Day 257: The Old Law (2026)
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What is the Old Law and why is it called the first stage of revealed law?
Hi, my name is 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 in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 257. We're reading paragraphs 1961 to 1964. As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes a 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 C-I-Y.
And you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates, daily notifications. Day 257 today, you guys, we're getting closer to that 260 mark. we're getting close to the 360 mark for crying out loud, but 257 paragraphs, 1961 to 1964. Yesterday, we talked about the natural moral law and we had this recognition, right? This knowing that we're talking about the moral law, the law written on our hearts, but also there's the revealed law. That's what we're talking about today. The old law. Tomorrow, we'll talk about the new law or the law of the gospel. But remember, God has written the truth, right? God has written goodness in the human heart. He's written the moral law in every human heart.
There's such a thing as conscience that we all experience. Now, at the same time, St. Augustine has this great quote in paragraph 1962 from today's reading where he says, "'God wrote on the tables of the law "'what men did not read in their hearts.'" And so here is God who makes it more explicit, right? Yes, there is a moral law that's the natural law written in our human hearts. And yet God wanted to go further than that.
How does the Old Law prepare us for the Gospel according to paragraphs 1961‑1964?
He wanted to make it absolutely clear what is the right, what is the right way to walk and to walk it. Now, at the same time, it is pedagogy, right? Pedagogically, pedagogically advancing. So pedagogy is essentially pedagogy. teaching, right? It's that sense of how does God reveal himself? Well, step by step, we've talked about this so many times when I went to the Bible in a year, and even here, we've talked about it as well, where God starts at level one and he raises us to level two. If he just jumped to level seven or eight or 10, we wouldn't be able to keep up. And so here's the natural moral law written in the human heart. Then God reveals the old law, right? He ultimately, he's going to reveal the law of the gospel, right, in the new law.
But he has to start somewhere, and that's where we are today in these four paragraphs, paragraph 1961 to 64. Let us begin with a prayer. Father in heaven, we give you thanks. We give you thanks that you revealed not only your identity to us, and you've not only revealed our identity to us, you've also revealed how it is you want us to follow after you. You revealed how it is you want us to worship you, how it is you want us to cling to you, how it is you want us to obey you and love you. Lord God, help us to live up to the demands of your law, the call of your law, by the power of your grace. On our own, we can't do this. The old law, in fact, reveals that on our own, we can't do this. So send us your Holy Spirit.
Give us the grace to follow your law, to follow your will, and to do this every single day. In Jesus' name, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. It is day 257.
Why does the Catechism describe the Old Law as a “tutor” that shows what must be done?
We're reading paragraphs 1961 to 1964. The Old Law God, our Creator and Redeemer, chose Israel for Himself to be His people and revealed His law to them, thus preparing for the coming of Christ. The Law of Moses expresses many truths naturally accessible to reason. These are stated and authenticated within the covenant of salvation. The old law is the first stage of revealed law. Its moral prescriptions are summed up in the Ten Commandments.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the Old Law and why is it called the first stage of revealed law?
0:05–1:41
2
How does the Old Law prepare us for the Gospel according to paragraphs 1961‑1964?
1:41–3:21
3
Why does the Catechism describe the Old Law as a “tutor” that shows what must be done?
3:21–5:24
4
What role do the Ten Commandments play in the moral foundation of the Old Law?
5:24–6:55
5
Why can the Old Law not give us the power to fulfill its commands on its own?
6:55–8:27
6
How does the need for the Holy Spirit connect to living out the Old Law’s requirements?
8:27–10:00
7
In what way does Jesus fulfill the Old Law and give us the power to obey it?
10:00–11:37
8
What should listeners expect when we move from the Old Law to the New Law (the law of the Gospel) tomorrow?
11:37–12:49