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In The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz walks you through the entire Bible in 365 episodes, providing commentary, reflection, and prayer along the way. Unlike any other Bible podcast, Ascension’s Bible in a Year podcast follows a reading plan inspired by The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, a ground-breaking approach to understanding salvation history developed by renowned Catholic Bible scholar Jeff Cavins. For each period in the timeline, Jeff will join Fr. Mike for a special episo ...
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Day 328: Stephen Is Martyred (2024)
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Fr. Mike reflects on Stephen's heroic martyrdom and points out how those around him refused to hear him and hardened their hearts, something we too can do with the Word of God. In the book of Romans, Fr. Mike also highlights the importance of offering our bodies as a living sacrifice, responding to the call to love and to not be conformed to this w…
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Day 327: Origin of the Diaconate (2024)
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Fr. Mike draws our attention to the cultural division present in the early Church and the origin of the ordination to the diaconate. He also discusses Paul’s frustration with those who didn’t recognize Jesus as the Christ and offers consolation to those who experience this in the hearts and minds of those close to them, as Paul did. Today’s reading…
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Fr. Mike discusses the ministry of the apostles and encourages us to allow God to work in our lives in the same way. He also reminds us that through Baptism, we are set free from our fallen human nature and given the freedom to live according to the spirit. Today’s readings are from Acts 5, Romans 8, and Proverbs 27:7-9. For the complete reading pl…
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Fr. Mike highlights the boldness of Peter and John in our reading from Acts as they stand before the council of church leaders and defend the name of Jesus. He also addresses Paul’s writings on God’s grace given to us in our sinfulness and the war between good and evil present within ourselves. Today’s readings are Acts 4, Romans 6-7, and Proverbs …
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In Acts 3, Peter used God’s gift of healing to allow God to restore a lame man. Fr. Mike reminds us that God gives us gifts so he can be known in the world and all great miracles are attributed to the name of Jesus. Fr. Mike also tells us why our suffering matters, and how God wastes nothing. Today’s readings are Acts 3, Romans 4-5, and Proverbs 27…
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Fr. Mike shares the powerful story of the Holy Spirit coming upon the apostles in the upper room. He emphasizes how God calls us to go out into the world with his Spirit and live in community and with devotion to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the Eucharist, and prayer just like the first Christians. Today’s readings are Acts 2, Romans 2-3, an…
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Introduction to the Church (with Jeff Cavins) (2024)
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Welcome to The Church period! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to discuss the final time period of the Bible Timeline. They discuss the historical context of the early Church, why Rome and the early martyrs are so significant, and how the Holy Spirit takes on a major role. They also explain the differences between Acts, the epistles, and the book of Reve…
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Today, we begin the age of the church, transitioning from the Gospel of Luke to the beginning of the book of Acts. Fr. Mike draws our attention to the Ascension of Jesus and encourages us to respond to Christ’s call to participate in his mission. He invites us to be part of his story and not be ashamed of the Gospel. Today’s readings are Acts 1, Ro…
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Day 321: Jesus' Prayer in the Garden (2024)
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Fr. Mike highlights how Jesus didn't pray in order get something from God, he prayed in order to be close to God. He also points to Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane as a perfect example of how we should pray with honesty and trust. Lastly, Fr. Mike provides insights on the significance of the walk to Emmaus and Jesus' last words on the cro…
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Day 320: Peter's Denial Foretold (2024)
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As we draw near to the end of the Gospel of Luke, Fr. Mike briefly expands on the story of the poor widow’s offering, emphasizing that the Lord cares more about the size of our hearts than about the size of our gifts. Fr. Mike also underscores Jesus’ moving words to Peter when he foretells Peter’s denial. Jesus’ words remind us that no matter how f…
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Fr, Mike compares the story of the rich young man to the story of Zacchaeus, highlighting the difference in their willingness to follow Christ with their whole hearts. Looking at the stories of these young men, Fr. Mike invites us to reflect on our willingness to follow Christ with all that we are and all that we have. Today we read Luke 17-19 and …
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Day 318: The Narrow Gate, the Lost Sheep, and the Prodigal Son (2024)
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Fr. Mike confronts the hard truth Jesus preaches in today's readings: Many people will ultimately choose hell over heaven. While this can be deeply distressing, Fr. Mike reminds us to focus on Jesus's directive to each one of us: "[You] Strive to enter through the narrow gate." In the second part of today's commentary, Fr. Mike reflects on two of J…
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Day 317: Persistence in Prayer (2024)
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Fr. Mike reflects on the goodness and providence of God the Father, emphasizing how Jesus calls us to be shamelessly persistent in prayer. Fr. Mike also explains two difficult passages found in today's readings: what Jesus means when he tells the story of an unclean spirit who is cast out only to return, and what Jesus means when he says he comes n…
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Fr. Mike discusses our call to deny ourselves and take up our cross, specifically focusing on God’s call to renounce all that is ours and trust in him. He also highlights the story of Mary and Martha and encourages us not to allow the cares of life to choke the life of God out of our lives as Martha allowed her troubles and anxieties to do. Today’s…
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Day 315: The Virtue of Mercy (2024)
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In light of a series of miracles in our readings for today, Fr. Mike focuses on our Lord’s compassion and our call to be merciful, as he is. He emphasizes the beauty of God’s mercy and his offering of it despite our unworthiness. He also strikes a balance between the goodness of humanity as God’s creation and our brokenness due to original sin. Tod…
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Fr. Mike elaborates on the significance of the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River. He points out that the location of the Jordan River is particularly noteworthy because it's the same river that Joshua crossed over to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, signifying that Jesus will bring about a new exodus. Additionally, it's the lowest spo…
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Messianic Checkpoint: The Gospel of Luke (with Jeff Cavins) (2024)
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Welcome to the last Messianic Checkpoint! Jeff Cavins joins Fr. Mike to introduce the Gospel of Luke and highlight the distinctive aspects of this synoptic Gospel. We learn that the Gospel of Luke uniquely captures the humanity of Jesus, the role of women, Jesus' frequent engagement with individuals on the margins, and the mystery of the Ascension.…
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Day 313: The Ark of the New Covenant (2024)
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As we begin reading the Gospel of Luke, Fr. Mike draws our attention to Mary. He clarifies the difference between Zechariah's response and Mary's response to the angel Gabriel, and also explains why Mary is the Ark of the new Covenant. We learn that through Mary, God begins to fulfill his promises to the people of Israel. Today's readings are Luke …
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Day 312: Conclusion to the Old Testament (2024)
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Fr Mike celebrates the accomplishment of reading the entire Old Testament and wraps up the books of 2 Maccabees and Wisdom, talking through the key themes of the Old Testament visible in the conclusions to these books. He also discusses the motivation of the Maccabees to defend the temple and maintain its purity as well as uphold God’s honor. Today…
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As we get closer to the end of the Old Testament, Fr. Mike highlights one of the lessons we've seen time and time again—that God continues to fight for each of us, despite the brokenness and messiness of our lives. He also points out how the reading from Wisdom foreshadows the coming of Jesus. The readings are 2 Maccabees 14, Wisdom 17-18, and Prov…
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Day 310: Rivals for the Heart (2024)
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Fr. Mike points out how easy it is to take good things and make idols out of them, setting them up as God's rivals for our hearts. We can discover these rivals by noticing the things we prioritize over spending time with God. The readings are 2 Maccabees 13, Wisdom 15-16, and Proverbs 25:15-17. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.co…
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Day 309: Praying for the Dead (2024)
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Fr. Mike breaks down the doctrine of purgatory as we read about Judas Maccabeus and his army praying for the dead in 2 Maccabees 12. We learn that purgatory is a process of purification that our hearts need in order to be ready to love God and to enter into his presence. In our reading of Wisdom today, Fr. Mike emphasizes the insanity of worshippin…
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Fr. Mike highlights how God fights as a heavenly ally with the people of Israel in 2 Maccabees 11, and encourages us to actively fight alongside God in our daily battles. In our reading of Wisdom, Father points out how God corrects us little by little so we can learn to trust him. Today’s readings are 2 Maccabees 11, Wisdom 11-12, and Proverbs 25:8…
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Today, Fr. Mike discusses the confidence that faith in God can provide as we fight the battles of our lives. He also engages with the riddles found in Wisdom 10 and points out that we can now not only understand the characters, stories, and allusions of Scripture, but can recognize the fingerprints of God in the world around us and better understan…
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Day 306: Wisdom Is Beautiful (2024)
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Fr. Mike draws our attention to the descriptions of wisdom found in our readings for today and reflects on the beauty of wisdom’s feminine nature. He also discusses the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and offers two perspectives on reconciling God’s role in suffering. Today’s readings are from 2 Maccabees 9, Wisdom 7-8, and Proverbs 25:1-3. For the co…
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