Day 267: Indifference and Apathy (2026)

Fr. Mike Schmitz (0:01)

We can't lose our faith the way we lose our car keys. We either give it away or we let it decay because we don't use it. Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz, and in my new book, Unshakeable, Building a Life of Virtue in a World of Chaos, I tell faith-filled stories that inspire you to live a life of virtue that flows from the unshakeable power of God. Although we're surrounded by a culture that mocks virtue, we can feed ourselves stories that really do uphold what is good and promote a virtuous life. When we live this way, we experience freedom and joy like never before. It's my prayer that the stories in my book, Unshakeable, will inspire you to fight the battle for a virtuous life and win through trust in an unshakeable God. Order your copy at ascensionpress.com.

Hi, my name is Fr. Mike Schmitz and you're listening to The Bible in a Year Podcast, where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture. The Bible in a Year Podcast is brought to you by Ascension. Using The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation, discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today. It is day 267 We are in a new time period, the period of the return you might have heard Jeff and me, Jeff and me? Jeff and I, Jeff and I? No, Jeff and me. Jeff and me talk about this new time period. We have the return. The people of Israel have been in exile in Babylon and they are now going to be set free, heading back to the Promised Land. Now, remember that Cyrus, king of Persia, you're going to hear his name today, Cyrus, king of Persia, they had conquered the Babylonians. And because in the Book of the Prophets, it talked about Asyrus would be raised up and he would send his people back to their homeland, back to the Promised Land. And so Cyrus does this. So we're reading Ezra chapter 1 and 2, which is our historical book, as well as Haggai chapter 1 and 2, which is a prophetic book. We're also reading Proverbs chapter 20 verses 1 through 3 As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from is the Revised Standard Version, Second Catholic Edition. I'm using The Great Adventure Bible from Ascension. If you want to download your own Bible in a Year reading plan, you can visit ascensionpress.com/bible in a Year. You can also subscribe to this podcast by clicking on subscribe and then you would be subscribed. As I said, it's 267 We're reading Ezra chapters 1 and 2, Haggai chapter 1 and 2, which is the entire book, as well as Proverbs chapter 20 verses 1 through 3

The Book of Ezra, Chapter 1, the end of the Babylonian captivity.

In the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, King of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing. Thus says Cyrus, King of Persia, the Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the Lord, the God of Israel. He is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides free will offerings for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem. Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the Lord, which is in Jerusalem. And all who were about them, aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the Lord which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. Cyrus, king of Persia, brought these out in charge of Mithradoth, the treasurer, who countered them out to Sheshbazar, the prince of Judah. And this was the number of them, a thousand basins of gold, a thousand basins of silver, twenty-nine sensors, thirty bowls of gold, two thousand four hundred and ten bowls of silver and a thousand other vessels. All the vessels of gold and of silver were five thousand four hundred and sixty-nine. All these did Sheshbazar bring up when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem.