The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 286: The Family and Society (2026)

Episode Date: October 13, 2026

The family is the foundational element of society. Fr. Mike explains how families initiate us into societal life and act as the foundation of freedom and community. Because of its indispensable importance, we learn that civil authorities are responsible for supporting and honoring the family. Familial relationships also enlighten those found in society; we see our neighbor not as an anonymous individual but as “someone.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2207-2213. 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 to our heavenly home. This is Day 286. We're reading paragraphs 2207 to 2213, 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 catechism in a

year reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash CIY. And you can click follow or subscribe on your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications because today is day 286. You guys, we're continuing to talk about the family. Yesterday we talked about the nature of the family. How does the family operate in God's plan as well as the Christian family? We talked about the reality, I believe, that as we continue to to carry out the missionary mandate of evangelizing, making disciples of all nations. There are a couple means that we're going to do with this.

One is through friendship. The other, I believe is through the family. And we have that. We have the Christian family has an evangelizing and missionary task to it. Now, today we're going to talk about the family and society, which is just, I think is compelling,

is fascinating and is really, again, instructive. This is not reactive. This is not responsive as much as it is instructive and directive to to us as Catholics, but also to the world to be able to say, okay, here's the role of the family in society that we're going to affirm this and assert that the family is the original cell of social life. We've talked about this many times. As often as we talk about marriage and the

family, we say that again and again. We also talk about how today in paragraph 2208, the family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor. That basically the family, as Pope John Paul the second said, the family is the school of love. So marriage and family is meant to be the school of love. And so that's where we learn to do this, learn to take care of each other. But going on, the family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures. Now, that's really important because the importance of family for the well-being of society gives then society a responsibility. Right. So because the family is so important to society, society has a responsibility to the family.

And yet at the same time, paragraph 2211, we'll have a bunch of bullet points. It says the political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it and to ensure it, especially. And then there are about seven or eight bullet points here. These are the ways in which society must ensure, guard, and support family. So we're going to talk about all about that today. So in order to launch into a, I don't want to say heavy day in the sense of heavy sad, but like heavy, like, okay, there's some big concepts today we're going to be talking about. let's call upon the Lord and ask for his grace and ask for his help, ask for his illumination and guidance.

As we pray, Father, in heaven, in the name of your son, Jesus Christ, we thank you, we give you praise this day. We ask you to please receive our praise, receive our thanks. May you be glorified. Lord God, you, your identity as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is an image of what families are meant to be. It's an image of this pouring out in love, receiving love, and that love bringing forth life. we ask that you please, please heal the wounds in our own families, heal the wounds in the families

around us. And we ask you, Lord, help our families be a source of goodness for the people around us and help the people around us support the family. Lord God, let there be, in our community, in our culture, let there be no division between or opposition between family and society, but help the family, help society, help the family. Lord God, in your name, in the name of Jesus Christ, we ask in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 286 we are reading paragraphs 2207 to 2213. The family and society. The family is the original cell of social life. It is the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. Authority, stability, and a life of relationships within the family

constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. The family is the community in which, from childhood, one can learn moral values, begin to honor God, and make good use of freedom. Family life is an initiation into life in society. The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor. There are many families who are at times incapable of providing this help. It devolves then on other persons, other families, and in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs. As St. James wrote, Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to visit orphans and

widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. The family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures, where families cannot fulfill their responsibilities, other social bodies have the duty of helping them and of supporting the institution of the family. Following the principle of subsidiarity, larger communities should take care not to use the family's prerogatives or interfere in its life. The importance of the family for the life and well-being of society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and strengthen marriage and the family. Civil authority should consider it a grave duty to acknowledge the true nature of marriage and the family, to protect and foster them, to safeguard public morality,

and promote domestic prosperity. The political community has a duty to honor the family, to assist it and to ensure especially, first, the freedom to establish a family, have children, and bring them up in keeping with the family's own moral and religious convictions. Second, the protection of the stability of the marriage bond and the institution of the family. Third, the freedom to profess one's faith, to hand it on, and raise one's children in it with the necessary means and institutions. Fourth, the right to private property, to free enterprise, to obtain work and housing, and the right to emigrate.

Fifth, in keeping with the country's institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged, and family benefits. Sixth, the protection of security and health, especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, etc. Seventh, the freedom to form associations with other families, and so to have representation before civil authority.

The Fourth Commandment illuminates other relationships in society. In our brothers and sisters, we see the children of our parents, in our cousins, the descendants of our ancestors, in our fellow citizens, the children of our country, in the baptized, the children of our mother, the church. In every human person, a son or daughter of the one who wants to be called our father. In this way, our relationships with our neighbors are recognized as personal in character. The neighbor is not a unit in the human collective.

He is someone, who by his known origins, deserves particular. particular attention and respect. Human communities are made up of persons. Governing them well is not limited to guaranteeing rights and fulfilling duties such as honoring contracts. Right relations between employers and employees between those who govern and citizens presuppose a natural goodwill in keeping with the dignity of human persons concerned for justice and fraternity. All right. There we have at paragraphs 2207 to 2213. Wow, I just, this is, I think this is powerful and beautiful and instructive for us. As I said, that this is not meant to be reactive. This is not a response to any particular political climate, but is a response to the fact that here we are living

in this world and this world is good but broken. And so we have political systems that are good but broken. We have social systems that are good but broken. And so what do we do? we need help, right? And so let's go back to paragraph 2207. The family is the original cell of social life. It is, oh gosh, it's the natural society in which husband and wife are called to give themselves in love and in the gift of life. And so this is the foundation of freedom. I mean, think about, oh my gosh, I just listened to a social scientist talk about this the other day. They said that, yeah, you know, it's very important. The parents' role in the life of their children is very, very important. But he said he made the claim at least. He said that a bigger factor is not

not just what's happening in the home. The bigger factor is where those parents decide to raise their children. In the sense that, yes, you're going to raise your children as best you can in your home. But where your home is located is in the midst of a society, right? It's in the midst of a group of other families, in the midst of other people. And so where you choose to position yourself, essentially, is going to be really important. And I highlight that because here in paragraph 2207, it says this. It says authority, stability, and a life of relationship.

within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. As we said before, the family is a school of love. But where does a person utilize what they've learned? They learn them utilize what they've learned in society. And so where a family's position is very important, but also in the family, authority, stability, life of relationships within the family constitute the foundations for freedom, security, and fraternity within society. Again, when you have a good, stable home, you have a foundation for freedom, right? You have a foundation for security. Think about this.

There are other psychologists who have talked about this. And when it comes to the development processes in a person's life, that if a person doesn't experience a certain degree of stability, then they're going to possibly have a wound when it comes to security for the majority of their life. Yet, if they know that here's a place where they're loved, here's a place where things are stable. Here's a place where, yes, I mean, things aren't always peaceful, but it's not chaotic in the sense that you never know what your parents are going to do next. You never know where you're going to live next. But there's a stability of even in the midst of the storms of life,

okay, these are my rocks. Here's mom, here's dad, maybe my siblings. There's that sense that the family then can give a certain sense of authority, stability, life of relationships that leads to freedom, security, and fraternity within society. And that's so important. Again, it goes on to say, family is the community in which from childhood one can learn moral values, begin to honor God and make good use of freedom. Family life is initiation into life in society. So it's what happens inside the house and then it begins to radiate to that life outside the house. Right. So I think it's just remarkable. In that paragraph 228 might sound a little naive, but it's not. It's not naive. It is, it has an ideal. And the ideal is here's what family should be. So paragraph 2208,

the family should live in such a way that it's members learn to care and take responsibility for the young, the old, the sick, the handicapped, and the poor. And I think that's just, that might not be your family. But that is kind of the way of the family where, okay, here you are as children and you're learning to take care of each other. Here you are as mom, dad, and kids, hopefully you're learning to take care of your grandparents. That here you are, maybe as an older child, learning to take care of the younger kids. Here you are as a younger kid learning to take care of each other. I mean, there's a place here where we learn how to love each other.

We learn how to love well. That's, I don't want to say the point of family, but that definitely is one of the many things that the family ought to be. The family should live in such a way that its members learn to care and take responsibility, basically for each other. There are many families, of course, it goes on to say, who are at times incapable of providing this help. And that makes sense.

Of course it makes sense. But then what does that mean then? It goes on to say it devolves then on other persons, other families, and in a subsidiary way, society to provide for their needs. And so that sense is, remember the principle of subsidiarity. The principle of subsidiarity is that a thing can be handled at the lower level. People at the higher level are groups, the higher level, organizations,

the high level shouldn't take that responsibility or that task away. In fact, going on to say there's a danger there, society could make itself set itself at odds against the family. And society must not do that. Society must not step in and violate the principle of subsidiarity. It goes on to say 2209. It says, the family must be helped and defended by appropriate social measures. Yes, where families cannot fulfill the responsibilities, other social bodies have the duty of helping them, supporting the institution of the family. But following the principle of subsidiarity, larger communities should take care not to usurp the family's prerogatives or interfere in its life. And that is very, very important. Because the government cannot step in and tell a family how it ought to live unless, of course,

the family is in danger or unless the family is incapable of providing for the good of its members. Now, I think this is relatively powerful for these bullet points in paragraph 2211, that the political community has a duty to protect the stability of the marriage bond in institution of the family. It goes on. It says the political community has a duty to give the family, ensure the family the freedom to profess one's faith, handed on to raise one's children in it with the necessary means and institutions. Again, the right to private property, free enterprise, we'll talk about that later on, to obtain work and housing, right, to emigrate. In keeping with countries' institutions, the right to medical care, assistance for the aged family benefits, protection of security and health,

especially with respect to dangers like drugs, pornography, alcoholism, et cetera, and the freedom to form associations with other families and so have representation before civil authority. That all these things should be insured and protected, guarded and defended by the political community, by the society and the governing bodies there. And it's just, I think it's remarkable that here's the church saying, here's all these areas where the role of the political community

is not to usurp these things, the role of the political community is to guard these things and ensure these things. It's really remarkable. Now, the final two paragraphs, 2212 and 2213, talk about how the role of the family and the responsibilities of the family radiates to other relationships. So brothers and sisters, cousins, our fellow citizens, the fellow baptized, that we belong to each other. We've said that phrase so many times, that we belong to each other. It goes on to say, why?

If we remember this, we remember that in this way, our relationships with our neighbors are recognized as personal and character. The neighbor's not a unit in the human collective. Our neighbor is someone who, by his known origins, deserves particular attention and respect. That we have to see others. Again, not as a cog in the machine. They're not someone who's in my way. Although, isn't that the temptation when we're driving?

It's like, oh, this person's in my way. Or if you were trying to walk fast, their person in my way. they're not a unit in the collective. They are a someone who by his known origins, meaning they're made in God's image and likeness, deserve particular attention and respect. And the last, the last bullet here, or last paragraph 22, 13, human communities are made up of persons. We can never forget this. We can never forget that to be human is to be a person, but really, truly, that communities are made up of individuals, right? Communities are made up of persons. So governing them well is not limited to guaranteeing rights and fulfilling duties like

honoring contracts. But right relationships between employers and employees or between citizens and those who govern presuppose a natural goodwill and keeping with the dignity of the human person concerned for justice and fraternity. So that sense of being able to recognize that, yes, this is not just about saying, okay, I'm going to make you honor your contract, but we're always dealing with people, right? We're always dealing with individuals. Even when we're dealing with communities, it's made up of persons. And those persons are meant to be immortal, right? Those persons have immortal souls. And someday, those persons will be once again reunited with their body and soul in immortality forever, either for glory or for damnation.

And so to recognize this and to treat people like this with that dignity is so vitally important for every one of us, to never think that a person is simply a unit. in the collective, but always that person is a someone. They're a someone. They have a mom and a dad. They're someone who's been willed into existence by God. And so as we look around us, not only we look at our families, we look at each other. Remember, everyone around us is a someone. Everyone around us has an origin and everyone around us has a destiny. Even if they don't have a dad in their life, everyone around us has a creator who made that person in his own image and likeness and his death in that person, it's called that person, redeem that person. If only they'll

say yes to God's plan of salvation, that they will live forever in glory with him. And we treat people like this, then everything changes. When we treat people like this, everything changes, not just in our families, but in our world. Anyways, that was a little soapbox there. I apologize. But I mean it. It's completely true. Tomorrow, you'll talk about, go back to duties, talk about the duties of family members. So the duties of children, as well as later on, the duties of parents right now. I think because we belong to each other, we might not just have a desire, but also have a duty to pray for each other. See that segue? It's true. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.