The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 152: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi (2026)

Episode Date: June 1, 2026

The Catechism makes clear to us that evangelization and the sacraments go hand in hand. An ancient saying is highlighted, linking the two: lex orandi, lex credendi—or, the law of prayer is the law of faith. Fr. Mike illustrates this connection by showing us that, when you change the sign that points to an invisible reality, you risk changing where it’s pointing. This is why “no sacramental rite may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1122-1126. 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.

I'm my name's 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. This is day 152. We are reading paragraphs 1122 to 1126. 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 catechism in a year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash CIY. And lastly, you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Today is day 152. Reading paragraphs 1122 to 1126, just a short, you know, I don't, five paragraphs. Not as short as tomorrow, though. Stay tuned.

But today we have five paragraphs 1122 to 1126, the sacraments of faith. Remember yesterday. we talked about how these are the sacraments instituted by Christ. And they're also sacraments of the church, right? They're by the church, they're by the church because the church is the sacrament of Christ's action at work in her through the mission of Holy Spirit. They're also for the church in the sense that the sacraments make the church. But they're also the sacraments of faith.

And the purpose of the sacraments is to do what? Is to sanctify human beings, right? To sanctify men, it says in 1123, to build up the body of Christ and finally to give worship to God. If we miss anything else from today, remember this piece, the purpose of the sacraments. They're not just rites and rituals that are empty. They're not meant to be hollow. They're not just simply things we repeat over and over again because they're common to us.

The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men to build up the body of Christ and finally to give worship to God. This is what they are for. This is what they do. And this is incredible. Because why? Because as often as you and I approach them, those three things happen when you and I participate in them, those three things happen. The world is sanctified.

The church is built up and God is glorified. And so as we enter into these five paragraphs today, this is called to mind the Holy Spirit and call upon the Holy Spirit as we talk to our Father in prayer. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory. We thank you. We ask that you please help us to participate in the sacraments in such a way that, yes, this world is sanctified, that we're sanctified,

that your church, the body of Christ, is built up and strengthened. and mobilized. We also pray that you may be glorified above all. In everything, Father, may you be known, may you be loved, may be worshipped. May we give our hearts to you the way you have given your heart to us. Help us love you the way you love us. Help us love each other, the way you've called us to. And help us to be yours.

Help us to respond and walk in faith. help us to do this in every moment of our lives and particularly help us to do this when we encounter you in your sacraments. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 152. We are reading paragraphs 1122 to 1126. The Sacraments of Faith. Christ sent his apostles so that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations. He said, go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The mission to baptize, and so the sacramental mission, is implied in the mission to evangelize, because the sacrament is prepared for by the Word

of God and by the faith which is assent to this word. The people of God is formed into one in the first place by the Word of the Living God. The preaching of the Word is required for the sacramental ministry itself, since the sacraments are sacraments of faith, drawing their origin and nourishment from the word. The purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ, and finally, to give worship to God. Because they are signs they also instruct, they not only presuppose faith, but by words and objects they also nourish, strengthen, and express it. That is why they are called sacraments of faith. The church's faiths faith precedes the faith of the believer who is invited to adhere to it. When the church celebrates

the sacraments, she confesses the faith received from the apostles, whence the ancient saying Lex Orrandi, Lex Credendi, or Legam Credendi, Lex Statuat, Soplicandi, according to the prosper of Aquitaine in the 5th century. The law of prayer is the law of faith. The church believes as she prays. Liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living tradition. For this reason, sacramental right may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. Even the supreme authority in the church may not change the liturgy arbitrarily, but only in the obedience of faith and with religious respect for the mystery of the liturgy. Likewise, since the sacraments express and develop the communion of faith in the church, the Lex Orandi is one of the

essential criteria of the dialogue that seeks to restore the unity of Christians. Okay, there we have it, paragraphs 1122 to 1126. day 152. Okay, I think this is pretty remarkable. If you're someone who is interested in evangelization, it's been a big deal in the last, I mean, 2,000 years, but it seems like there's been a resurgence, you know, this idea of we're praying for a new Pentecost, we're praying for the new evangelization. So we recognize the evangelization is what?

Evangelization is the proclaiming of the good news. That's what Iwangelion is good news. The preaching of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course, that's great. But remember what Jesus said in the Great Commission. At the end of Matthew's Gospel, he said, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. Yeah, of course, making disciples. That's part of the evangelization.

But he also said, right, he continues by saying, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son in the Holy Spirit. So Jesus himself connects the mission to evangelize with the mission to baptize, right? The sacramental mission. So go make disciples and have baptism, right? So there is this absolute connection. Paul the 6th back in the day. He wrote this document called Evangelionni or Evangelization in the modern world.

And he makes it very, very clear that not only in evangelization, do we proclaim the gospel, right? We proclaim Jesus as Lord, what he's done for us. That's so important. It's necessary. But also evangelization is incomplete unless it also involves the sacraments. Not just because Pope Paul the 6th says so, but because this is completely important. implied, if not overtly stated in Matthew's Gospel when Jesus says, go therefore, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit and teaching them

to observe all that I've commanded you. So there is this deep and powerful connection between evangelization and the sacraments. It's so important. Why? Because the sacraments are there to bring the very saving action of Jesus present to us. They sanctify us and they build up the body of Christ and they give worship to God. This is one of those things. We're going to talk about this, hopefully, a bunch of times over the course of this pillar. But I always will ask people, I say, I would usually say two. You know, paragraph 1123 says three, but I usually say, what are two things that the mass always does, right? What are two things that the Eucharistic liturgy always accomplishes? And I say, actually, if you gone to mass before, I guarantee you know the answer. What are two things that happens at every single mass?

I'm giving away my tricks right now. And I'll say, actually, I guarantee that everyone here is, at this talk, or everyone here at this place, you can tell me not only exactly what two things happen at every single mass, you could tell me word for word in unison with everyone else here in this building in this room. And I usually say it like this. And say, okay, if I were to say, pray my brothers and sisters that my sacrifice and yours may be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father. You would say, may the Lord accept the sacrifice at your hands for the praise and glory of his name and for our good and the good of all his holy church. So that, that's, that's, it those are the two purposes right may the lord accept the sacrifice at your hands one for the praise

and glory of his name two for the good and good of all his church i'm paraphrasing that right there right so there's that the two things that happen at every mass for the praise and glory of god's name god is glorified and for the holiness of the church the good of all the church the world is sanctified this happens at every single mass this is the purpose of the sacraments is to sanctify people to build up the body and to give worship to God. That makes sense. But saying this is the crazy thing is when we approach the sacraments, we have a degree of faith.

We're going to talk about that tomorrow, actually, that it's efficacious. The sacraments do something. So they presuppose faith. But when we come to the sacraments again and again, they also nourish our faith. They strengthen our faith. They express our faith. So here's an example. You might be struggling with something like, I'm really struggling to trust the Lord.

That might be a recurring theme or maybe even just a one. one-time theme in your life. I'm really struggling to trust the Lord and I just having a tough time handing my heart over to him. So what do I do? Well, you pray, of course, and wrestle with that. But I find that people will sometimes bring that to confession. They'll bring that to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And I think, yes, this is exactly the right thing. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is a sacrament that, man, it's a sacrament of trust, right? It is definitely a sacrament where I'm saying, okay, God, maybe even the God that I'm struggling to trust is the one that I trust with my sin, right? The God that I'm struggling to rely on and just lean into is the one

that in every confession I am relying on and I'm leaning into. Or maybe my struggle is with despair, right? Maybe I'm struggling with hope. Maybe I'm just like, I'm so tired of this battle. I'm so tired of my own weakness. I'm so tired of my own sins. I'm so tired of all of it, right? And I might wrestle with despair. Again, going to confession is choosing hope. If I'm wrestling with trust, choosing confession is choosing to trust. If I'm wrestling with despair, choosing to go to confession is expressing hope. And see, this is the crazy thing about 1123. When we encounter the sacraments, degree of faith, of course, but they also nourish our faith. They strengthen our faith. They express our faith. And so, no matter what you're feeling, maybe you don't

don't feel like you love the Lord, like, my love is grown shallow. Go to Mass. The Mass is the most incredible expression of God's love for us. When we participate in the Mass, I was going to say, even if we don't feel it, but maybe especially if we don't feel it, there is something powerful that happens. Why? Because we recognize that love, while it can be a feeling, love is more than a feeling. I mean, there might even been a music group that got that right. Love is more than just a feeling. Love is more than just a feeling. It is an action. So it's not just affective, right? Affection, but it's effective. It does something. And so when we go to Mass, my heart is feeling low and I go to Mass, I'm like, okay, God, I'm choosing to love you, choosing to worship you. This is, you know, the Eucharist, the sacrament

of love. I'm choosing to love you as you have asked me to love you. I'm choosing to worship you as you've asked me to worship you. And I'm telling you, when we encounter and enter into those sacraments, they not only presuppose our faith, but they also nourish our faith and strengthen our faith and express our faith. And that's why it's so important that we don't stay away from the sacraments when we're struggling, but we enter into them. Now, a couple last things. There is this principle, Lexerrandi, Lexerndi. It's the law of prayer is the law of faith. That's what that means. Law of prayer, Lexerrandi, law of faith or law of belief, Lex Credendi. The church believes as she prays. And so we recognize that, yep, we have sacred scripture, we have sacred

tradition, and we have the liturgy. And that liturgy is a constitutive element of the holy and living tradition. So it's not kind of this add-on kind of a situation. It's how we believe is how we pray, and how we pray is how we believe. Hopefully that makes sense. I just wanted to make a bullet point. The last note here says that in 1125, no sacramental right may be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister or the community. What does that mean? That means that here in the West, we have this book called the Roman Missile. The Roman Missal is, here is how the liturgy of the Eucharist is to be celebrated. And your actions are written in red and what you say is written in black. And so you do the red and you say the black. That's what it is. So that Sacramento right is there. It's been given to us

by the church. And it may not be modified or manipulated at the will of the minister. Like the priest can't go say, you know what, actually, we're going to do something slightly different this Sunday. Or the community. The community can't say, you know what we're going to do. We're going to do something different this Sunday. Why? Not because the church wants to be overly controlling, but because Lexerrandi, Lexerundi, right? The law of prayer is the law of belief. We can't change something in how we pray without possibly, possibly at least expressing a change in belief. I don't know if this example is going to be helpful at all. So let me try it. If you look at like the alb, so the alb is a piece of liturgical clothing, right? It's the white

robe that is often worn underneath the chasible, underneath the deacons dalmatic, your servers might often wear the white alb. So that's that white robe. You can also wear a cassock, but when it's the alb, it's white for a reason. One of those reasons is, if you look at the book of Revelation, you have John who's being given a tour of heaven by an angel, and he sees all these people dressed in white robes. And the angel says, who are these people? And John basically says, I'm not the one who lives here, you live here, you tell me. And the angel responds, these are the ones who have washed their robes the blood of the lamb. And so there's that sense of, they could be martyrs, a sense that they actually could be those who are baptized. And so there's that sense of, in baptism, we are made fully clean

and hence expressed or symbolized by the white robe or the alb. Now, I've been in some sacristies or some, you know, back rooms or the, basically we call it dressing rooms for the priest at church. And they might have like off white albs or like brown albs. And that makes sense in the sense that some people like, actually, you know what, Jesus wouldn't wear completely white. He'd wear like, you know, earth tones. And I get that. I understand that. But I'm changing a symbol. It's a small symbol, of course, but I'm changing a symbol. The symbol of the white robe is, now I've been washed in the blood of the lamb. But if I have a off white robe or have a tan or brown robe, it doesn't communicate the same idea, right? And so I can't change the symbol without changing the meaning

of the symbol, or I can't change the symbol without possibly changing the meaning of the symbol. That example is just, it's pretty small, but it's an example of no sacramental right may be modified or manipulated at the will of the ministerial community, not even the Pope, not even the supreme authority in the church can change arbitrarily the liturgy, but it has to be doing that in obedience of faith and with respect to the mystery of the liturgy. Hopefully that makes some sense. Today we are trucking through the sacraments of faith. And one thing to just keep in mind, all of is that you and I, when we encounter the sacraments, they're meant to make us holy,

to build up the church and to give glory to God. We talked a lot about making us holy. I want to highlight that last part. Every time we approach any of the sacraments, God is glorified. Anytime we use the gifts of our Father, he is glorified. Every time, whether we feel it or not,

whether we're fully present or not, we're just doing our best, the Father is glorified. And that's a gift that you can give to the Lord, the God who loves you and the God you love back every single time we show up to the sacraments. Let's do that. Maybe you might even have the chance to do that today. Maybe not today. Maybe tomorrow. Either way, no matter what, today, we can say thank you to the Lord. We can choose to walk in faith. We can choose to hope. We can choose to continue to enter into his love. I am praying for you.

Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.