Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

4/7/23 Guilty

April 7th, 2023  |  15 mins 22 secs

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I am guilty. And I am loved. When we are falsely accused, we can often be tempted to defend ourselves or justify ourselves. This makes sense, since we want the truth to be known. But we must not fool ourselves into convincing ourselves that we are innocent. Christ came to save sinners. That means, if I am not a sinner—if I am not guilty—then Christ did not come to save me. But I am guilty...and He did come for me. And for you.

4/6/23 Priesthood

April 6th, 2023  |  18 mins 23 secs

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The only gifts the first priests had to offer the world was what God had given them. Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the final stages of Christ's Passion. But it also marks the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood.

4/2/23 Prototype: Acceptance

April 1st, 2023  |  18 mins 49 secs

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Homily from Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion. Jesus' secret is voluntary and radical acceptance. In His final moments on earth, our Rabbi teaches us one of the greatest lessons of Bet Midrash: how do we face the worst possible realities of life? Do we resist reality? Do we avoid addressing what scares us? Or do we do what Jesus did? Do we choose voluntary and radical acceptance?

3/26/23 Prototype: Tears

March 25th, 2023  |  24 mins 11 secs

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Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent. Jesus wept. Why does Jesus weep in the face of the death of Lazarus? He weeps to silence the Great Lie. He weeps because He loves. He weeps in order to teach us to weep.

3/19/23 Prototype: Fault

March 18th, 2023  |  21 mins 43 secs

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Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent. We need to stop asking "who is to blame?" and start asking "What can God do with this?" The disciples ask Jesus whose fault it is that the man was born blind. So many of us have a tendency to ask the same question: "Whose fault is this?" While that is a natural question, it is not always a helpful question. There is a better question that we can ask.

3/12/23 Prototype: Vision

March 11th, 2023  |  26 mins 47 secs

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Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent. Jesus taught the world how to see the person. We are constantly facing the temptation to define people by their group or by their shame. Jesus reveals that, while He knows the group or by their shame, He sees the person...the individual...and calls them by their name.

3/5/23 Prototype: Prayer

March 4th, 2023  |  17 mins 11 secs

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Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent.

In teaching about prayer, Jesus offered something no other rabbi could give. Jesus, the Prototype, reveals His prayer to the Apostles. Every rabbi would teach his disciples how to pray, but Jesus is able to give His disciples something that no other rabbi could offer. Jesus prays as the Beloved Son...Jesus teaches His disciples to pray as beloved children who have been claimed by their Father.

2/26/23 Prototype: Temptation

February 25th, 2023  |  24 mins 38 secs

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Homily from the First Sunday of Lent. Expect the Trial. Eliminate the Option. Re-Write the Script. Focus on the Word. We will face trials and temptations throughout our lives. When we follow and study Jesus our rabbi, we learn how to face temptations the way he did.

2/22/23 Prototype: Jesus is the Model

February 22nd, 2023  |  12 mins 6 secs

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Homily from Ash Wednesday. The goal of the Christian life is to become like Christ. As we begin Lent, we often mistakenly choose arbitrary things to give up or arbitrary ways to pray. But the goal of Lent is more than "doing something difficult" or "getting better". The goal of lent is the imitation of Christ.

2/19/23 Homeless: Give Up or Surrender

February 18th, 2023  |  26 mins 7 secs

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Homily from the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. The difference between giving up and surrender is one word: trust. There are so many circumstances in life that are beyond our control. We can easily feel powerless as we realize that we cannot control all outcomes. Christ's words in the Gospel might look like giving up, but they are something vastly different...and far more hopeful. Mass Readings from February 19, 2023: Leviticus 19:1-2, 17-18 Psalm 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13 1 Corinthians 3:16-23 Matthew 5:38-48

2/12/23 Homeless: Freedom

February 11th, 2023  |  27 mins 15 secs

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Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our hearts are enslaved...exile can be the cure. There are so many circumstances that are beyond our control. But no matter the situation, one thing that cannot be taken away from a person made in God's image is the freedom to choose how one responds to those circumstances. Our hearts can be enslaved in any situation, but they can also be free in any situation.

2/5/23 Homeless: Different

February 4th, 2023  |  27 mins 16 secs

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Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Do what you would do even if no one is watching. So many of us have a fear of being different. We would prefer to be like everyone else. But we cannot afford to be the same as everyone else. Not because we are better, but because the world needs what Christians have: Jesus Christ.

1/29/23 Homeless: Perspective

January 28th, 2023  |  25 mins 33 secs

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Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Do not wait to live. God is using this here and now. There is real suffering. There is real good and evil. But sometimes, the difference between something that is worthless and something that is worthwhile is a matter of perspective. God can use even our flaws...in fact, he will use everything if we let him.

1/22/23 Homeless: Resolution

January 21st, 2023  |  24 mins 43 secs

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Homily from the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Our identity is at the heart of our resolution. One of the greatest things that is lost while in exile is a true sense of identity. Too quickly, we forget who we are and settle for something too small to be enough. But if we keep identity at the heart of our resolutions, we will be able to live homeless and Holy.

1/15/23 Homeless: Homeless But Holy

January 14th, 2023  |  19 mins 34 secs

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Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time. What is the difference between a "good person" and a "saint"? "A good society is one that makes it easy to be good." But what if you don't live in a good society? Is "being good" the only goal? Is it possible to be more than good...to be holy...even when you are living in exile?

1/8/23 Here to Give

January 7th, 2023  |  17 mins 1 sec

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Homily from the Mass of the Epiphany of the Lord. The best thing we can do. While we are certainly human "beings", we are also meant to "do". The most important thing we can do is LOVE. And the most important One we can love is God. We love God in a number of ways, the principle of which is through worship.