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 and God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 29. We're reading paragraphs 2238 to 2243. As always, I am 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

slash. 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 slash C-I-Y. You also can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily notifications. Quick as we launch into Day 290, thank you so much for all of you who have continued to pray. Man, the last couple days I think I've asked, I might be specifically have asked for more prayers. I'm not sure if I did, but I meant it. I meant to. So thank you so much for praying for me and for praying for all the people who create this podcast. Thank you also for those who have supported us materially because we couldn't do this podcast without your support, without your prayers,

without your financial support. So thank you so much. As we launched into day 290,

yesterday we talked about the duties of family and the kingdom, right? So I owe more to the Lord and to the church than I do to my family. That takes precedence. The civil authorities also have

a responsibility over us. And we talked about

those duties of civil authorities yesterday. Today we have the duties of citizens. And I think this

is going to be a really great opportunity. Once again, once again, for us to rediscover or be

reminded or even just discover straight out the duties that we have as citizens as Catholic Christians

living in this world in the 21st century,

this is what we're responsible for. These are our duties. And so to prepare ourselves, to prepare

our hearts and our minds, let us call upon the Lord and pray. We pray, Father in heaven,

in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, and the power of your Holy Spirit. I ask that you please

open our minds and open our hearts that we can more fully conform

our minds to your mind, to your will. Lord God, help us not to think in the wisdom of the world,

but help us think with the mind of Christ. Let us not follow the way of the world, but help us to follow

the way of you. Lord God, help us to not follow the kingdom of man, but the kingdom of God.

That's who we truly want to belong to. That's who we truly want to serve. You, Lord God,

in your kingdom. So, please, where we are blind, we ask that you give us a sight. Where we choose

to ignore certain areas, we ask that you please wake us up. And Lord God, where we have the vision of the world, the lens of the world, we ask you to give us a biblical lens. We ask you to give us your lens. Help us to see this world and our place in it as it truly is, as you reveal it to be. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. In the name of the Father,

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