Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Hello, everyone. My name is Dr Brian Thatcher, and welcome to Mercy Unbound. It’s a show that aims to provide hope, give an avenue for healing, and help you understand and live the great mercy of God. With me today, I’m very honored to have a special guest, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. He has had so many life experiences that I could take the whole show just telling you about him, but I will give a brief overview. He was born in 1961. He’s a Catholic priest and a bishop, serving as auxiliary bishop of Estonian Kazakhstan. He’s a member of the Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra. That order was founded in 1131 in Portugal. He was born in the Soviet Union. His parents were German settlers who lived along the northern coast of the Black Sea in the Ural Mountains. At the end of World War Two, his family was evacuated to Berlin and deported to a labor camp. His family was closely involved with the underground church. Bishop’s mother, Maria, was one of several women to shelter Blessed Alexa Zeritsky, a Ukrainian priest imprisoned and later martyred by the Soviet regime.
As a boy, he and his three siblings attended clandestine Masses with their parents, often traveling many miles to the family’s home, taking a train in the morning and returning late at night. After making his first communion in secret, he emigrated with his family to West Germany. As I mentioned, he’s a priest in the order of the Canons Regular. He was ordained in 1990, spent years as a priest in Brazil, returned to Central Asia, and in 2006, he was consecrated a bishop at the Altar of the Chair of Saint Peter in the Vatican by Cardinal Angelo Scola. In 2011, he was transferred to the position of auxiliary bishop and is the General Secretary of the Bishops’ Conference in Kazakhstan. He speaks many languages and reads Latin and Ancient Greek. He’s known for his traditionalism and supports the liturgical tradition of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue.
There’s so much more I could talk about. He’s written a book with Cardinal Burke and others called the Declaration of Truths to reaffirm traditional Church teaching. What I’ve asked him to discuss today is this incredible book called Credo, a compendium of the Catholic faith. It’s available at SophiaInstitute.com. Bishop, what I really enjoyed about it is that we have Divine Mercy prayer groups all over the world, and we use a similar format of reading and then questions, which is a well-accepted way for people to learn. You have many great commentators on your work. One that most Americans would know is Scott Hahn, who wrote a beautiful commentary in the book.
You have had an incredible life, Bishop, with many joys and, I suspect, many trials and sorrows. I wonder if we could start with this: you have a deep love for the Catholic faith, and it seems you had incredible parents who instilled the faith in you. Did they play a big role in your love of the Catholic Church, your faith, and your life?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, I consider it a great grace that I had truly Catholic parents, both father and mother. It is the greatest grace of my life, greater than the priesthood, greater than the Episcopacy, the fact that I received the Catholic faith with mother’s milk, so to speak. Since I can remember, I saw both parents praying and giving catechism to my siblings and me at home during the persecution of the Church in a communist society. Both parents were engaged as activists in the underground Church. I consider this one of the greatest graces that divine providence gave me, the pure Catholic faith.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: In America, we take so much for granted. People say, I have to go to Mass, but they really don’t understand the Mass, the Eucharist, and all these things. I listened to your story and read your story, and I’m just amazed at your life. What led you to the order, the Canons Regular? I never heard of that order, not being from Portugal, but what charism or what drew you to it?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: I would say it was divine providence. Looking back, I do not know how it happened. I was already an adolescent, around 15 years old in Germany, seriously thinking about where I could study and receive a good priestly formation. In the 70s in Germany, I saw that all seminaries and monasteries were infiltrated and contaminated by modernism. Since I grew up in the clandestine Church, I had an instinct against liberalism and modernism, instinctively as a child, then as an adolescent and youth. I prayed that when I finished high school, the Lord would give me a sign of where I could receive good priestly formation.
Since the age of 13, I was convinced that I had to become a priest and a religious priest. I had a deep longing for monastic life as a boy. A neighbor gave us some religious journals, and one flyer described a community of Canons Regular in Austria, including their charism and schedule. I saw photos of priests vested in cassocks, exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Communion on the tongue, and Marian devotion. The address and phone were there, and I kept the flyer, deciding I would go there after school.
Six months later, after Mass in another church, a man approached me because he noticed I was the only one receiving Holy Communion kneeling. He invited me to make a retreat with good priests. I agreed and traveled over 100 miles by bus with a group to the retreat house. The priests were vested in cassocks, celebrated Mass facing the Lord, in Latin, and everyone received Communion on the tongue. I was deeply impressed. I asked the priest where he came from, and he said Austria, from the Canons Regular. I showed him the flyer, and he confirmed it was the same community. This was the second sign of Providence, and I entered there.
The congregation was founded in the 11th century in Coimbra, Portugal. St Anthony of Padua was a member and ordained in this congregation before joining the Franciscans. The order was suppressed by the Masonic government of Portugal in the 19th century. In the 70s, some Portuguese bishops asked a group of priests to restore it with permission from the Holy See. The priests in Portugal and Austria, linked to the Work of the Holy Angel to spread devotion to the Holy Angels, restored the order.
The charism is the solemn liturgy, devotion to the Holy Eucharist, veneration of the Holy Cross, special Friday devotion, meditation on the passion of Our Lord, and veneration of the Holy Angels. The order also helps priests by giving spiritual support. These are the main points of the charism.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Bishop, as I mentioned, you’ve written this beautiful book, available through Sophia Press, a compendium of the Catholic faith. And you also have a study journal that goes with it, which is wonderful for groups to meet, talk, share, and discuss their faith. What led you to write this?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Well, it was not my idea. It was the father of a large family from the United States who asked me to do this. Together, we started this project more than a year ago. I accepted the request and worked about a year on the content with the help of seven theologians from different countries. With the help of God, we wanted to provide this catechism as spiritual help to the faithful in our time of tremendous confusion in doctrine, morals, and liturgy. We also wanted to address current topics not covered in the catechism of John Paul II, such as gender ideology, transsexualism, Freemasonry, pagan ecology, and other ambiguous issues left since the council.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: I’ll make a comment. Dr. Scott Hahn said of your work that it is full of pure doctrine rendered in clear and direct prose. That is another thing I enjoyed, because it is easy to follow even for someone without theological training. What led you to use this type of format, where people study and learn through questions and answers?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, it is a proven method for centuries. The format of short questions and answers is easier for common people to read, go through, and sometimes memorize. The catechism of John Paul II is written as a theological manual, which can be difficult for common people to read. I chose this method because it is easier from a pedagogical point of view.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Bishop, you are such a learned person, and I’d like you to share some thoughts on the dogma of the Eucharist. Please tell us what your thoughts are on the great gift of the Eucharist.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Oh yes, the Eucharist is the Lord truly present among us, substantially, with all his divine, redeeming love. The Holy Mass is the true presence of the sacrifice of Golgotha. It is deeply touching. The Holy Ghost contains the real, substantial presence of the immolated Body and Blood of Christ, His soul, and the fullness of His divinity. It is really God dwelling with us truly. This is the heart of the Church. The spiritual health of our age depends on the Eucharist. From the veneration and love of the Eucharist, even outside the liturgy, depends the spiritual height or decline of the Church. Today, we are living in an enormous decline, which no one can deny.
The Holy Eucharist is more outraged and desecrated by priests and children of the Church than ever before. In a sense, our Lord spiritually suffers again in the Eucharist, and we must renew the Eucharist through proper reverence. This begins with Holy Communion. We meet our Lord concretely in the host. We must kneel before the majesty of God, be humble like children, and receive Him with care. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament should be spread, possibly even perpetual adoration, and we should begin a crusade of Eucharistic reparation. The Angel of Fatima said in 1916: console your God in the Eucharist, who is so horribly outraged. This is timely now. We need a worldwide Eucharistic reparation to console the Lord in the Eucharist.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: In America, at sporting events, 80,000 or 90,000 people may come, but at Mass, so few attend. If people truly understood the Eucharist, they would be rushing to get in. Where in the Bible does Jesus talk about the Eucharist?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The most well-known is John 6. It contains a beautiful theology of the Real Presence. The Lord said, “I am the bread of life. My flesh and blood are truly food. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.” Then at the Last Supper, the words of consecration show Transubstantiation, where Christ transforms the bread and wine into His body and blood. He gave this power to the apostles, constituting them priests of the New Covenant, and it remains in the Church until He comes again.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: When we receive, what should the disposition of our souls be?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: First, faith. We must believe in the Real Presence, even without seeing, as Thomas did. Blessed are those who do not see but believe. We see the bread, but we believe it is truly the Body and Divinity of Christ.
Second, humility. We must recognize our unworthiness, like the centurion who said, “I am not worthy that you come under my roof.” This is deep humility in the presence of Christ. Third, be childlike, not like an adult Pharisee or scribe. Receive with openness and simplicity. Finally, love. A burning love for the Lord present in the Eucharist.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: There’s so much confusion in the States, and we see it in our politicians. There are pro-abortion politicians, and they’re still receiving Communion. To me, as a non-theologian, it seems incompatible to receive. But what are your thoughts on that?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Yes, these politicians who publicly promote horrible, abominable things which contradict God’s commandments, things that grievously offend God, cannot receive Holy Communion properly. As Holy Scripture says, they are eating their own judgment. It is cruel when bishops or priests admit such persons to Holy Communion. Why is it cruel? Because it exposes them to serious divine judgment.
For the love of these souls, we must admonish them not to receive Communion and, if necessary, prohibit them from doing so, always calling them with love and patience to conversion. This is the Church’s call, as Christ and the apostles always called people to convert and believe. When there is a sincere will, God will give sufficient grace for these people to change their lives.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: When we go to weddings or funerals, there may be non-Christians or people of other faiths who shouldn’t receive Communion. Should priests explain this teaching during these events, especially when people may not know what they’re receiving?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: In such solemn contexts, it can be disturbing if a priest addresses this issue publicly. It might be better simply not to distribute Communion at all during weddings, except to the couple, who should confess and purify their souls beforehand. Only those properly disposed should receive Holy Communion. The same applies at funerals.
Some pious people, parents, or family members may regret this, but they should accept it as a small sacrifice and make a spiritual communion instead. People have lived for years without Holy Communion and still remained saints, for example, in the Soviet Union. Missing Communion on a Saturday wedding, for instance, doesn’t prevent receiving it the following Sunday. Avoiding confusion and creating two classes of people, those who do and those who don’t receive, is important. My opinion is simply: in general celebrations, Holy Communion should not be distributed, except where all participants are practicing Catholics.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Bishop, for many years, I’ve read about Eucharistic miracles in our ministry. We are under the Marian Fathers, the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, and our ministry is the Eucharistic Apostles of Divine Mercy. Just two days ago, someone sent me a photo that looked like an Eucharistic miracle. These things happen, yet bishops often say to consume it or discard it. Share your thoughts on Eucharistic miracles and why the Lord allows them.
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: The Lord allows these miracles in His mercy to give us signs, to awaken our love, reverence, and faith, just as He did during His life. When He performed miracles, the Pharisees and high priests did not believe, but the simple people did.
Today, some bishops or priests may not believe when a miracle occurs, behaving similarly to the Pharisees. The Church must investigate and verify if a miracle is genuine, ruling out natural causes or deception. Once established as supernatural, bishops should promote devotion and worship to foster Eucharistic reverence and faith.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Bishop, you mentioned humility. In the real world, humility is often frowned upon. But in spiritual life, isn’t it essential?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: Humility is the foundation of all spiritual life. Without humility, you cannot approach God. The greatest sin is pride, the sin of Lucifer, and pride also led Adam and Eve to sin. Disobedience to God stems from pride.
God chose humility to redeem us: He humbled Himself at Christmas, on the Cross, and even in the Holy Eucharist. Humility heals the wounds of pride. Therefore, humility is the foundation of our life of faith.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: One last question: Catholics are sometimes accused of loving the Blessed Mother too much. I look at my own mother, and even I can’t love her as much as I love my mother. How should we understand devotion to the Blessed Mother?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: She is the Mother of God and of our Savior, Jesus Christ. By the Fourth Commandment, we are to honor our parents. On the Cross, Jesus gave His mother to us as our spiritual mother.
We should love her even more than our earthly mother because she gave birth to Christ and, through Him, to us spiritually. Throughout all generations, the Church has praised and honored her. Loving her deeply is logical and in line with Christ’s gift.
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: I want to mention again the compendium of the Catholic faith that Bishop has put together. It’s available at Sophia Press and SophiaInstitute.com. It really helps people understand and live their faith. Bishop, any closing thoughts for those watching today?
Bishop Athanasius Schneider: I want to encourage you to love the Catholic faith deeply. It is God’s greatest treasure. Read traditional catechisms, the Baltimore Catechism, and other old catechisms, because they present the Catholic faith clearly and simply. For this faith, we should be ready to give our lives.
Live a deep, personal union with Christ. Faith isn’t only knowing in your head; it’s living with the Lord every day. Love Him, especially in the Holy Eucharist. Adore Him in the tabernacle. Be a true child of Mary. This is the surest path to heaven. May God bless you: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Praise be Jesus Christ!
Dr. Bryan Thatcher: Bishop, thank you for joining us today on Mercy Unbound. I hope we can have you back for more teachings from your wealth of knowledge. God bless you for all you do. And to our viewers, please subscribe, share, and help spread the gift of faith, the Eucharist, and devotion to the Blessed Mother. You can find the video on our YouTube channel and the podcast on all major platforms. For more information, visit DrBrianThatcher.com.