The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 62: The Christ (2026)

Episode Date: March 3, 2026

Why is Jesus named “The Christ”? Today we discover the meaning behind this powerful title. We also learn about the three-fold ministry of Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Fr. Mike explains the true meaning of the kingship of Jesus and how as followers of Christ, we have the opportunity to participate in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 436-440. 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 your 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. It is Day 62. You guys were on the next page, at least in my reading plan, it is page 3, I think. Gosh, that's amazing. 62, paragraphs 436 to 440. today we're talking about Jesus the Christ. And so his name Christ, well, more on that in a second.

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. Also, you can download your own catechism in your reading plan by visiting ascensionpress.com slash DIY. And maybe yours would be just like mine. You'd be on page three right now. Also, you can click follow or subscribe in this podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. As I said today, yesterday, we were talking about Jesus, the name of the name of the first. of Jesus, which is just, again, bananas, so bonkers, incredible that the Lord God gives us,

he gives us his name. He gives us access to himself, not just access to his heart, but also we can invoke his name and call upon his name. Also, today, there's a title, and that title is Christ, which comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messiah, right? So the Greek is Christos, and the Hebrew is Meshiach, right? So Messiah, both of those words mean anointed, right? Jesus is the Anointed one, the Christos. the Messiah, the Messiah. And it became Jesus' name properly because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that anointed one signifies.

Here's what that means. Again, I sometimes make the joke, and I don't mean to do this irreverently. But it's not Jesus Christ because it was also Mary Christ and Joseph Christ and they had a baby Jesus Christ. No, that's not what happened. Is Christ is a title that ultimately became, like you might say, an improper to him. Why? Because there were many people who were anointed back in the old covenant, right? There were kings that were anointed. There were prophets that were anointed. There were priests that

were anointed. Jesus completely fulfills the role of king. He completely fulfills the role of prophet. He completely fulfills the role of priest. And therefore, the whole long-awaited Messiah, right? The whole long-awaited, anointed oneness of the Christ is fulfilled perfectly in Jesus. and therefore it kind of like becomes his name in some ways, right? So his name, the holy name is the name Jesus. That title that becomes proper to Jesus is the title Christ, which we also, again, tomorrow we'll talk more about he's also the only son of God. He's also the Lord the following day.

But today we have this title, Christ, again, which means anointed one. And this is going to be really important. Why? Well, for many reasons. One is because this roots Jesus deeply in the history of the people of Israel. You know, those of us who love scriptures, which is probably all of us here in this community of the catechism in the year, we love the scriptures and we have grown to love the reality and the beauty and the power of the Old Testament, that recognition that Jesus didn't just

kind of appear out of nowhere, that he was born of a people, right? that God himself entered into covenant with the people of Israel, with the Jewish people, and it's from the Jewish people and for the Jewish people in so many ways that comes our salvation, that comes Jesus Christ. So we didn't just kind of drop out of the sky into time, but he came out of, how do you say this, right? Jesus was born into this particular people that had been shaped in a particular way. and we're looking for a particular person. The one they were looking for was the anointed one, right?

The Messiah. Why? Because that one, well, it was misunderstood. In fact, you might even see, you'll see it today in paragraph 439. Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense, like as essentially political. That's what paragraph 439 is going to say. that some people, yep, they were waiting for the Messiah, but they thought, okay, the Messiah is going to be a political figure who helps the people of Israel overthrow the Romans or overthrow the Greeks

or overthrow whoever it is that is kind of in power over them. And yet Jesus reveals that his being, priests, prophet, and king completely transcends any mere political power or any mere political role. So obviously, here we go. Let's get started today because there's so much to say about the Messiah, but we just have to say that first, is that Messiah means anointed one. And it highlights the fact that the context in which Jesus came to us is in the context of the Jewish people who are awaiting a specific kind of Messiah, who would be king, priest, and prophet. Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and kings. Let's pray, Father in heaven, we give you praise and we thank you so much.

You thank you for sending us your son. You loved the world so much. You gave us your only begotten son. All those who call upon his name, all those who believe in him would not perish, but would have eternal life. Now, God, help us to call upon his name. Help us to see that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Messiah, that he is the anointed one, that he is the fulfillment of being the priest, prophet, and the king. And he calls us not only to share in his own divine life, but he calls us to share in the exercise of that threefold role, that threefold ministry of priest, prophet, and king. Help us this day and every day to say yes to you in your son, Jesus,

in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. As I said, it's day 62. We're reading paragraphs 436 to 440. Christ. The word Christ comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah,

which means anointed. It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that Christ signifies. In effect, in Israel, those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests, and in rare instances, for prophets. This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively. It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest and also as prophet. Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and king. To the shepherds, the angel announced the birth of Jesus as the Messiah promised to Israel. To you is born this day in the city of David a savior,

who is Christ the Lord. From the beginning, he was the one whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world conceived as holy in Mary's virginal womb. God called Joseph to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit, so that Jesus, who is called Christ, should be born of Joseph's spouse into the messianic lineage of David. Jesus' messianic consecration reveals his divine mission, as St. Ironaus said, for the name Christ implies he who anointed, He who was anointed and the very anointing with which he was anointed. The one who anointed is the father. The one who was anointed is the son.

And he was anointed with the spirit who is the anointing. His eternal messianic consecration was revealed during the time of his earthly life at the moment of his baptism by John when God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. That he might be revealed to Israel as its Messiah. His works and words will manifest him as the Holy One of God. Many Jews, and even certain Gentiles who shared their hope, recognized in Jesus the fundamental attributes of the Messianic Son of David promised by God to Israel. Jesus accepted his rightful title of Messiah, though with some reserve, because it was

understood by some of his contemporaries in too human as essentially political. Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah by announcing the imminent passion of the Son of Man. He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship, both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man, who came down from heaven, and in his redemptive mission as the suffering servant, when he said, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Hence, the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross. Only after his resurrection will Peter be able to proclaim Jesus as messianic kingship to the people of God, saying,

Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified. Okay, so here we are. Oh man, paragraphs 436 to 440, the title of Christ, we know this already, right? Anointed. We talked about this a thousand times before we read the reading today. It became the name proper to Jesus because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that Christ signifies. Remember, those who were anointed were kings, priests, and as it says in

paragraph 436, prophets, in certain instances, prophets. And so Jesus, he's the great high priest, that he is the king of kings, that he is the fulfillment of all prophets, right? This is his threefold office. Now, later on, we're going to talk about, when we talk about the Holy Spirit, so this is chapter two, the son, chapter one was the father, chapter three is going to be Holy Spirit. In that, we're going to also recognize that Jesus extends that mission. He extends that threefold office of priest, prophet, and king. He shares it in a sense, in a sense, with his people, which is remarkable that in the Holy Spirit, you and I get to participate in this priestly, kingly, and prophetic role of Jesus. But that's for later. But right now we're talking about Jesus himself. So paragraph 437 highlights

not all of the, but many of the times, many of the ways that scripture indicated that Jesus is the long-awaited, anointed one. So even from the announcement of the angels in Bethlehem, right, to the shepherds who watching their flocks by night, what did they say? To you is born this day in the city of David, a savior who is Christ, the Lord, right? The anointed one. And from the beginning, we have recognized that when God called Joseph, remember through the angel Gabriel, he reminded him to take Mary as your wife. for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit so that Jesus, who is called Christ, should be born of Joseph's spouse and the Messianic lineage of David, which is, again,

just so important for all of this. Now, I think this is remarkable because, remember, it goes all the way back to the Trinity. And the Trinity is the mystery of Christianity, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the three persons, one God, one being, three divine persons. And in paragraph 438, it says this, Jesus' messianic consecration reveals his divine mission. And this is where St. Ironias of Leone, he says this, for the name Christ, remember Messiah, implies he who anointed, he who was anointed, and the very anointing with which he was anointed. What does that mean?

Well, he who anointed, who is that? Well, that was the father. He who was anointed, who's that? Well, that's the son. And the very anointing with which he was anointed, that's the Holy Spirit. He was anointed with the Holy Spirit. And St. Nehneres, I'm really grateful for this because it reminds us, he reminds us, that, again, the Trinity is always a unity, right? The unit united in being, united in their, their wills, united in their intellects with each other.

They're always present. When one acts, they all act. When one is present, the whole Trinity is present. And so the Christ implies, he who anointed, the father, he who was anointed, the son, and the very anointing with which he was anointed, the Holy Spirit. I think that's just remarkable. Now, there is an interesting, I think powerful. You know, up in Minnesota sometimes we say interesting when it's something is like something we don't like. Other times we say interesting because we have no other word that we're just, our socks are blown off. And it's, I think it's worth praying about paragraph 439 and 440, the last two paragraphs for today highlight that it was recognized.

Jesus was recognized as being the Messiah. He had the fundamental attributes of that messianic son of David. And while Jesus accepted this rightful title of Messiah, paragraph 439 says, he accepted it with some reserve, right? Because it was understood by some of his contemporaries in too human a sense is essentially political. As I said before, they thought he was going to overthrow the Roman government. But Jesus accepted Peter's profession of faith.

This is paragraph 440, which acknowledged him to be the Messiah by announcing the imminent passion of the son of man. Remember in Matthew chapter 16 where Jesus asks the question, who do you say that I am? And Simon says, you are the Christ, the son of the living God. And Jesus responds by saying, you know, flesh and blood has not revealed this to you. My heavenly father has revealed this. So you are now Peter and upon this rock, I'll build my church, that whole thing. But immediately after this in Matthew's gospel, Jesus predicts his passion. Jesus essentially says, yes, that's true, that is who I am, and I will go to Jerusalem and suffer greatly and be crucified and on the third day rise again. And remember what Peter says, God forbid Lord, and Jesus rebukes Peter

because he's highlighting the fact that this is what it says in paragraph 440. He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship, both in his transcendent identity of the son of man who came down from heaven, right? Yeah, that's he is, he is the son of God himself. and in his redemptive mission as the suffering servant. He unveiled the authentic content of his messianic kingship, both in the transcendent identity of the Son of Man who came from heaven and his redemptive mission as the suffering servant because the Son of Man came not to be served,

but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And that's why the Catechism highlights this so, so clearly. It says, therefore, oh, hence, the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross. We think, oh my gosh, here is the mystery of God, this incredible mystery of God, who, yes, accepts the title. He accepts the title of Messiah, this long-awaited, anointed one.

Only when, only when it's absolutely clear that, yep, I am the king, but not the king crowned with gold, the king crowned with thorns. Yes, I accept the high priest. but the high priest not merely who stands at the altar and offers the sacrifice, but the high priest who is also the sacrifice himself. And the prophet, not only the prophets who are accepted, but the prophet who is rejected. And it is remarkable, remarkable that, again, we are brought into this. Jesus extends a share in his role as priest, prophet, and king to every single Christian.

Which means not only, yeah, kingly, queenly, yeah, not only priestly, and prophetic, but also of the suffering king, the suffering queen, the suffering priest, and the suffering prophet, the ones who are loved and also the ones who are rejected. I love this. Jesus reveals the true meaning of his kingship only when he is raised high on the cross. And that is so essential for us to understand that this paradox, that yes, he is the only begotten son of God. He is the Christ that means that he is his transcendent identity as the son of man, the son of God, but also as the suffering servant. Great dignity, but also, also the kind of love, great love that enters into pain that doesn't stay away from our difficulties, that doesn't stay away from our darkness,

that doesn't stay away from the real suffering of this world. That's the kind of king that we have. That's the kind of prophet he is. That's the kind of priest that Jesus is. That is, that is what it is to say Jesus is the Christ, which is incredible. I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful that we get to walk through this together and be part of this community. I know here on Day 62, sometimes it can get tough. You know, sometimes it can, you know, one of those situations where it's like, okay, I don't know if I'm going to get anything out of this today, but you keep pressing play.

And I'm so grateful for that because we can't do this alone. We need each other. We need each other to be able to be reminded of who Jesus is. and be reminded of what his plan is for our lives. And so please pray for each other. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless.