Faith Mountain

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Before we can begin the climb up Faith Mountain, you will need to get the official guide book - The Bible.  You will be reading it every day, and you cannot get up the mountain without it.  There are many different versions of the bible.  If you don't have one, you may be able to get one from a family member, friend or from a local church.   

Another important aspect to climbing Faith Mountain is attending church every week.   The mass is when we dedicate time to worship God, give thanks to God, continue to grow our faith in God and form a relationship with other believers.  When choosing a church, prioritize finding a community where you feel welcomed, can actively participate in the sacraments, and where the preaching aligns with your understanding of the Catholic faith; essentially, look for a church where you can grow spiritually and feel connected to other believers through shared values and practices. 

Prayer is  communicating with God.  All good relationships require open and daily communication.  The more you pray, the more you will grow in faith with God.  There is no one right way to pray, but there is one wrong way - when you are not praying at all.  

Living an inspired life means finding meaning in your life and using it to positively impact others.  These may involve being a role model, being open to new experiences, practicing gratitude, nurturing relationships, giving back, being resilient and being creative.   While you strive to live inspired, you will also be inspiring others.  Inspiration is a reciprocal force, so by inspiring others, you can also be inspired. 

Some ways to find inspiration include: Getting physical activity, Approaching a narrative from a different perspective, Speaking to people and sharing ideas, and Watching a movie.   Use the link below to enjoy some inspiration to help you on your journey.

Through our experience, we find that there is great benefit in being part of a team when climbing Faith Mountain.  While the journey of faith can be a very personal and individual, there are many benefits to being part of a team.  We encourage you to reach out and invite some others to join your hiking team.  This will give you an opportunity to discuss your daily experiences and also help others start their own journey of faith.   You can also spend time praying together.  

If you cannot find any others to join your team, don't let that deter you.  We provide you with a lot of team members beginning with you and the Lord.  You will also meet many new team members on your journey.

Before getting started, we encourage everyone to say goodbye.   Go and look in the mirror and say goodbye to the old you.   You will no longer be seeing that person in the mirror.  And when climbing Faith Mountain, we recommend that you use a small backpack just for the essentials.  If you have accumulated a lot of unnecessary, heavy and old baggage over the years, this journey of faith will help you determine what to do with all of it.  

Father Mike Schmitz is the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth as well as the Chaplain for the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. He is the host of the widely popular podcasts, “Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” produced by Ascension. Father Mike also offers weekly homilies on iTunes, Hallow, and bulldogCatholic.org and has appeared in programs for youth and young adults through Ascension Press, as well as through regular short video messages on Ascension Presents. 

The name Bulldog Catholic is based on the bulldog mascot for the university's sports teams.  The mascot's name is Champ.   A Bulldog is described as friendly, courageous and calm. The term bulldog is also a complimentary English idiom for somebody who's tough, tenacious and gets things done, especially in the face of adversity.  We should all strive to be Bulldog Catholics and Champs in faith.  

Father Mike Schmitz will be your group leader for this climb, with occasional guidance from the senior group leader Bishop Robert Barron.  Both of them have been leading the faithful up this mountain for years, and they have some great stories to tell.  The stories are listed below by category.

In The Bible in a Year podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz guides you through the entire Bible in 365 episodes. Using an exclusive reading plan rooted in The Bible Timeline (a ground-breaking approach to understanding salvation history developed by Biblical scholar Jeff Cavins) you won’t just read the Bible … you’ll finally understand how all the pieces fit together to tell an amazing story that continues in your life today!   

As of April 2024, the podcast has been downloaded over 700 million times.  

If you have ever wanted to understand what it means to be Catholic and allow those truths to shape your life—this podcast is for you!  In 365 days, we will read the entire Catechism of the Catholic Church.  You will understand the essentials of the Catholic Faith and why they matter, see how the Church is rooted in Sacred Scripture and absorb over 2000 years of Sacred Tradition.  You will encounter God's plan of sheer goodness and transform you relationship with the Church that Christ founded.

2023 was the first year for "The Catechism in a Year" and it finished the year will 83 Million Downloads and a Flood of Enthusiastic Listener Testimonials

Not sure which way to go for more information on your journey of faith?   Just click on the button below to see many valuable sources to help you "make straight the path of the Lord in your heart".