The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 126: Prophetic and Kingly Offices (2026)

Episode Date: May 6, 2026

In addition to Christ's priestly office, lay people are called to participate in Christ's prophetic and kingly offices. They take part in Christ's prophetic office by evangelizing and proclaiming Christ by word and with the testimony of their lives. Fr. Mike explains that the laity participate in Christ's kingly office in their hearts. They do this when they rule themselves and conquer sin, acting as virtuous leaders in the Church and society. Fr. Mike also reminds us that lay people should strive to be guided by Christian conscience in all their actions in the Church and society. Today's readings are Catechism paragraphs 904-913. 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 sure 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, this is day 128. We're getting to the edge of that bottom of that third, second. I don't know how many pages we have. We're getting to the bottom of it, though, and we're reading paragraphs 904 to 913. I am 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 CIY, in which case you would know that we're getting to the bottom of this to check off sheet where I'm doing. I'm checking off the days. And lastly, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. As I said, it is day 126, reading paragraphs 904 to 913. You know, we started talking the other day, meaning yesterday. about the lay faithful. We talked about the term laity, meaning all the faithful,

except those in holy orders and those belonging to a religious state. So I think we kind of know that, right? All lay believers, all believers who are not. Priest-deacons are religious, bishops. And so there's a vocation. And that vocation is primarily, of course, to be saints. But then secondly, to live out the priestly, the royal, and the prophetic offices, that Jesus himself, You know, Jesus is the high priest. Jesus is the prophet of prophets. Jesus is the king of kings. And so he shares that with, of course, with those in holy orders, but he also shares that with every baptized Christian. He shares his, yesterday we talked about how Jesus shares his priestly office. Today we're going to talk about how Jesus shares his prophetic office and his kingly office, the royal office. And so one of the things you're going to hear is that paragraph 905,

lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization. That is the proclamation of Jesus Christ by word and the testimony of their lives. And this is key for us. You know, it's incredible. Yesterday we talked about how by virtue of sharing in the priestly office of Jesus, your entire life can be a gift, right? Your entire life can be a sacrifice, can be worship offered to the Lord. That's an incredible right, but also an incredible duty to do that,

to unite the sacrifice of our lives to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Today, we're talking about the fact that Jesus has extended to all the priestly people, right? To the, you become a royal, holy race, a royal priesthood, a people set apart. Jesus has extended that prophetic office he has to all those who are baptized, which means we have to exercise that prophetic office. And also, he has extended participation in his kingly office, the royal office of Jesus Christ. And so that means, you know, serving. we also know that Jesus Christ has extended a share in his kingly office, the royal office.

And what does that mean? It's obviously service, it's leadership. But it is, again, a leadership of service. It is an opportunity to put our gifts, our talents, our strengths, whatever it has, wherever it is that we have to offer at the service of the church and the world. And we're going to talk about that today. So as we launch into that, let's begin with a prayer. So we're going to pray to our Father, Father in heaven.

We give you praise. we thank you so much for bringing us to this day. We ask that you please send your Holy Spirit into our hearts to renew that our participation in your priestly office, our participation in your prophetic office, in our participation in your royal office, that we can serve as you serve, that we can serve as servants, as slaves of you, Lord God, that we can speak your word and speak of you in everything we say and in everything we do. Let nothing we say and nothing we do ever,

who you are, your goodness, your love, your truth, your justice, and Lord God, help us by your Holy Spirit to offer our lives as a sacrifice along with yours. We are united to you, Lord God. As your body, we ask that you please, send us your Holy Spirit, that we can bring your presence into the world in each one of our lives, in the small ways we can do and the large ways you're calling us to. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the whole Holy Spirit. Amen, as I said, it's day 126. We are reading paragraphs 904 to 913. Participation in Christ's prophetic office. Christ fulfills this prophetic office, not only by the hierarchy, but also by the laity. He accordingly both establishes them as witnesses and provides them with

the sense of the faith, census fide, and the grace of the word. As St. Thomas Aquinas says, to teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each belief. lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life. For lay people, this evangelization acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world. This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate. The true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to believers or to the faithful. lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation, in teaching the

sacred sciences, and in the use of communications media. In accord with the knowledge, competence, and preeminence which they possess, lay people have the right, and even at times, a duty, to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the church, and they have a right to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals, and reverence toward their pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons. Participation in Christ's kingly office. By his obedience unto death,

Christ communicated to his disciples the gift of royal freedom, so that they might, by the self-abnegation of a holy life, overcome the reign of sin in themselves. As St. Ambrose wrote, That man is rightly called a king who makes his own body an obedient subject, and by governing himself with suitable rigor, refuses to let his passions breed rebellion in his soul, for he exercises a kind of royal power over himself.

And because he knows how to rule his own person as king, so too does he sit as its judge. He will not let himself be imprisoned by sin or thrown headlong into wickedness. Moreover, by uniting their forces, let the laity so remedy the institutions and conditions of the world when the latter are an inducement to sin, that these may be conformed to the norms of justice

favoring rather than hindering the practice of virtue. By doing so, they will impregnate, culture and human works with a moral value. The lady can also feel called, or be in fact called, to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial community for the sake of its growth and life. This can be done through the exercise of different kinds of ministries according to the grace and cherisoms which the Lord has been pleased to bestow on them. In the church, lay members of the Christian faithful can cooperate in the exercise of this power of governance in accord with the norm of the law. And so the church provides for their presence at

particular councils, d'assence and synods, pastoral councils, the exercise of the pastoral care of a parish, collaboration and finance committees, and participation in ecclesiastical tribunals, etc. The faithful should distinguish carefully between the rights and the duties which they have as belonging to the church and those which fall to them as members of the human society. They will strive to unite the two harmoniously, remembering that in every temporal affair they are to be guided by a Christian conscience, since no human activity, even of the temporal order, can be withdrawn from God's dominion. Thus, every person, through these gifts given to him, is at once the witness and the living instrument of the mission of the church itself, according to the measure of

Christ's bestowal. All right, there we are, paragraphs 904 to 913. Let's just highlight that 913, that last paragraph that we read just one sentence long. And it highlights everything. it basically sums up what we've been talking about, why Jesus establishes a church, why he gives to all of us who belong to him, why he gives us a share, a participation in his priestly, prophetic, and royal office. It says, there, thus every person, therefore, every person, through these gifts given to him, right, the gifts of sharing in Christ's priestly, prophetic, and kingly office, and those other gifts, the gifts of intelligence, the gifts of wisdom, the gifts of charm, the gifts of whatever

it is, the winsome gifts you've been given. through these gifts given to him is at once the witness and the living instrument of the mission of the church itself according to the measure of Christ bestowal. That summarizes what we've been talking about when it comes to the vocation of the laity. Every person through these gifts given to him is at once the witness and the living instrument of the mission of the church itself. You know that the word witness in the New Testament in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 1. when the apostles ask Jesus, they say, Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?

And Jesus, you know, he says, it's not for you to know the times or seasons, etc. But he says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And then you will be my witnesses here in Jerusalem throughout Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth. To be witnesses. That word word that is used in the Acts of the Apostles, the word Jesus used in Greek is the word Martis or martyr. to be a witness, to bear witness to Jesus Christ with what we say and what we do. In fact, that's one of the effects of the Sacrament of Confirmation, that everyone who's been confirmed is given a special strength to spread and defend the faith by word and action, to be witnesses in this world. It's incredible. So here's the gift, gift of the royal office, the gift of the prophetic office today. And so that's to be a mission, missionary, basically. So let's go back to this, participation in Christ's prophetic office. So makes a very clear paragraph, 904. for Christ fulfills this prophetic office, is speaking truth into the world, is bringing goodness and God's grace into the world, not only by the hierarchy, but also by the laity. And there's this quote

from St. Thomas Aquinas, to teach in order to lead others to faith is the task of every preacher and of each believer. And this is so important. I mean, here's Thomas Aquinas talking in the Middle Ages. And he's saying very clearly that your role and my role, right? Every preacher and of each believer is to teach in order to lead others to the faith. Now, who we teach is, that's up to God. But the fact that we're called to teach, we're called in some way to proclaim Jesus Christ, and that's paragraph 905, right? It goes on to say, lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization. That is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life. And this is so important because the very next sentence highlights the way in which this is essential

for those who are not ordained. It goes on to say, this evangelization acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy, right? So it's a certain kind of character and a very peculiar efficacy. It does something powerful. Because why?

Because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world. This is, again, we've said this before, but one of the great tasks of every believer is to bring the grace of Jesus Christ that's been given to them into their particular corner of the world. And so, yes, priests and bishops, that's what they're called to do in their particular way.

But there are so many corners of the world that priests and bishops aren't, right? There's so many corners of the world where we don't either don't have access to or we just aren't. You're limited. We're limited by time and space. And yet your corner of the world, you have been given the power of the Holy Spirit. You've been given the character of Jesus Christ. You've been made into a little Christ, right, as a Christian. he's given you a participation in his priestly office, and he's given you participation in his prophetic office.

And there is a part of this world where maybe you are the only person who could proclaim Jesus Christ in that particular part of the world. And it's so important. Now, paragraph 906 and 907 say there are specific laypeople, right, who are incredibly well trained, who are great teachers, who says here, lay people who are capable and trained may also collaborate in catechetical formation and teaching the sacred sciences and the use of communications media. So obviously that's people, you know, professors who work on college campuses. That's, it's religion teachers for high school. Basically, people teaching in parishes. Anyone who's been trained, late people, of course, if they're capable and trained, may also collaborate in this whole thing. And just moving forward. Now, here's something that might be

important for you to hear in paragraph 907. It says this, that in accorded with the knowledge, competence and preeminence which they possess, lay people have the right, and even at times, the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors, their opinion on matters, which pertain to the good of the church. Basically, here is paragraph 907 that says, also lay people have a voice. You've said it like that. That's kind of how we say it, you know, in modern times. Lay people have a voice that you not only have a right, yes, you get to be heard, but also even at times a duty to point out what needs to be pointed out. you know what to say what needs to be said. As we all know, there are many, many times when

a priest or a bishop or anyone, a representative of Jesus Christ, is not saying or is not doing what they should be saying or should be doing. Or they are saying something they shouldn't be saying. They're doing something they shouldn't be doing. And so here is the church saying, lay people, have the right, and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors, their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the church. And they have a right. right, to make their opinion known to the other Christian faithful. And that's, again, important. Obviously, it's in the context of charity, right?

Obviously, it's in the context of the common good and it's in context to, like, the law of love. So you're not just going to spread things out there because you found them out. This isn't People Magazine. This is the church. We're not just saying something because it's true. We're saying something because it'll help. That's the goal. Lastly, here, we have participation in Christ's kingly office.

And I think this is beautiful. I mean, I don't know if you highlighted this or if you caught this, but the first thing, the first place, where we get to experience and express, we get to exercise Christ's kingly office is in our own hearts, in our own lives. It's not necessarily going out first. It's here, let's go on. Paragraph 908. It says this, by his obedience unto death, Christ communicated to his disciples the gift of royal freedom.

What's that mean? Well, so that they might, by the self-abdigation of a holy life, overcome. the reign of sin in themselves. That's the key. Remember when we read Proverbs chapter 16, verse 32, it said, he who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. That is the wisdom of God's word. I think there's also even a quote from like Lao Tzu who said, he who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself is mighty. That whole idea that, I mean, even to look at all the ways in which kind of some of the wisdom of the ages has highlighted this. If you want to overcome the whole world, overcome yourself. That is so, so important.

Because that is key. So Proverbs 1632, again, he was slow to anger. He's better than a warrior. He who controls his temper is greater than one who captures the city. And so here is our participation in Christ's king, the office. First of all, means that we are not dominated by sin. We're not dominated by our passions. And there's this long quote, of course, from St. Ambrose. He says, that man is rightly called a king who makes his own body an obedient subject. And by governing himself with suitable rigor, refuses to let his passions breed rebellion in his soul, for he exercises a kind of royal power over himself.

And because, this is the next step, and because he knows how to rule his own person as king, so too does he sit as its judge. He will not let himself be imprisoned by sin or thrown headlong into wickedness. And so because of that, the fact that we, under Christ's rule, under Christ's dominion, have a freedom, we can then unite our forces in paragraph 909 and remedy the institutions

and conditions of the world when they're an inducement to sin, that they be conformed to norms of justice. And that is so important that we can, if we have an interior freedom, then we're free to kind of put some order into this world. Right. We're free to, if we, if we know what the balance of mercy and justice is in our own lives, we can apply that balance of mercy and justice to the people around us. And we can join together and we can do some good in this world. Paragraph 910 says the lady can also feel called or be in fact called to cooperate with their pastors in the service of the ecclesial community.

Basically, you can work in the church. There's apostolets. There are ministries throughout the church and throughout the world that are so necessary because we need to exercise your charism. The gift that God is given to you needs to be exercised. Now, the last little piece I want to the highlight. is paragraph 912. It says this.

It says, the faithful will strive to unite both, meaning the rights and duties they have as belonging to the church and the rights and duties they have belonging to members of human society. They will strive to unite those two harmoniously, remembering that in every temporal affair they are to be guided by a Christian conscience, since no human activity, even of the temporal order, can be withdrawn from God's dominion. So what that's saying is no matter what you're engaged in. If you're working in the church, okay, you need to be guided by the truth of Christianity.

You need to be guided by moral principles, be guided by virtue. And if you're working in the business world or in the medical field or in education, wherever you're working, wherever you find yourself in this world, you're also called to be guided by a Christian conscience. That's not just kind of like, well, I'm a Christian when it comes to Christian things. But when it comes to making money, I'm no longer a Christian. or I'm a Christian when it comes to, like, church stuff. But when it comes to how I run my business, you know, I'm not got it by Christian principles or my Christian conscience. But the reality, of course, is there's no human activity, even those that aren't like

officially churchy activities that can be withdrawn from God's dominion. He is the Lord of everything, which means he's the Lord of every aspect of my life. So every aspect of my life needs to be under his dominion. It needs to be guided by. His truth, which is the truth. That makes sense? I hope it does. Hi, gosh, you guys, today was a good day. Just, wow, tomorrow we're going to talk about the consecrated life. So we talked, you know, of course, about bishops and priests, a little bit about deacons. We talked about the role of the lady, that call, but also tomorrow we're talking about consecrated life, which might be something that is

completely very familiar to many people listening. It also might be something that is completely new. And so that's exciting. And that's tomorrow. But right now, I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name's Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.