The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 143: Amen

Episode Date: May 23, 2023

Congratulations, we have come to the conclusion of Part One of the Catechism! Fr. Mike reviews the last “nugget” section on death and judgment, inviting us to regularly ponder the moment of our own death and judgment before our Lord. We conclude today with an explanation of the meaning of the word “amen” and the significance it has for our belief in God. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1051-1065. 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 to our heavenly home, it is day 143 you guys. We have reached the end of pillar one, which is amazing. We're reading paragraphs 1051-1065. 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 also just a little quick reminder, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications unless you're the kind of person who likes to hunt for the podcast every day, which case, that's kind of a little game you play. And when you found it, you found it. You win. Congratulations today's day 143. Speaking of congratulations, what a milestone we have concluded.

We are concluding today, pillar one, the Creed, which is I think is pretty awesome. So congratulations, what a milestone. We have concluded, we are concluding today, pillar one, the creed, which is, I think, is pretty awesome. So congratulations, you guys. We're reading paragraph 1051 to 1065. So 1051 starts out with nuggets, right? 1051 until 1060, those are all nuggets. So it's a little nugget day. But if you have your categories in front of you, you will see that after the nuggets,

we have a last section from paragraph 1061 to 1065 on the word amen. And so we're going to talk about what that word amen means. We're also going to talk about not just what it means in itself, but also what it is when we say the word amen. Also Jesus Christ himself is the amen. He is the definitive amen of the Father's love for us. But before we go into the amen, we also have to talk about, as we noted, we talk about

the nuggets and the nuggets are all the way back to the fact that when we die, we are immediately judged. We get heaven or hell or purified to enter it to heaven. And then there's that last day in which all the dead will rise and everything will be all in all in Jesus Christ and God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. You guys, as we launch into this day, let's say a prayer and just ask the Lord to come and meet us with His grace and with His truth and with His life. Father in heaven, we thank you so much. We give you praise and glory. Thank you for bringing us here to this day. Thank you for bringing us here to this moment. Thank you for bringing us here

all the way through pillar one. We ask that you please, as we prepare ourselves for our death, as we prepare ourselves, to give you our ultimate and final amen, that we trust in your amen, your amen of faithfulness, our amen of your amen, your amen of faithfulness, our amen of belief, but your amen of faithfulness, that we can trust who you are, because you are the God of the amen, you are the God of truth, you are the God who is faithful. And so as we once again reflect on these nuggets

of what it is to die in you, Jesus Christ, we ask that you please come and meet us us because you Christ are the Father's definitive amen. You're the Father's definitive word. You're the Father's definitive truth. Help us to give our amen to you. In Jesus' name we pray. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, amen.

As I said to stay 143, we are reading paragraphs 10.51-1065. In brief, every man receives his eternal recompense in his immortal soul from the moment of his death in a particular judgment by Christ, the judge of the living and the dead. As Pope Paul VI stated, We believe that the souls of all who die in Christ's grace are the people of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be definitively conquered when these souls will be reunited with their bodies. But while the sixth further stated, we believe that the multitude of those gathered around

Jesus and Mary in paradise forms the Church of Heaven, where in eternal blessedness they see God as He is, and where they are also, to various degrees, associated with the holy angels in the divine governance exercised by Christ in glory, by interceding for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern. Those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God. By virtue of the communion of saints, the Church commends the dead to God's mercy, and offers her prayers, especially the Holy Sacrifice of the Eucharist on their behalf.

Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the sad and lamentable reality of eternal death, also called hell. Hell's principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created, and for which he longs. The church praise that no one should be lost. Lord, let me never be parted from You. If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God desires all men to be saved, and that for him all things are possible. The second counsel of Leon stated,

The Holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses, the non-the-day of judgment, all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ's tribunal to render an account of their own deeds. At the end of time, the kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then, the just will reign with Christ forever glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then, the all and all, in eternal life. Amen

The Creed, like the last book of the Bible, ends with the Hebrew word, Amen. This word frequently concludes prayers in the New Testament. The church likewise ends her prayers with Amen. In Hebrew, Amen comes from the same root as the word believe. This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so we can understand why Amen may express both God's faithfulness towards us and our trust in Him. In the book of the Prophet Isaiah, we find the expression, God of truth, literally God

of the Amen. That is, the God who is faithful to his promises. Isaiah 65 states, He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself but the God of truth, Amen. Our Lord often used the word Amen, sometimes repeated, to emphasize the trustworthiness of His teaching, His authority founded on God's truth. Thus, the Creed's final amen repeats and confirms its first words, I believe. To believe is to say amen to God's words, promises, and commandments.

To entrust oneself completely to Him who is the amen of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. The Christians every day life will then be the amen to the I believe a Rabbaptismal profession of faith, as St. Augustine stated, may your creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it to see if you believe everything you say you believe, and rejoice in your faith each day. Jesus Christ Himself is the amen.

He is the definitive amen of the Father's love for us. He takes up and completes our amen to the Father. As 2 Corinthians states, for all the promises of God find their yes in Him. That is why we utter the amen through Him to the glory of God. And in the Roman Missile we pray, through him and with him, and in him. O God Almighty Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours forever and ever, amen. All right, so there we have it. The conclusion to the creed, the conclusion to pillar one. Oh my gosh, you guys, let's just recap quickly from 10.51 to 10.60.

We do have, again, our nuggets for today, which I just wanna highlight the fact that, yes, here's what we believe, we truly believe that at the moment of our death, we receive our eternal recompense in our immortal soul. Right, death is the separation of soul and body. They'll recap there. Death is the separation of body and soul. In that immediate moment, we stand before our Lord and God. And we get

what we've chosen. I would say this, I would say a great spiritual practice for every one of us, every single one of us, would be to imagine our death on a regular basis. I would say at least once a week, if not every day. I really mean that. To imagine not just like the death, however we are on this earth, but imagine the moment after our death. Well, we come before God face to face. And what would His face look like? Is we come before our Lord? And He sees us. And He looks up. And He is Gaze rests upon us. And our gaze rests upon Him. Is that look upon His face? One of pure joy, is that look upon the Lord's face one of just absolute thankfulness and praise and joy and good fatherly pride. In the fact that we've done

it, that he can look at us with joy as we stand before him at the moment after our death and he can say to us, well done good and faithful servant. Come, receive your master's joy, Enter into your master's joy. Or, when we stand face to face with God, When we look up and see us, And know us as we are, And love us so deeply, But will there be pain in his face?

Will there be sorrow on his face? As he looks at us and sees what we've chosen? And we stand before God In his goodness and his beauty and his love, Let me sorrow on his face as he looks at us and sees what we've chosen. And we stand before God in his goodness and his beauty and his love, while they look at us and say, oh, I know. That's what you've chosen. You've chosen not me. When we look upon him and realize, I've chosen not him. I had a whole life, I had an entire life to choose him and I didn't. I had a whole life, I had an entire life to choose him and I didn't. I had an entire life to say yes to God, my Father, God, my Savior, God the Holy Spirit

who dwells in me in Bethrew baptism and confirmation. Every time I pray and ask the Father for the Holy Spirit in Jesus' name, He gives it. I had all of those chances, all of those chances to just simply say, I'm sorry, please Father help me and I didn't. And we'll look upon the Father's face, look upon the face of our judge, Jesus Christ the Son, who is the judge of living in the dead. And His face will be sad, sorrowful, grieved,

and we'll walk away, never to enter His presence ever, ever again. Never to gaze upon goodness ever again. Never to experience love ever again. It's worth it. It's worth meditating on our death. It's worth meditating on that moment right after our death. Will we stand before God and He'd break into a smile of joy? Well done! Through all the weakness and

all the pain and all the suffering you realize it's all worth it. In fact, was it St. Teresa of Avala who said, at the end of our life, we get to heaven, even the most miserable, most horrible of our lives, most most painful and suffering-filled life will seem like a night in a bad motel. I hope so. I hope so. Or we'll be standing before the Lord and see that sorrow in his eyes and feel nothing but regret. Feel nothing but resentment towards him.

And know that we will be walk away. We'll never again see goodness. I hope and I pray that for myself we have the grace that I have the grace of final perseverance. I hope that you have the grace of final perseverance. It is something to pray for on a regular basis. It's one of the things we're praying for when we pray the Hail Mary, we pray holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. That grace of final perseverance is necessary for all of us. When I say final perseverance,

what I'm referring to is I'm referring to this particular grace, right? It is unique. It's part of what God's goodness, God's plan, God's love for us, but it's that grace of in that moment of death being able to choose the Lord. And I remember years ago, Mike Perish Priest, he had shared the story of a man who had committed himself at least the very least praying the Hail Mary three times every single day.

And this man did not live a life close to the Lord. He lived a life very far from God. But every day he prayed the Hail Mary three times a day. And he prayed that at the hour of his death a priest would be at his side. That was the prayer, that was the intention of those three Hail Mary's that he'd have a happy death essentially. That at the hour of his death, and it was like he didn't try. I mean, he tried, but he failed so miserably, failed so regularly.

At one point, he was in the hospital, and he was actively dying. And I priest came to his bedside, and his father gave him confession, right? He went to confession. He gave him the anointing of the sick, gave him the Vatican, like the last time he ever received the Holy Communion. And this man, he said this, he said, father, I have lived such a bad life. I've lived so far away from the Lord, but I prayed the Hail Mary. Every day, three Hail Mary's every day that when I died, I wouldn't die alone, but there a priest would come and he would give me

God's grace. And my priest, when I was a child, a father looked at him and he said, and here I am. We're praying for that grace in our lives. And that's what, you know, in so many ways, to be able to close our eyes and say amen. That word, you know, as it says in 1062, in Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word believe. And so the root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so amen both expresses God's faithfulness to us and our trust in Him.

In fact, I always say that in so many ways, I mean, yes, amen means believe. And it mirrors the beginning of the creed, where we say, I believe in one God, the Father Almighty. Of course, I believe in God, the Father Almighty. Yes, I believe in that the end, amen. But amen in so many ways captures something so much deeper. And the phrase that I love to hear in my heart when I say the word amen, of course, which means I believe, is the words I stick my life on it. So whenever we say amen, and I stick my life on this, so we get to the end of the creed

today. And we say, I believe all these things, and I stake my life on it, amen. I believe, but it's not just I intellectually believe, but it's like my whole self is wrapped up in this. I stake my life on this. Same thing when it comes to receiving our Lord and the Eucharist. The priest or the extraordinary minister of Holy Communion raises the body of Christ a lot and says, the body of Christ and we say amen.

Well, I always think of, again, yes, it's I believe, but in such a deeper way, it means I stake my life on that. I stake my life on this truth that you God are faithful. You are the God of truth. And that is truly you. You are truly present in the Eucharist. And so when I say amen, I'm saying, I realize that if you are not present in the Eucharist, then I am worshiping a piece of bread.

I am worshiping something that doesn't deserve worship. And so literally truly, I'm committing the worst form of idolatry. So I am taking my life on this every time I come forward and receive Holy Communion. And so powerful, it's such a real thing because this amen causes us when it's more than just, I believe, I mean, of course, again, let me reiterate, it does mean I believe, but when it means more than just simply, I believe intellectually, it's what St. Augustine said,

may your creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it to see if you believe everything you say you believe and rejoice in your faith each day. And I just, I just praise God for a moment, before we conclude this pillar of the creed and move on to the pillar of how we worship the liturgy. And recognize that Jesus Christ is the amen. God is the God of truth,

meaning the God of the amen, Jesus Christ is the definitive amen of the Father's love for us. And he takes up and completes our amen to the Father. And so we just give God praise. Yes, at the end of every day, every week, and in the end of our life, we will see God face to face. We'll see him as he is and we will know ourselves as we are.

We will know what we've chosen. We pray that God gives us the grace of final perseverance. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and the hour of our death. Amen. Give us that grace of final perseverance. Amen. Let there be a priest at our bedside to give us the anointing of the sick, reconciliation, viadacum, amen. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Micah.

I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless. Amen. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless.

God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless. God bless and amen.