One of my goals for 2024 was to go through the Bible in a Year podcasts. While 2024 hasn’t concluded, I’m on track to complete the series. This is the second time I’ve gone through the Bible. The first time, I read a printed Bible from the Augustine Institute. If given a choice, I definitely recommend Father Mike Schmitz’s podcast series.
If you recall, the printed Bible in a Year disappointed me. There wasn’t much description or context given for the day’s reading and I found the commentary shallow. You basically already had to “know” the Bible to understand the day’s readings. That’s not the case with Fr. Schmitz’s podcasts. Each day is about 20 minutes long split between the scripture readings and his commentary. He provides you with context and a short homily. Whenever he entered a new era in the Bible, he produced a bonus episode setting up the historical and theological context.
After going through this podcast series, I feel like I have a better understanding of the Bible. I went to an Advent Mass the other night where the Gospel went through the genealogy of Jesus. Now this would usually cause my eyes to glaze over as the priest reads off a lot of names. But this time, I actually recognized many of the names and had some recollection of who the person was and what he did (most of them bad).
I also thoroughly enjoyed Fr. Schmitz’s commentary. He has a very plain way of speaking that connects the events of the Bible to the modern day. He makes the Bible relevant. If I were to have one overall takeaway from his podcast, it’s that God constantly uses broken people to do His will. The Bible is full of stories of people disobeying God and yet He still brings ultimate redemption through His son, Jesus Christ. It’s comforting to know that God still loves us even when we don’t love Him.
RosaryMeds Site Updates
As a side note, I finished restoring my Rosary mystery virtual slides. They are better than ever and include artwork related to each mystery. The intentions and scripture are the same as what is found in my book, The Rosary Prayer Guide for the Rest of Us. Now I’m looking forward to redesigning RosaryMeds in 2025.
Check out the new Rosary decks and supercharge your Rosary prayers!