The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 334: How Jesus Prayed (2025)

Episode Date: November 30, 2025

We look at how Jesus prays in this section of the Catechism. It is revealed how Jesus learned to pray, the frequency of his prayers, and where he prayed. Jesus brought his needs to the Father including his last words and final “loud cry”. Through his example of filial prayer, we are able to pray to the Father as sons and daughters. We can ask him for anything as all of our thoughts, desires, troubles, fears, and needs are already with the Lord. “The Father accepts them and, beyond all hope, answers them by raising his Son.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2598-2606. 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 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 334. We are reading paragraphs 2598 to 2606. 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 334 reading paragraphs, as I said, 2598, 2606. Yesterday we talked about the ways in which we can pray. We talked about in the Nugget Day about the Psalms. Hopefully that was, hopefully that was good for you. I love the Psalms. It's incredible. Now, today, we're taking the next step. The next step is, in the fullness of time, here is Jesus. And we're looking at today at how Jesus prays. Tomorrow we're looking at how Jesus teaches us how to pray. But today we're going to go through and walk through these paragraphs that highlight and kind of illuminate and illuminate the way that Jesus prays, which is just remarkable that Jesus learned how to pray as a human being. Yet with a human heart and a human intellect, he had to learn how to pray. He has a

prayer to his father, right, because he is the son, that Jesus prays before massive moments of his mission, before decisive moments of his mission. We recognize that Jesus consistently prays, that Jesus, he prays in solitude, that he intercedes on our behalf, that Jesus's prayer at the very heart of it is this gigantic yes to the father. And so when we see Jesus make these petitions, when we see Jesus consistently go back to prayer, when we see Jesus enter into solitude And when we see Jesus in this gigantic yes to the Father, we recognize, as we're going to recognize tomorrow, how it is that Jesus, in the fullness of time, reveals to us how we are called to pray and how we are called to be in relationship with the Father. As adopted sons and daughters, we too can pray like the eternal son of the Father. And so we pray now, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Father in heaven, give you praise. Thank you so much. We ask you to please help us to pray like Jesus. help us to see how Jesus prays, to watch how he prays, to listen to him in his prayer, and to let our hearts grow in contemplation of your goodness. Let our hearts grow in contemplation of your faithfulness, of your fatherly love for each and every one of us, so that we can grow in trust, so we can grow in our faithfulness so that we in all moments can say, yes, Father, to you and to your will.

We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord, in the name of the Father. and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 334. We are reading paragraphs 2598 to 2606. Article 2. In the fullness of time. The drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the word who became flesh and dwells among us. To seek to understand his prayer through what his witnesses proclaimed to us in the gospel is to approach the Holy Lord Jesus as Moses approached the burning Bush. First, to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us to pray in order to know how he hears our prayer. Jesus prays. The Son of God, who became Son of the Virgin, also learned to pray according to his human heart. He learns the formulas of prayer from his mother, who kept in her heart

and meditated upon all the great things done by the Almighty. He learns to pray in the words and rhythms of the prayer of his people in the synagogue at Nazareth and the temple at Jerusalem. But his prayer springs from an otherwise secret source, as he intimates at the age of 12, saying, I must be in my father's house. Here, the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be revealed. His filial prayer, which the father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only son in his humanity with and four men. The gospel, according to St. Luke, emphasizes the action of the Holy Spirit and the meaning of prayer in Christ's ministry. Jesus prays before the decisive moments of his mission, before his father's witness to him during his baptism

and transfiguration, and before his own fulfillment of the father's plan of love by his passion. He also prays before the decisive moments involving the mission of his apostles, at his election and call of the 12, before Peter's confession of him as the Christ of God, and again, that the faith of the chief of the apostles may not fail when tempted. Jesus is prayer before the events of salvation that the father has asked him to fulfill is a humble and trusting commitment of his human will to the loving will of the Father. He was praying in a certain place, and when he had ceased, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray. In seeing the master at prayer, the disciple of Christ also wants to pray.

By contemplating and hearing the Son, the master of prayer, the children learn to pray to the Father. Jesus often draws apart to pray in solitude, on a mountain, preferably at night. He includes all men in his prayer, for he has taken on humanity in his incarnation, and he offers them to the Father when he offers himself. Jesus, the Word who has become flesh, shares by his human prayer in all that his brethren experience. He sympathizes with their weaknesses in order to free them. It was for this that the Father sent him. His words and works are the visible manifestation of his prayer in secret. The evangelists have preserved two more explicit prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry. Each begins with Thanksgiving. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him

because he has hidden the mysteries of the kingdom from those who think themselves learned, and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the beatitudes. His exclamation, yes, father, expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father's good pleasure, echoing his mother's fiat at the time of his conception and prefiguring what he will say to the Father in his agony. The whole prayer of Jesus is contained in this loving adherence of his human heart to the mystery of the will of the Father. The second prayer before the raising of Lazarus is recorded by St. John. Thanksgiving precedes the event. Jesus prayed, Father, I thank you for having heard me,

which implies that the Father always hears his petitions. Jesus immediately adds, I know that you always hear me, which implies that Jesus, on his part, constantly made such petitions. Jesus' prayer characterized by Thanksgiving, reveals to us how to ask. Before the gift is given, Jesus commits himself to the one who in giving gives himself. The giver is more precious than the gift. He is the treasure. In him abides his son's heart. The gift is given as well. The priestly prayer of Jesus holds a unique place in the economy of salvation. A meditation on it will conclude Section 1. It reveals the ever-present prayer of our high priest, and at the same time contains what he teaches us about our prayer to our father,

which will be developed in Section 2. When the hour had come for him to fulfill the Father's plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer, not only before he freely delivered himself up. Abba, not my will, but yours. But even in his last words on the cross,

where prayer and the gift of self are but one, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. woman behold your son behold your mother i thirst my god my god why have you forsaken me it is finished father into your hands i commit my spirit until the loud cry as he expires giving up his spirit all the troubles for all time of humanity enslaved by sin and death all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history are summed up in this cry of the incarnate word Here, the Father accepts them, and beyond all hope answers them by raising his son.

Thus is fulfilled and brought to completion the drama of prayer in the economy of creation and salvation. The Psalter gives us the key to prayer in Christ. In the today of the resurrection, the Father says, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage and the ends of the earth your possession. The letter to the Hebrews expresses in dramatic, terms how the prayer of Jesus accomplish the victory of salvation. It reads,

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. In being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. All right, there we have at paragraphs 2598 to 2606. This is just Again, remarkable. Let's go back to paragraph 2598, the beginning paragraph of today. It says, the drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the word who became flesh and dwells among us. Now, we're also going to say in paragraph 2606 at the very last paragraph of today that the drama of prayer in some ways is completely summed up in one cry.

We're going to come back to that in a second, but this first line, the drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the word who became flesh and dolls among us. What does that mean? What means when we see Jesus pray, praying the gamut, right? He has his filial prayer, right? his prayer as a son, trusting in his father from a young age. And we have that really clearly here in paragraph 2599, where it talks about when Jesus was 12 years old. And he stays behind in Jerusalem in the temple and his parents after three days find him. And he says, I must be in my father's house. And it says here, here the newness of prayer in the fullness of time begins to be

revealed. His filial prayer, which the father awaits from his children, is finally going to be lived out by the only son in his humanity with and for all men. I love this. It's remarkable. Remember, because of the power of the Holy Spirit, we get to pray as God's sons and daughters. The Holy Spirit, given to us in baptism and through faith, we become a new creation, right? We become God's adopted children. And the newness of prayer and the fullness of time begins to be revealed in Jesus revealed to us because his failure of prayer, I must be in my father's house. It's finally going to be lived out by the only son in his humanity.

This is remarkable. I mean, from all eternity, obviously, the son and the father who are co-eaternal, right? our co-equally God. That's always been lived out. But the sonship, Christ's sunship in his humanity comes at a moment in time. And we get to see this. So I love this. It's remarkable. Again, 2598, the first paragraph of today, the drama of prayer is fully revealed to us in the world who became flesh and dwells among us. So this first notion of we get to pray as God's children. Now paragraph 2598 further states to say, to seek to understand his prayer, Jesus' prayer, through what his witnesses proclaimed to us in the

gospel, is to approach the Holy Lord Jesus as Moses approach the burning bush. That's amazing. So what's that mean? Well, first, to contemplate him in prayer, then to hear how he teaches us how to pray in order to know how he hears our prayer. And so this is, this is what we're called to. We're called to do. We're called to watch Jesus pray. Because we're going to be drawn into this. So not just watch, but contemplate, right? That sense of, here's Moses, seeing the burning bush, and he gazes upon it. And then he's drawn towards it. He's invited to come to approach God's presence.

So what we're called to do is also to gaze upon the Lord, to watch how he prays. And so paragraph 2599, we already said that as he prays as a son. 2,600 highlights the fact that Jesus prays before decisive moments of his mission. And this is pretty important for us. If Jesus prays before decisive moments of his mission. And also when he prays before decisive moments of his mission, and also when he prays before decisive moments of the Apostles' mission. This is a reminder for us.

Okay, before big moments, why not pray? I mean, how often? We pray before meals, hopefully pray before meals. Maybe you pray at the beginning of the day, maybe at the end of the day. All those things are very, very good. But there's something about marking the moment. When you know there's something significant about to happen,

I guess that's probably part of what is such a blessing about one's morning prayers, is say, okay, God, I literally, I have no idea. In some ways, maybe Jesus knew what was about to happen, especially when he chose the 12 apostles, he knew that he was about to do that. But we don't always know, is this going to be a big day or is this going to be kind of a run-of-the-mill day? Is this going to be a decisive moment today or is this going to be just kind of a Tuesday or whatever day it is. The question we get to ask is not, is it going to be a decisive day, a decisive moment or just kind of your ordinary day, ordinary moments. But am I going to pray

as I walk into this day? Just like Jesus would pray before decisive moments. Am I going to pray? Now, it was on to talk about how Jesus in 2602 often draws apart to pray in solitude on a mountain preferably at night. And again, that is a marker for us. Now, Jesus obviously lived a very different life than many of us are living. Not many of us listening to this are itinerant preachers with no family or no spouses, no children. Not many of us are that kind of person. Yet Jesus was. And so we get to watch and see what are the essential elements of Jesus' prayer? Well, He pursues solitude, that he goes away by himself in order to turn his heart to the father. Not that he ever removes his heart from his father.

In fact, we're going to hear about that, that Jesus is always praying. He is constantly before his father. And each prayer, it says in paragraph 26.03, he says each prayer, when Jesus offers two explicit prayers offered by Christ during his public ministry, paragraph 2603 says, each of those explicit prayers begins with Thanksgiving. That's so important for us to be able to give God praise. go up first, right? Let Judah go up first. Let praise and Thanksgiving go up. In the first, Jesus confesses the Father. He acknowledges and blesses him because he's hidden the mysteries of the kingdom from those who think themselves learned. And Jesus says this word, yes, father, right?

This exclamation, yes, father. And that expresses, I love it. It says, that expresses the depth of his heart, his adherence to the Father's good pleasure. And it's a remarkable, this yes, father. If you want to sum up, what was Jesus' constant answer? His constant answer was, yes, father, this absolute trust and obedience that Jesus has for his father. In paragraph 2605 highlights this, it says, when the hour had come for him to fulfill the father's plan of love, Jesus allows a glimpse of the boundless depth of his filial prayer, not only before he freely delivered himself up to death, Abba, not my will, but yours, but even in his last words on the cross. So when we hear these words, again, in the Garden of Githemite, Father, take this cup away from for me yet not my will but yours we get a glimpse into the depth of christ's of jesus's trust of his father

that here here he is a son being offered and sacrifice and yet he's trusting not my will but yours but also the last words on the cross i love this that phrase where prayer and the gift of self are one isn't that amazing where prayer and the gift of self are exactly the same they're completely aligned and this is our prayer right that how amazing would it be If your prayer and my prayer was directly aligned with your life and my life. Like the words we pray are actually the life we live. Amazing. But these last words on the cross reveal, again, we just say that we get to glimpse into

these last words of Jesus where he says, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. That's revelatory, right? That reveals something. Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise. Again, they're called the seven last words of Jesus from the cross. Woman, behold your son. Behold your mother. The words, I thirst.

or the words, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? It is finished. And then lastly, Father, into your hands, I commit my spirit. Every reflection, every time we can contemplate any one of these, you know, seven last words of Jesus, it reveals, again, a glimpse, it says, of the boundless depth of his filial prayer. Now, the last thing it says here is remarkable, and the last thing we'll say today, is he says these words, Father into your hands, I commit my spirit, until the quote unquote, loud cry as he expires giving of his spirit. Paragraph 2606 is so, wow, so profound. It says all the troubles

for all time of humanity enslaved by sin and death, all the petitions and intercessions of salvation history. So every prayer, every suffering, every cry, every, all the troubles for all times of humanity enslaved by sin and death, like every, every time anyone ever cried out to God. Or even just cried out to the void if they didn't even know God existed, they didn't know if God could hear them, all of those troubles are summed up in this cry of the incarnate word. I don't know if we've ever taken a moment to reflect on when it says in scripture, they let out a loud cry and gave up his spirit. Like what, what that means? And here the church is teaching us that that loud cry, what does it mean? It means every tear, every

lamentation, every complaint, every trouble, every struggle, every pain, every suffering, every death, every grief of all humanity for all time are summed up in that cry of the incarnate word. And not only are they summed up in the cry of the incarnate word, not only are they summed up in the cry of the son to the father, but the next line says, here the father accepts them. And beyond all hope answers them by raising his son. This is, this boggles the mind. This breaks the heart. How amazing.

How amazing is that to be able to recognize that here is the truth. And truth is in that cry of Jesus, wordless, right? We don't, there's no words, it's just a cry. Every one of your cries, every one of your tears, every, of all humanity for all time, every trouble is summed up and here the father accepts them and beyond all hope answers them by raising his son. It just is remarkable. Incredible.

And true. Your prayer today. Your tears today, your broken heart today. He's brought to the father. Well, even this has already been brought to the father. In that cry of Jesus, the son. Remarkable. And the father's heard.

The father's heard it. He hears it, accepts it, and answers it. And that's the trust we, have in the Father. Tomorrow, we're going to let Jesus teach us how to pray. And as we do, we still look at him, like again Moses contemplating the burning bush. Okay, teach me, teach me how to pray. As we pray all the time, Holy Spirit, teach us how to pray. We do not know how to pray as we ought, but help us to pray like Jesus. I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.

Thank you.