The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

The value of a new parishioner introducing him or herself to parish life and just asking the priest, “How can I help?” is priceless. When entering a new community, we may have all of these ideas about what we can do to help, but to listen and simply tell the leaders that you are available shows humility and understanding. Fr. Mike knows firsthand about all of the different types of parishioners who are on fire for the Faith, and want to do something to enrich parish life. The ones who end up helping the most are those who in essence say, “I am your servant. Tell me what I can do for you.”

Fr. Mike breaks down the real definition of love, which is willing the good of the other for the other. He goes further than that though, saying that if we truly believe in Christ, then the loving thing to do would be to share Christ with others by being his witness. St. Valentine risked his life by being a witness for Christ and for love. In our calling as Christians, let’s be courageous and love others not just by doing good deeds for them, but by sharing Christ with them.

Fr. Mike explains how God restores our brokenness, especially when it comes to our bodies. So often, we find that the more precious a thing is, the more fragile it is. And when something precious is broken, we often think it’s become worthless. Like when we break a fragile teacup, we throw it away because it no longer has value. But that’s not the way it is with our bodies. God created us to be temples of the Holy Spirit, something very precious. But we’re not like fragile teacups. If we’re broken, if we’ve been abused, if we’ve been taken advantage of, or even if we’ve chosen to give in to temptation, we’re not worthless. God restores us. And through his grace, we are restored to even greater glory.

Yes, you are a burden. We are all burdens, including Fr. Mike, but we are burdens worth carrying. Many of us choose to deal with our problems on our own because we don’t want to bring our mess into other people’s lives. But the very nature of love is to sacrifice for others, and we cannot have any meaningful relationships in our lives if we do not share our burdens and bear some of the weight of other people’s burdens. “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”—Galatians 6:2

It may seem too difficult, or even unrealistic, to be a saint today. The reality is though, a saint is simply someone who has conformed their will to the Father’s will rather than the spirit of the age. Fr. Mike mentions three popular mentalities that prevent us from becoming saints: Our hearts want instant gratification, while becoming like Christ is a process. Fr. Mike’s advice is learn to love the process. We like keeping our options open, but becoming a saint requires giving everything to Christ. We lack a fighting spirit. A saint needs a willingness to fight the good fight, especially when the spiritual battle is hardest. Fr. Mike makes it abundantly clear that the only thing preventing us from becoming a saint is ourselves, because God’s grace is enough.

God has his commandments and everything, but aren’t there times when there are exceptions to God’s rule? It’s a trick we’ve all tried to pull. When a particular sin is too hard for us to avoid, we say to God—or perhaps a priest—something like, “I know the Church says don’t do this thing, but in my case it’s different.” In my case, there are obstacles that make avoiding the sin impossible. In my case, I think doing that thing is justified because of xyz, in my case … etcetera. This is what Fr. Mike calls exceptionism (not to be confused with exceptionalism). Exceptionism, Fr. Mike says, is the belief that God will make an exception for you when it comes to his judgment of a certain sin. There’s a reason why we say justice is blind, and our God is the God of justice. He will always be merciful to the contrite heart, but—contrary to what many people believe today—he doesn’t make exceptions to the law he gave us.

Why is skipping mass a mortal sin? And when we do go to mass, why do we need to receive communion in a state of grace? It’s tempting to believe we can love God in whatever way suits us, but that’s not how love works. The way we express our love for God is through obedience and worship. Fr. Mike speaks a harsh truth when he says, “If you love God on your own terms, you don’t love God, you love yourself.” In the first of two explanations, Fr. Mike explains that going to Mass on Sunday is our weekly chance to prove our love for God. Fr. Mike’s second lesson in this video addresses the issue of receiving Communion in the state of mortal sin, which follows the logic of the first lesson above. Communion with God is only possible once we have been reconciled with God and his Church. Both Christ and St. Paul make this clear: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brothe

Who would have thought algebra and data could be the key to discernment? Fr. Mike explains that the discernment journey isn’t always about having this epiphany moment where your life’s purpose immediately becomes clear to you. Figuring out what God’s will is for you sometimes requires a step-by-step process where you gather data, so you can come closer to the answer you’re looking for. That’s how Fr. Mike found his vocation as a priest. It required a lot prayer, time in adoration, talking with others, and visits to seminaries. Only once he gathered enough data to be able to “solve for x” was he certain that the priesthood was the right choice.

Fr. Mike explains why "It's a Wonderful Life" is his favorite Christmas movie and how it can help us understand the importance of duty and love. Spoiler Alert "It's a Wonderful Life" is a classic, but there's a theme carried through the movie that is rarely discussed—the role of duty. If you lived a life without responsibilities, you would be living a life without relationships. In "It's a Wonderful Life," George Bailey's life is driven by duty, but it's transformed by the love he finds in his relationships with others. Hopefully, our life is driven by a sense of duty towards God, but we need to remember that our lives are transformed by the love of God. This Christmas, remember that your life has meaning, your life carries with it important duties, and that God, who has not forgotten you, will transform your life.

Good people go to heaven when they die, right? Well, according to the Gospels, not exactly. Fr. Mike Schmitz points to at least four things Christ says we need for salvation: Baptism (John 3) The Eucharist (John 6) Faith (Romans 10:9) Doing the Father’s will (Matthew 25:31-46) None of them are “be a good person”; and it’s probably better that way because, especially today, everyone has a different idea of what is good. Christ has given us everything we need to achieve salvation. He wants us all to be at his wedding feast, including you; but unless you do what is necessary to get to the wedding, you won’t be there. Considering what Fr. Mike is saying, these words of Christ make much more sense: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). Fr. Mike quotes the Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 847. Below

You may have heard the phrase memento mori (remember your death)—especially if you hang out with those strange Catholics—but did you know there are three meanings woven into those two words? Sure, the immediate thought that comes to mind may be the fact that someday we will die; and this is good to remember because that day could be any day, so we should live accordingly. What people may not recognize, though, is that memento mori could also be a reminder to the Christian that we have died to ourselves, so that we may gain eternal life in Christ. As St. Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20). The life you live is not your own. Remember, as a Christian you have died to yourself. Entering your day with that in mind may be difficult if you want to live for yourself, but it could also be liberating if we give everything to God. Thirdly, it is good to “remember your death” because it is a reminder of the joy that will come when we liv

To be blessed means to holy, and to be holy means to be set apart for God. Fr. Mike reminds us of our calling to be holy, because, as Christians, we have been blessed by Baptism. Being set apart doesn't mean to be physically separated from everything else. It means that something is dedicated to fulfilling God's purpose. For example, if you've ever gotten your throat blessed during the feast of St. Blasie, then your throat is set apart for the purposes of God. That means when you use your voice to say something untrue or mean, you're violating the purpose of your voice, because it has been dedicated to God's will. So, be blessed. Make God’s will present in the world through your presence.

A sin is not simply breaking the rules. It’s when we say in our hearts, “God, I know what you want and I don’t care. I want what I want.” Fr. Mike makes it abundantly clear that sin is defiance toward God—usually in favor of self-interest. So often, when Catholics talk about sin people see our sense of morality as a set of rules that we arbitrarily follow. Those who criticize the Church’s moral teachings often accuse Catholics of misinterpreting Christ’s words when they are the ones who are twisting his words, while failing to recognize how our relationship with God is in the balance.

Fr. Mike says giving thanks is not only good and polite. It’s not just a thoughtful gesture. Giving thanks is necessary. We begin Mass by saying “It is right and just” to give God thanks. Not only that, the priest continues by saying: “It is our duty and salvation always and everywhere to give you thanks.” Our duty and our salvation. We proclaim this every week, and giving thanks is a huge part of the Mass (the very word Eucharist means to give thanks). But do we mean it? Do we give proper thanks to God for the miraculous gifts he has given us to enjoy every day? Our health, sight, hearing, even simply having someone who cares about you, all of these things are blessings we should thank God for because there are many who do not enjoy them.

Fr. Mike answers some hard questions from his #askfrmike inquirers, starting with a question about the controversial book and movie, “Silence”, wherein two renowned Portuguese priests travel to Japan and deny Christ to prevent the suffering of their parishioners. After telling the story, Fr. Mike says if we ever were placed in such a dire situation, the question would not be “What should I do?” but rather, “What is the right thing to do?” Fr. Mike clarifies, “To deny Jesus will always be the wrong thing to do.” Blaming someone for not denying Jesus, and thereby not preventing suffering, is a red herring because it distracts people from the ones truly causing the suffering, the actual torturers. Answering another question from his viewers, Fr. Mike addresses the need to keep a healthy balance between caring for our bodies and caring for our souls. That means putting prayer and time with Jesus before working out.

We all have those people in our lives whom we love, but just ask too much of us. Establishing limitations in relationships can be hard, but we need boundaries. Even Jesus did it when he spent time with just his disciples, or just his apostles; or just Peter, James, and John; or even just his father in heaven. Fr. Mike explains not just why we need boundaries, but how we could do so without coming across as glib or too harsh. He talks about how establishing boundaries will help us more effectively live the Christian life, and even help the one to whom those boundaries apply.

We use the term “friend” loosely, introducing casual acquaintances as “My friends Lucy and John.” But what is friendship, really? Fr. Mike uses Aristotle’s three kinds of friendship—pleasant friendships, useful friendships, and virtuous friendships—as guidelines. While all three can be good, the first two can end up being flimsy and fleeting; but the third kind, virtuous friendships, really get to the heart of what good friends are to us. They are on the same mission, they have many of the same goals, we can even kind of see another self within these friends. Fr. Mike emphasizes the need for us to have more of these kinds of friendships, saying that if we don’t think they matter we may just be distracting ourselves from our loneliness. Don't forget to check out Fr. Mike’s newest project Quick Catholic Lessons with Fr. Mike (https://bit.ly/2PmpYzw (https://bit.ly/2PmpYzw)), a feature-packed teacher’s guide designed to accompany Fr. Mike’s most popular videos, presented on a convenient DVD.

Father Mike Schmitz forgot to say one thing in his video “We’re Not Just Cosmic Accidents” – God loves you. In his previous video Fr. Mike made comments on The Greatest Showman song “This is Me”. To elaborate on his original message, he quotes Pope Benedict XVI, saying, “Until I am accepted and loved by another, I cannot accept and love myself. But even then the sense is fragile, because all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately, we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if God accepts me and I have become convinced of this, do I know definitely it is good that I exist.” As Romans Chapter 5 states, “God proved his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Fr. Mike shares three things that will help you build healthy relationships. If a couple wants to get married, that’s something we should celebrate. However, that doesn’t mean we should blindly encourage them no matter what, and offer cliche advice like, “You’re in love, and that’s all that matters,” or “Do what you heart tells you.” No matter how convincing a couple’s love for each other seems, there are some things that always need to be considered, especially in young relationships between two people who want to rush into marriage. When it comes to relationships, there are three things Fr. Mike says to keep in mind: 1) There are some things only time can reveal 2) Let your relationship be the actual age it is 3) Learn how to make decisions together

Blessed Father Stanley Rother was a farmer, priest, and martyr from Oklahoma who found a way to give everything to the Lord, even his greatest struggles and disappointments, because he knew nothing is wasted when given to God. Fr. Mike tells Father Rother’s story, and shows what we can learn from the undying love for Jesus this American farmer had. Fr. Mike encourages, no matter what hardships you’re dealing with, give them to God and your story will give him glory; bringing your life to fulfillment in the process.