The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 232: Man Is Made in the Image of God (2025)

Episode Date: August 20, 2025

We enter a new chapter examining the dignity of the human person, and Article 1 shows us that we have dignity because we are made in the image and likeness of God. We preserve that dignity when we exercise virtue and charity, and we do violence to it when we commit sin and evil acts. Fr. Mike hones in on the bold statement that we as humans are “the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1699-1715. 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'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 and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is Day 232. We're reading paragraphs 1699 to 1715. 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, your very own, catechism in a year reading

plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash CIY. And you can also click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Today is day 232, reading paragraph 1699 to 1715, which sounds like a lot. But there's some nuggets at the end here. we have this one section, just introducing chapter one, the dignity of the human person, article man in the image of God, which is what we're going to talk about. And then tomorrow we'll talk about article two, our vocation to beatitude. And so there's this, it's kind of like this intro that the church gives us and setting the stage, kind of like yesterday set the stage where it's like, okay, here's the high call. Everything begins with Jesus. It ends with Jesus. The fact that

God has made us into his sons and daughters means we're called to more. And so here, the church today it says okay so this is the vocation life and the spirit and this begins with the dignity of the human person you're made in the image and likeness of god and because you've been redeemed because god has poured out his holy spirit into you that we have to live in a certain way and so we're going to talk about in fact paragraph 1700 it's going to break down articles one through article eight so for example article one is the dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation image and likes of god article two is that that dignity is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude. Article three is it is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment. And it goes on to eight articles. And so

all eight of those will be kind of, not kind of, but we'll be very much summarized in just a few words in paragraph 1700. If you have a catechism in front of you, can follow along much more easily. But by this point, it's day 232. You know how to listen along. You might listen. You might read and listen. I don't know how you do it, but man, you've been doing it for 231 days, and here we are on day 232. So let us pray as we launch into this day today. Father in heaven, we give you praise. Thank you so much. Thank you for this group of people. Thank you for this community of CIWIRs. Thank you for helping each one of us today to press play. Thank you for helping each one of us today to be open once again to your high call, to be open once.

again to what it is not just that what you want from us but what you want for us you've made us in your very image and you call us to treat everyone we meet as they are made in your image so today father we don't just want to have the idea that every human person has dignity we want to have the reality we want to have that change our actions how we look at people who how we treat people, how we speak to them, how we think of them. Help us to never, ever forget that the people surrounding us are made in your image and likeness. The people surrounding us have an incredible dignity that cannot be taken away. Help us to treat each other in that dignity and to treat ourselves with that dignity.

And by doing so, help us to honor you. 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 232. We're reading paragraphs 1699 to 1715. Section 1. Man's vocation. Life in the Spirit. Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man. Chapter 1. This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity. Chapter 2. It is graciously offered as salvation. Chapter 3. Chapter 1. The dignity of the human person. The dignity of the human person is rooted in his creation in the image and likeness of God.

Article 1. It is fulfilled in his vocation to divine beatitude. Article 2. It is essential to a human being freely to direct himself to this fulfillment. Article 3. By his deliberate actions, Article 4, the human person does or does not conform to the good promised by God and attested by moral conscience. Article 5. Human beings make their own contributions. to their interior growth, they make their whole sentient and spiritual lives into means of this growth. Article 6. With the help of grace, they grow in virtue. Article 7. Avoid sin. And if they sin, they entrust themselves as did the prodigal son to the mercy of our father in heaven. Article 8. In this way, they attain to the perfection of charity. Article 1. Man, the image of God.

Christ, in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, makes man fully manifest to himself and brings to light his exalted vocation. It is in Christ, the image of the invisible God, that man has been created in the image and likeness of the Creator. It is in Christ, Redeemer and Savior, that the divine image, disfigured in man by the first sin, has been restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God. The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in the communion of persons in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons among themselves. See Chapter 2. Endowed with a spiritual and immortal soul, the human person is the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake. From his conception, he is destined for eternal beatitude. The human person participates in the light and power of the divine spirit. By his reason, He is capable of understanding the order of things established by the Creator.

By free will, he is capable of directing himself toward his true good. He finds his perfection in seeking and loving what is true and good. By virtue of his soul and his spiritual powers of intellect and will, man is endowed with freedom, an outstanding manifestation of the divine image. By his reason, man recognizes the voice of God, which urges him to do what is good and avoid what is evil. everyone is obliged to follow this law which makes itself heard in conscience and is fulfilled in the love of God and of neighbor. Living a moral life bears witness to the dignity of the person.

Man, enticed by the evil one, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history. He succumbed to temptation and did what was evil. He still desires the good, but his nature bears the wound of original sin. He is now inclined to evil and subject to error. Man is the divided in himself. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle and a dramatic one between good and evil, between light and darkness. By his passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. This filial adoption, transformed.

forms him by giving him the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes him capable of acting rightly and doing good. In union with his Savior, the disciple attains the perfection of charity, which is holiness. Having matured in grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven. In brief, Christ makes man fully manifest to man himself and brings to light his exalted vocation. Endowed with a spiritual soul, with intellect, and with free will, the human person is from his very conception ordered to God and destined for eternal beatitude. He pursues his perfection in seeking and loving what is true and good. In man, true freedom is an outstanding manifestation of the divine image. Man is obliged to follow the moral law, which urges him to do what is good

and avoid what is evil. This law makes itself heard in his conscience. Man, having been wounded in his nature by original sin, is subject to error and inclined to evil in exercising his freedom. He who believes in Christ has new life in the Holy Spirit. The moral life, increased and brought to maturity and grace, is to reach its fulfillment in the glory of heaven. Okay, paragraph 1699 to 1715. this section one chapter one article one all of that so again chapter one that dignity of the human person that that bullet point not a bullet point is called a paragraph paragraph 1700 breaks down here's all these articles that we're going to go through we went through article one today tomorrow we'll go through article two that our vocation is to divine beatitude we're made for god but today in article

one we're highlighting this fact that the fact is that in the very revelation of the mystery of the father and of his love, Jesus makes man fully manifest to himself. Another way to say it is Jesus reveals man fully to himself. That's it. That Jesus reveals to us, to human beings, who we are and what we are. Where we come from, where we're going, why we are. I mean, think about this. Have you ever, have you ever wondered what life would be like if you didn't know that God existed? If you didn't know that he made you on purpose, if you didn't know why he made you. Remember, going back to the very, very first day, the first paragraph in a plan of sheer goodness. Because God wants us to share his divine life.

Think about how, again, Jesus reveals man fully to himself. Jesus reveals you fully to yourself. You know who you are in Jesus Christ. That means made in God's image and likeness. You know why you are. That he made you so that you could share in his divine life. You know where you come from. you know where you are going.

Now, at the same time, even though, yes, we are made in the divine image, at the same time we experience this, divine image disfigured in us by the first sin, becomes restored to its original beauty and ennobled by the grace of God in Jesus Christ. And so the next few paragraphs, 1702 to the end, it's the gospel presentation. As someone asks what you believe, you could, you could just recite the creed if you wanted to, you could recite the Apostles Creed, you could recite the Nicene Creed, or you could say, oh, read paragraphs 1701 to 1709 in the catechism, because this is the story of the gospel, right? Paragraph 1701, God made human beings in his image and likeness in a planet shared goodness.

God who's good made us good, made us in his image and likeness. And at the same time, got broken, right? Sin broke us. 1702 says, yeah, the divine image is present in every human being, every human being. And so it shines forth when we're individuals and it shines forth when we're in community with each other. 1703. What is human being? The human person is someone who's endowed with a spiritual and immortal soul. That, yes, you are a body, you are a soul. That, that you have that. Now, here's this big statement. This statement comes from the Second Vatican Council document called Gaudiom at Spes. I know you've heard of this one before. And it says this, the human person is the only creature on earth that God willed for its own sake. This was, and some people find this

controversial. At the same time, Scripture seems to bear witness to this, and the church tradition seems to bear witness to this. Human person is the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake. That God didn't make us for another purpose other than to share in God's divine beatitude. He didn't make us because he needed us. He didn't make us for some other purpose. It's one of the reasons because of this, because you as human being, are the only kind of creature that God is willed for your own sake, for its own sake. That means that human beings can never merely be used. We have to be loved, right?

Because if something is for some other's sake, then it can be used. Here's a hammer. Yeah, that's for the sake of driving your nails. It's not for its own sake. The hammer doesn't exist for its own sake. It exists in order to drive in nails. You can use a hammer. But a person exists for their own sake.

Therefore, we may never merely use a person. Now, if someone, you think of the person at the cash register, the person at the checkout line. we're kind of in some ways using them, but we may never use them as a tool. Like the self-checkout versus a human being checking you out are two vastly different things. The self-checkout, yes, it's just a machine. That is made not for its own sake. That's just a tool.

But the person who is using that machine, that person has been made for their own sake. And from their very beginning of their existence, from the very moment of their conception, they're destined for eternal beatitude. And now this is the next thing to highlight. that you're destined for eternal beatitude every human being god wants every this called the universal call to holiness god has destined every person who's ever lived he's destined them for heaven eternal beatitude now what is it to be destined destined doesn't mean that that this is fate it just means you have a destination right so we believe in destiny only in the sense that we believe you have a

destination you're made for so god made every person for heaven even if we don't choose heaven that's what that's that's what he made us for he made us to choose heaven so keep that in mind as we move forward. Every human being has been created for this end, this good of being united with God for eternity. Going on 1704, the human person, we participate in the light and power of the divine spirit because we have reason. We're capable of understanding the order of things. Like we have an intellect, right? Maybe being made in God's image and likeness. We have an intellect. And so we can understand the order of things. We can understand this world in some ways. We also not only have an intellect, we also have free will. In paragraph 1704 says, by free will,

we're capable of directing ourselves towards the true good. So not only you have an intellect, you have to use it. If God's given you an intellect, we have to use it. We have to strive after grasping the truth and what is good, what is beautiful. Then we have to use that free will to choose the good, to choose the beautiful and to choose the truth. This is the high call. It is the blessing. It is also the burden. Because we could also choose the opposite.

Like we talked about yesterday, there's good and evil before every one of us. And we can choose evil. And not only that, but even though we're still made in God's image, paragraph 1706 highlights the fact that there is the voice of God that speaks inside of us to do what is good and avoid what is evil. And we're obliged to follow that law, which makes itself hurt in conscience. But 1707, man enticed by the evil one, abused his freedom at the very beginning of history. So we recognize here's the fall of humanity in Genesis chapter three, that here is human beings who succumbed to temptation, did what was evil. In our nature, we're still good. He even says, he still desires the good.

You still desire the good, but our nature bears the wound of original sin, and now we're inclined to evil and subject to error, which means that we're attracted. Remember that, you know, $25,000 word concupiscence. We have this attraction to evil. We're now inclined to evil, and we're subject to error. We ask, we have intellect, but intellect's been darkened. We have a free will that we can choose the good, but we can also fail to choose the good. So again, we still have these innate gifts that God has given to us, being in his image and likeness, and at the same time, those gifts have been distorted. Those gifts have been affected by sin. And here's where paragraph 1708 and 1709 come in and just like come in guns blazing, amazing. By his passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. Remember that line from Gaudi Mitzpiz, once again, man is divided in himself. Alexander Solzhen, who pointed out that the dividing line between good and evil passes straight through the human heart. As a result, the whole life of men, both individual and social, shows itself to be a struggle and a dramatic one

between good and evil, between light and darkness. And here's Jesus, who comes and by his passion, death and resurrection, delivers us from Satan and from sin, gives us the new life and the Holy Spirit. He merited that. We didn't merit that. He merited that for us. And his grace restores what sin had damaged in us. And now, 1709, He who believes in Christ becomes a son of God. And this filial adoption, right? This God is, this, God is, you, he's adopted you as his daughter, he's adopted you as his son, that transforms you by giving you the ability to follow the example of Christ. It makes you capable of acting rightly and doing good. This is just the power. That last two sentences here, in union with his Savior,

the disciple attains the perfection of charity, which is holiness. This is what God wants for you. Having matured in grace, the moral life blossoms into eternal life in the glory of heaven. This is, man, as we move forward, again, I went a doctoring with Dr. Healy a couple days ago, and yesterday and today, like, okay, here we guys, let's go, let's strap in. It's going to be really tough at the same time. Let's be real. Sin is difficult. It is difficult to live in sin. It is depressing. It is saddening. It is painful. Yes, it is a challenge. It takes effort to choose the good. But with God's grace we can, and that is a life of joy and of freedom. As we move forward, we recognize that all these things are true. God is good. He made us good.

But then with our free will that he gave us, our intellect that he gave us, we broke. We said no to him. And now we live in this place of brokenness. We have an intellect, but it's been darkened. We have a will that's weakened. We're made for love, but we simply more often choose to use. And yet here is Jesus who delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new gift of life and the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. And now we can say yes to that. We can live a life of power. We can live a life of freedom and joy. And that's what this next section is all about.

And I think I might have held up the, it's going to be tough, you guys. It's going to be really hard. Maybe a little bit too much because it's going to be beautiful. It's going to be an incredible call. If you and I are willing, if we're willing to hear the voice of God and all of this and say, okay, God, meet me with your grace. Meet me with your power so I can walk this walk. So I can live this life.

It will be a season of joy. Not just a season of joy. A season of joy that leads you to an eternity of joy. So do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. God has your back. He has fought for you. He continues to fight for you.

I'm praying for you. I will continue to pray for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless. Thank you.