How God Speaks to Us

What this episode is about

The discussion focuses on how God communicates with humanity, drawing parallels to the movie "The Truman Show," where the protagonist seeks deeper meaning beyond his confined reality. It emphasizes that God's divine revelation mirrors this search for truth, as He reveals Himself to us through Scripture and creation, adapting His message to our understanding as a loving Father.

Key takeaways

• Like Truman, our search for truth may feel like a cinematic journey, but it's our real-life script.
• God's revelation isn't a cliffhanger; it's a full Netflix series—rich, unfolding, and totally binge-worthy!
• Patience is key in understanding divine revelation; even a master chef doesn't whip up a feast in minutes.
• Eagerness to know God is like tuning in weekly; sometimes, the story deepens before you grasp the plot.
• Divine communication is like an engaging podcast; it flows better when you let the words wash over you.

Who speaks in this episode?

• Fr. Mike Schmitz (Host) · 7 min speaking
• Unknown Guest (Guest) · 3 min speaking

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: Catechism, Divine Revelation
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Catechism
3. 6:00 – 9:00: Catechism, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Christ Jesus
4. 9:00 – 10:15: Apostolic Succession, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, The Disciples

Notable quotes from "How God Speaks to Us"

• At some point you know God speaks through his creation but at some point he speaks to man well how does it say in the catechism it says that God's Divine condescension he…

  about Catechism · at 0:56

• And they're going to be like oh whoa this is too much for me this is yeah this is Bible yeah Jesus with a lamb rounds I get that but you know this word divinization what's that…

  about Bible · at 3:39

• Small too small yeah and that's what I would encourage people in at the beginning of this is I think by the time you're done you're going to find out your God was too small you…

  about Your God is Too Small · at 7:08

• Call the deposit of faith that Jesus gave to the apostles that is was given in written scripture and in the sacred tradition sacred scripture sacred tradition and a lot of…

  about Sacred Scripture · at 8:34

• Comes the part of well yeah that was them but what about me how does it get to me and that's where we have Apostolic succession which is so important that these early disciples…

  about Apostolic Succession · at 9:22

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Christ Jesus — Person · Core referenced figure · 1 mention · first at 8:27
  Jesus is identified as 'the Living Word' and the source of the deposit of faith given to the apostles. He is also referenced via Luke 24 (Emmaus Road) as an example of teaching transmitted to the Church.
  Book although we love the book we're not people of the book we're people of the word and specifically the Living Word Jesus and this Revelation what we call the deposit of…
• The Disciples — Person · Referenced group (apostolic witnesses) · 1 mention · first at 9:04
  The disciples are referenced as the original hearers and transmitters of Jesus' teaching, which listeners wish they could have heard directly. The episode argues that through Tradition and succession, believers effectively do receive that teaching.
  Think I wish I had a CD you know and we want to be back there we want to hear what the disciples and The Disciples of the disciples heard and taught well guess what you get to yeah you get to and more yes and more and so we understand that.
• JB Phillips — Person · Referenced author · 1 mention · first at 7:04
  JB Phillips is cited as the author of a book used to summarize a key pastoral point: many people's conception of God is too limited and will expand through studying the Catechism.
  Know and it reminds me of there was a book written I think it was in the 60s I think it was in the late 60s by JB Phillips and it's called your God is too small yeah and that's…

Books & papers

• Bible — Book · Referenced authority · 1 mention · first at 6:29
  The Bible is referenced as a common entry point for many listeners and as part of the broader study alongside the Catechism. It is also contrasted with the idea that Christians are not merely 'people of the book' but of the Living Word.
• Your God is Too Small — Book · Referenced book · 1 mention · first at 7:06
  The book is invoked to reinforce the theme that studying revelation (via Catechism/faith) expands one's understanding of God beyond simplistic images. It functions as a recommended framing for the listener's journey.

Concepts & topics

• God — Concept · Core topic · 18 mentions
  God is presented as the one who both prompts humanity's search and actively reveals himself. The discussion frames the Catechism as a guided encounter with God's self-disclosure and fatherly communication.
• Catechism — Concept · Core topic · 7 mentions · first at 1:00
  The Catechism is the primary framework used to map the episode's themes: humanity's search for God, God's revelation, and how that revelation is transmitted. It is also discussed pastorally as a text that can feel difficult at first and requires patience and eagerness.
• Divine Revelation — Concept · Core topic · 2 mentions · first at 0:53
  Divine Revelation is explained as God 'pulling back the curtain' to reveal himself in words and deeds. The Truman Show analogy is used to illustrate the moment of disclosure from the Creator to the human person.
  You know that's we're we're we're searching for God but then in divine revelation what God does is he pulls back the curtain and he begins to reveal himself and so the…
• Sacred Scripture — Concept · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at 8:05
  Sacred Scripture is named as one of the two modes by which God's revelation is handed on. It is paired explicitly with Sacred Tradition as part of the deposit of faith.
• Sacred Tradition — Concept · Core topic · 3 mentions · first at 8:08
  Sacred Tradition is emphasized as potentially 'new to some people' and is presented as co-equal with Scripture in transmitting revelation. It is tied to the desire to hear what the earliest disciples taught and how that teaching reaches believers today.
  In the catechism that God reveals himself in word ined in sacred scripture but he also reveals himself in sacred tradition which may be new to some people new to some people…
• Apostolic Succession — Concept · Core topic (mechanism of transmission) · 1 mention · first at 9:27
  Apostolic Succession is presented as the answer to 'how does it get to me'—the means by which the deposit of faith is preserved and passed on through ordained bishops without alteration.
• The Living Word — Concept · Key theological emphasis · 1 mention · first at 8:27
  The Living Word is used to clarify Christian identity: not merely centered on a text, but on a person—Jesus. This supports the Scripture-and-Tradition framing of revelation.
  Book although we love the book we're not people of the book we're people of the word and specifically the Living Word Jesus and this Revelation what we call the deposit of…

Media & podcasts

• The Truman Show — Media · Illustrative analogy · 4 mentions
  The Truman Show provides the episode's central metaphor: Truman's questioning and the Creator's announcement mirror humanity's search and God's self-revelation. The 'curtain pulled back' image is explicitly linked to revelation.
  Remember the movie Truman... the Trum show.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:00 remember the movie Truman absolutely the Trum show yeah and uh Jim Carrey yes and he doesn't know it but the Hollywood set is his whole life everyone else is watching him everybody else has popcorn and drinks and they're watching him every week and they're sponsors to the show and everything else and he begins to search he begins to ask questions there's got to be more there's got to be more and he looks at the ocean which is only about 100 yards long he doesn't know it and the director is like uhoh we got a problem we got a problem here and he gets into the boat oh no send a storm send a storm and they can't stop him and finally he runs into the end of his world yeah and what do the directors say he comes over the loudspeaker yeah and he says and he says he says Truman and trumman says who are you and the director says I'm the Creator wow yeah that's divine revelation it is because at some point you know God speaks

0:58 through his creation but at some point he speaks to man well how does it say in the catechism it says uh that God's Divine condescension he speaks yeah to us as a father to his children exactly yeah he comes down to our level and he adjusts his language to uh our weakness yeah and he speaks to us and that's the beautiful thing about about the Creed here we in the in the uh censing catechism they divide it up into Divine re Revelation and uh the Creed and then under divine revelation it's the search and that's the that's the Truman thing you know that's we're we're we're searching for God but then in divine revelation what what God does is he he pulls back the curtain and he begins to reveal himself and so the catechism talks about how he begins to reveal himself in scripture in words and deeds and as he as he reveals himself we come to know more of the father and what's he like what can we depend on and uh it

2:00 becomes it becomes very very exciting you know to to know that he's actually revealing himself to me he's not hiding he's saying here I am right he's it's the opposite of hiding yeah he's revealing yeah and know you know so interest interesting as you're mentioning this um I think some of the the uh here is the man's capacity for God as you said here's the our hunger our search our longing for God and then here here is responding to us um in those first paragraphs uh we had the beginning yesterday we had the prologue that whole the words before and then tomorrow we're going to start with the next piece again this beginning of the search um in your experience of getting into the catechism um just even that those beginning paragraphs are there any challenges or difficulties that you found in those because I I know that it pretty soon starts ramping up and starts getting to as you mentioned here's God revealing

2:52 himself revealing his heart and sometimes as he does that our hearts get on fire you know but sometimes before that there can be I don't know maybe how would I say this there can be a little bit of windup um where it's not sweeping me off my feet immediately and I want to just ask if you have any because you've been teaching the catechism in The cical Institute for 15 years and so leading people through the catechism just before we go into like the rest of the the map here of the Tre what are some like obstacles right away people might find right at the beginning that's a good question that's a really good question because as you begin that reading of the first paragraph that God has a plan of sheer goodness uh you're going to start reading and people are going to be reading with you and listening to you and they're going to come across words that they've never heard before and uh and they're going to be like oh whoa

3:41 this is this is too much for me this is yeah this is uh Bible yeah Jesus with a lamb rounds I get that but you know this word divinization what's that about and so I think people need to relax and and go along for the ride and take as much as you can in I mean you got to think about this we're not talking about how to put some kind of little plastic car together or something we're talking about the God of the universe disclosing himself but in a way that that we can understand and you you have to be I think a little bit a little patient with it and realize you're not going to get everything you know the first time but you listen with the heart of a son with the heart of a daughter who wants to know more about dad wants to know more about their father and so that eager heart is important you know you're not just kind of casually reading about this but you are giving yourself to it with the hopes that you can learn more about

4:41 them and discover more about yourself yeah that makes sense eagerness and you also kind of mentioned some patience yeah right that sense of thing able to say okay if I don't get it I that's one of the reasons I love podcasts and audiobooks is because if I'm reading something with my own eyeballs and I might get hung up on a sentence that I'm like I don't know what this is I don't know that I don't know what that just said I stop but if it's being read to me it's we keep moving and then what usually happens is as I keep hearing I get more more context clues and like oh okay now I I more or less get the gist and so that's why I think that um eagerness God is he wants to reveal himself to me patience and I would say maybe even patience not only with myself and my own limitations but also maybe some patience with the fact that today's reading or whatever the day it is might not answer all the questions that I have

5:28 but we're going to get to those I think there's something about that too that's just like okay we're on like you said we're on this journey just continue to let yourself be led yeah and constantly hear the words in the back of your of your mind God saying I want to know you and I want you to know me I want you to know me and this is part this is part of that even I again go back to that you know sometimes in our prayer my prayer maybe not yours um I want to and maybe this is even the Bible I go to I approach God wanting a certain thing so whether that's reading the Bible I want to be inspired or I'm in prayer and I I want to be consoled and that might not be what God wants for me at that moment maybe he just wants but he's he might say but I have this word for you and I think part of that is also trusting each day even if I wasn't blown away by this article of faith or by this this teaching we just got today but that's

6:15 what he had for me today yeah and so I think that that I think it goes hand in hand right here with the search revelation of God revealing himself to us that um trusting that we're going to get it and you're going to be stretched in this study you're going to be stretched because you come into the study you come into the catechism in the Bible and many people went through the Bible in a year and you come into it with this sort of okay I think I kind of figured I know what's going on here you know and God you know father son holy spirit all right I'm uncomfortable this and then prepare for your world to expand and your understanding of God will understand you're like oh my gosh yours is so much bigger than I thought yeah you are so much bigger it's so great what a family you're the Mary the Saints the sacraments is wow yeah you know and it reminds me of there was a book written I think it was in the 60s I

7:04 think it was in the late 60s by JB Phillips and it's called your God is too small too small yeah and that's what I would encourage people in at the beginning of this is uh I think by the time you're done you're going to find out your God was too small you know and that he's much bigger and and be open to that yeah that that makes so much sense and that I think again addresses some of those initial obstacles that people are going to experience I think you know we get to like the moral life this I think it might be a challenge every day when it gets to the sacramental life something illumination every day but part of this God revealing himself uh is is is both both uh challenging both revealing Illuminating um so going back to uh as you're highlighting the foundations of faith on this the catechism in ear chart um you talked about how God reveals himself in a unique way and then the next section is

7:56 pretty remarkable too or actually no in that section is transmission of yeah he reveals himself and it's very specific in the catechism that God reveals himself uh in word ined in sacred scripture but he also reveals himself in sacred tradition which may be new to some people new to some people yeah you know and you have to realize that we as as Christians we are not people of the book although we love the book we're not people of the book we're people of the word and specifically the The Living Word Jesus and this Revelation what we call the deposit of faith that Jesus gave to the apostles that is was given in in in written scripture and in the sacred tradition sacred scripture sacred tradition and a lot of people say well man I wish I could have been back there right oh that'd be so cool to know it to hear all of this you know like you hear people read uh Luke 24 with the emus Road and Jesus gives this talk and they

8:59 think I wish I had a CD you know and and we want to be back there we want to hear what the disciples and The Disciples of the disciples heard and taught well guess what you get to get to yeah you get to and more yes and and more and so we we understand that God is revealing himself in sacred scripture and sacred tradition but then comes the the part of well yeah that was them but what about me how does it get to me and that's where we have Apostolic succession which is so important that these early disciples they they ordained Bishops who were entrusted with the same deposit of faith not to change it not to add subtract but to keep this deposit of faith and to systematically and organically keep passing this on to the next generation for

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "How God Speaks to Us"?

Fr. Mike Schmitz (Host), Unknown Guest (Guest).

What is "How God Speaks to Us" about?

The discussion focuses on how God communicates with humanity, drawing parallels to the movie "The Truman Show," where the protagonist seeks deeper meaning beyond his confined reality. It emphasizes that God's divine revelation mirrors this search for truth, as He reveals Himself to us through Scripture and creation, adapting His message to our understanding as a loving Father.

What is mentioned in this The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) episode?

13 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including God, Catechism, Divine Revelation, Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, Christ Jesus. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "How God Speaks to Us"?

The episode runs 10 min; the transcript is about 1,982 words in 11 timestamped sections.

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