The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) Day 5: How We Know God (2026)
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Jan 5, 2026 Explore how human reason can affirm God's existence, as Fr. Mike delves into the limitations we face in fully knowing Him. Discover the concept of self-surrender, emphasizing the struggle between our disordered appetites and belief. The discussion elaborates on how our language can only imperfectly express divine realities, using analogies that highlight both resemblance and dissimilarity between Creator and creation. The need for revelation is underscored, reminding us of the infinite gap we must navigate to understand the divine.
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Natural Reason Reveals God
- Human reason can know God with certainty by observing creation and the human heart.
- This capacity is necessary to welcome divine revelation, because we are made in God's image.
Obstacles Limit Our Reason
- Reason is capable but impaired by obstacles like senses, imagination, and disordered appetites from original sin.
- Therefore we need God's revelation even for truths human reason could grasp in principle.
Embrace Self-Surrender
- Accept that knowing God requires self-surrender and abnegation, not just intellectual assent.
- Resist the temptation to deny truths you find unpleasant, which your disordered appetites promote.
