Day 158: Holy Images in the Liturgy (2026)
6/7/202612 min
We continue our examination of the different elements of the liturgy, specifically holy images in the liturgy. Fr. Mike highlights that because the Word was made visible in the flesh, Christians now can use images of Christ to pray. Liturgical art is a symbol that points to a greater reality than itself. It is meant to lift our hearts and minds to the Lord in a way that words cannot. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1159-1162.
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.
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsMike Schmitz· Host0:00
[gentle music] 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 in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 158. We are reading paragraphs 1159 to 1162. 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/ciy, and you know what that stands for. That stands for Catechism in a Year. Um, you can also click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. This is day 158. We are reading paragraphs, as I said, 1159 to 1162. Yesterday, we talked about music, and we talked about singing. We talked about words and actions. Today, we're talking about images, and, uh, just, it's basically a four, four short paragraphs, but these four short paragraphs are incredibly important because they talk about the sacred image. So recognizing that Christians use images to help them pray, and this is an ancient, ancient tradition that is only made possible because of the incarnation of Jesus Christ as, you know, the Word made flesh. We've real- realized that before this, there could be no images made to represent God, uh, except with the incarnation. The reality, of course, is the Word became flesh and