strengthened. And when one member

grows weak, the whole body suffers. And so that's why one of the many reasons, why not only are all of us called to work together, not only are all of us called to continue to strive to grow in holiness, but we have to pray for our bishops so that they can continue to lead us well. they can continue to serve us well because, again, when one member of the body is strengthened, we're all strengthened. And so let's just pray. I invite us all to pray for each one of our individual bishops, of course, to pray for our priests and to pray for all of our brothers and sisters, to pray for each other. Because we know this, we know this, when even one of us, any, any one person listening to this, when you are strengthened, you strengthen the whole church.

When we're weak and we choose sin, we're weakening in some mysterious way, the church. And so let's pray for each other. We have to. Pray, I said, pray for our bishops and pray for those who serve us. Pray for those who lead us and pray for each other. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.