Day 169: The Mystagogy of Baptism (2026)
6/18/202614 min
Together with Fr. Mike, we continue our examination of the sacrament of Baptism, specifically the mystagogy of the rite of Baptism. The Catechism explains each and every element of the Baptismal rite, from the Sign of the Cross to the baptismal water. Fr. Mike concludes with a reflection on Baptism as the beginning of our sacramental journey and how we are called to walk as children of God throughout our lives after our Baptism. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1234-1245.
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
[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 three hundred and sixty-five 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 one sixty-nine. We're reading paragraphs one two three four to one two four five, twelve thirty-four to twelve forty-five. As always, I'm re- 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 can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and da- daily notifications. It's day one hundred and sixty-nine, and yes, I think I'm clever because I said [laughs] paragraph one two three four, paragraph twelve thirty-four to twelve forty-five. Today, the, the title is called Mystagogy of the Celebration. What's that mean? Mystagogy is, you know, the unpacking of the mystery, essentially the teaching of the mystery of the celebration of the sacrament of baptism. What we're gonna do here is vir- virtually every paragraph is another aspect of the rite of baptism and then its explanation. So at the beginning, we're in paragraph twelve thirty-five. It's the sign of the cross. We do this at the beginning of the celebration. It marks with the imprint of Christ, the one who's going to belong to Him, and signifies the grace of the redemption Christ has won for us by His cross. And we go through that every