The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 340: Scripture and the Liturgy (2024)

Episode Date: December 5, 2024

How do we pray? Prayer is essential for our relationship with the Lord. The Catechism teaches that we must study the Scriptures, learn how to pray, and have the will to pray. Fr. Mike shares two different sources of prayer: the Word of God and the Liturgy of the Church. He explains how the Holy Spirit guides us in prayer and teaches us how to speak with God. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2650-2655. 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.

Hello everybody, my name is Father Mike Spitz. I want to let you know about a one night only opportunity we have in Newark, New Jersey on Monday, December 9th. It's right after the start of Advent. We're doing an Advent Night of Reflection and Q&A at the Newark Performing Arts Center. Again, Monday December 9th at seven o'clock. If you're interested in finding out more about this, go to ascensionpress.com slash father mike tour. Basically, a night of reflection diving deeply into what it is that we're preparing for in the season of Advent. If you're interested at all, on Monday, December 9th, 7 o'clock, Newark Performing Arts Center,

go to AscensionPress.com slash Father Mike Tour. That's F-R-M-I-K-E Tour. God bless. 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 340. We're reading paragraphs 2650 to 2655. Just a few short paragraphs today. It's the beginning of chapter 2. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes a 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 C-I-Y and you can click follow or subscribe to our podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. You know, it's day 340, which means what if there's a home stretch, this is kind of close to the home stretch and I just want to offer a word of thanks at the end of every episode. I always say I'm praying for you and I am I hope you know that I hope you know that literally every day in my purse. I'm praying for you who are listening or pressing play every day and even if you miss a day I'm still praying for you that day. It doesn't matter and just so grateful for everyone who are listening or pressing play every day and even if you miss a day, I'm still praying for you that day, it doesn't matter.

And just so grateful for everyone who has supported me, but also everyone who's part of this, producing this podcast with your prayers and financial gifts because it takes a team of people to get this whole thing done and so grateful, couldn't do it without you. So thank you, okay. Day 340, let's get started here.

As I said yesterday, we're starting chapter two and the section is, as you know, if you have the reading plan, it is the tradition of prayer and we're gonna start by looking at how do we pray? And we're only doing a couple of paragraphs today. I mean, we're just really dipping our toes into this because like in a couple of days, we'll talk about how we have prayer to the Father,

prayer to Jesus. We talk about prayer in the Holy Spirit and communion with the Holy Mother of God There's all these aspects of prayer. And so today as we kind of just basically frame up the house, you know a little bit We're gonna look at what is prayer? What is it not and in the first paragraph of today's section? It kind of highlights right away. It says prayer cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse That's just it's not just something that kind of just flows from us We're gonna talk about this when it comes

to my favorite section coming up soon. It's not just something that is always merely spontaneous. Obviously prayer can be spontaneous, but it's not the mere spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse. We have to have the will to pray and we have to learn how to pray. We don't know how to pray.

We have to seek the scriptures to be taught by that, but also we have to be given the Holy Spirit that can teach us how to pray. And not only that, but we need the church, the living and believing and praying church to teach the children of God how to pray. You know, sometimes we want the nuts and bolts. I just tell me what it is,

tell me how to do this and let me do it on my own. Prayer is not like that. Yes, we want the nuts and bolts. I just tell me what it is, tell me how to do this, and let me do it on my own. Prayer is not like that. Yes, we can have tools for prayer. Yes, we can have some techniques for prayer, but prayer can never be reduced to a technique, just in the same way that it can't be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse, right?

It's deeper than that, it's richer than that. That's what we're gonna talk about today. What's at the heart of the wellsprings of prayer is what we're gonna be talking about today. What's at the heart of the Wellsprings of prayer is what we're going to be talking about today. So as we launch into today, let's stop talking about prayer and start praying. We pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.

Thank you so much for bringing us to this day. We thank you and praise your name. We bless you because you blessed us. We glorify you because you are worthy of all glory. In this moment, we pray for those who are close to us. We pray for the needs of our family members and our friends. We pray, Lord God, for our enemies, for those who hate us, for those who have hurt us. We pray that You give them what they need.

Give them all that they need. And please, Lord, give us what we need. Because without You, we are nothing. And without you, we can do nothing. So, meet us in our need. Meet us in our poverty. And receive our hearts. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 340. We are reading paragraphs 2650 to 2655. Chapter 2. The Tradition of Prayer. Prayer cannot be reduced to the spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse. In order to pray, one must have the will to pray. Nor is it enough to know what the Scriptures reveal about prayer, one must also learn how to pray. Through a living transmission, sacred tradition,

within the believing and praying church, the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God how to pray. The tradition of Christian prayer is one of the ways in which the tradition of faith takes shape and grows, especially through the contemplation and study of believers who treasure in their hearts the events and words of the economy of salvation and through their profound grasp of the spiritual realities they experience. Article 1. At the Wellsprings of Prayer. The Holy Spirit is the living water, welling up to eternal life in the heart that prays. It is He who teaches us to accept it at its source,

Christ. Indeed, in the Christian life, there are several wellsprings where Christ awaits us to enable us to drink of the Holy Spirit. The Word of God The Church forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ by frequent reading of the Divine Scriptures. Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For we speak to Him when we pray, we listen to Him when we read the Divine Oracles. The spiritual writers, paraphrasing Matthew 7, verse 7, summarize in this way the dispositions

of the heart nourished by the Word of God in prayer. Seek in reading, and you will find in meditating. Knock in mental prayer, and it will be opened to you by contemplation. The Liturgy of the Church In the sacramental Liturgy of the Church, the mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit proclaims, makes present, and communicates the mystery of salvation which is continued in the heart that prays. The spiritual writers sometimes compare the heart to an altar.

Prayer internalizes and assimilates the liturgy during and after its celebration. Even when it is lived out in secret, prayer is always prayer of the Church. It is a communion with the Holy Trinity. Okay, there we have it, paragraphs 2650 to 2655. As I said, just a couple of short paragraphs, but what beauty in this. I'm just so good, right? So let's look at this.

Article one says, at the well springs a prayer. So the Holy Spirit is the living water welling up to eternal life in the heart that prays. Just realize, Holy Spirit is the one who teaches us how to pray. Again, paragraph 2650, back a couple, highlights that this is not just merely spontaneous outpouring of interior impulse. We don't just do whatever we want. We have to have the will to pray. We have to be able to have discipline in prayer. That's very key. Also, we can't just see what other people have done or how other people have prayed. So it's good to know the scriptures

and see what they reveal about prayer, but then we also have to learn how to pray. So, you know, to be able to say, oh, I know that if you play the piano, there are 88 keys and they go A, B, C, D, E, G. A, B, C, D, E, G, F, G. You know what I'm saying? You can know how a piano works.

I can see, oh, when there's little dots on the music sheet and they go up and down, that's the keys, I can know all of those things, but I have to actually learn how to play the piano. I have to actually learn not just, oh, this is what they mean, but learn how to do it ourselves. So, yes, of course we study the scripture and see how people have prayed and we dive deeply into the Bible and see how people have prayed, but we also have to learn how to pray ourselves. And we do this, the last line here in paragraph 2650,

we do this through a living transmission within the believing and praying church and the Holy Spirit teaches the children of God, that's you and me, how to pray. It's so incredible. And so highlighting back to 2652, the Holy Spirit is the living water willing up to eternal life.

And the Holy Spirit teaches us to accept his source who is Jesus and then the next line says indeed in the Christian life There are several well springs where Christ awaits us to enable us to drink of the Holy Spirit Now we got two of those well springs today. There are gonna be a couple more tomorrow But today we have two tomorrow We'll have two more the two we have today are the Word of God and the Liturgy of the Church. So what are the well springs? What are those sources of living water? Well, obviously these sources, Christ and the Holy Spirit. But where can we go to, to always come in contact with God? And this is the key, because remember, we say this again and again, this is not just about transfer of information. We want to come into contact with God so that we may be

transformed, so we can become like Him. So where do we go in order to become like him? Where do we go for these well springs welling up to eternal life? Well today the Word of God the liturgy of the church tomorrow just spoiler It's gonna be the theological virtues and the recognition that each day is the day We're given this grace this the outpouring of the Holy Spirit So the Word of God, if you have ever prayed with scripture, you know how absolutely essential it is non-negotiable. We must, we must know scripture.

We have to once again come back again and again into contact with the Lord through sacred scripture. It says this, the church forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful, think about that, forcefully exhorts all the Christian faithful to learn the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ by the frequent reading of the divine scriptures. And that is remarkable.

But also if you've done the Bible in a year, or maybe you're doing it again, or maybe you're doing it for the first time, or maybe you're just reading the scriptures of the day, or whatever your reading plan is, that you're coming into contact with God's word. So amazing. But goes on to say, highlight this, that them remember, however, that prayer should accompany

the reading of sacred scripture so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. Now what's that look like? There is a thing called Lectio Divina. You probably have heard of Lectio Divina. We might talk about it later on, but Lectio has actually, it means holy reading or divine reading, sacred reading. It usually involves maybe we'll say four kind of steps. Now these steps aren't like automatic. You go to one to two to two to three, three to four. They sometimes go back and forth. But the first step in Lectio Divina is reading. It's the Lectio part. So we read sacred scripture. And then the second step in Lectio Divina is called

meditatio, right? So meditation, which is basically that's fancy word for think about it. You think about what you just read. And the third step is that's called oratio. Now oratio means prayer. And so you think about this, okay, so I've say I've taken sacred scripture, taking the word of God and I've read this small section, I've read this, whatever the section is for today.

Now I'm going to go so far as to say you can also listen. So that's a small section. I've read whatever this section is for today. Now I'm gonna go so far as to say, you can also listen. So that's a little side point. So we read that scripture, then we think about it. Like basically engage our brains with it. Like it's one of those kinds of situations where you might say, here's the story of Jesus walking in water and he invites Peter out on the water with him.

And so you read through that, you might say, you know what I'm gonna think about? I'm gonna think about where Jesus says, take courage it is I, do not be afraid. I'm just gonna meditate on those words like, oh, here's the Lord in my life. And he says, take courage, it is I, do not be afraid. I'm gonna meditate on that, just ponder what that means.

How could I apply that to my life? But then there's that next step, and the next step is prayer. Realize, up to this point, it hasn't been prayer yet. Up to this point, there's been reading, and there's been meditation, there's been thinking, but no prayer. Remember, prayer is between you and God.

It is some kind of communication between you and God. And so I always say it like this to our students. I say, at one point, even if you're reading scripture of a bunch, even if you're thinking about God a lot, at some point, you have to look up. At some point, your nose is in the book, and your mind is in your own brain or your thoughts are in your own mind. And at some point, just look up and talk to

God about what you've been thinking about. Talk to God about what you've been reading. And that's that prayer part. And that's what paragraph 26, 53 highlights. Let them remember that prayer should accompany the reading of sacred scripture so that dialogue takes place between God and man. So there's the reading, the thinking, and then the prayer. And I love this. It says, for we speak to him when we pray, we listen to him when we read the divine oracles, people who say, ah, God never talks to me. Well, have you read his book?

That's the big question. I'm not trying to dismiss that because I know sometimes it'd be frustrating, but the thing is the Lord continues to speak to us through the church, the Holy Spirit, but always, always always always also through his word now in liturgy the church as well This is key the liturgy of the church in the sacramental liturgy of the church like say all of the sacraments But particularly the mass The mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit proclaims makes makes present, and communicates the mystery of salvation. Every time you go to mass, let's highlight this.

This is so beautiful, how it's put. Every time you go to mass, the mission of Christ and of the Holy Spirit proclaims, makes present, and communicates the mystery of salvation. That is remarkable. That is, it's really present. The mystery of salvation is truly present.

It's really proclaimed and also communicates to us. Like it's transmitted to us. And then it goes on to say, which is continued in the heart that prays. Which is continued in the heart that prays. So those of you who are like athletes or maybe like exercise physiology, this kind of thing, there is this concept, I don't know how accurate it is,

but it's called the afterburn. The idea behind it is, if you exercise, if you get your heart rate up and all the kind of things, get the blood flowing, and then for however long after you've done exercising, there's the afterburn. The afterburn is all the calories you're burning because you ramped up your system. So I think there's been some studies that say,

oh yeah, it exists, oh no, it doesn't really exist. The point of it is this though, or maybe not, it doesn't exist like we think. The point of it is like this. It's kind of like the spiritual afterburn. So you go to mass and the reality of the mission of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit is proclaimed, is made present, it's communicated and that's continued in the heart that prays. That if you have a heart that prays, there's like the spiritual afterburn that long after you've gotten done with mass,

that the mission of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is still made present, is still communicated, is still proclaimed. Isn't that remarkable? Isn't that kind of cool? I just, I think that's amazing. That's one of the reasons why the spiritual writers sometimes compare the heart to an altar.

Because when you pray, you're internalizing, you're assimilating what happened in the liturgy, even after the celebration. During it, of course, you're there, you're present, you're praying, but even after the celebration, it's lived out, it's lived out, and that's remarkable. I mean, think about this, to be able to realize that everywhere you go, you are carrying the mission

of Jesus and the Holy Spirit out into the world, proclaimed, made present and communicated. And that's if we pray. And that's if we pray. We need to have the heart to pray so the heart can become an altar. And so I'm praying for you. Please pray for me.

My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.