Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz - Episodes Tagged with “Failure”

11/14/21 Always Forward. Never Back.

Ascension — Mon, 15 Nov 2021 18:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The struggle doesn't change the destination. The struggle is the way.

When we are in the middle of a journey...or the middle of life...we will encounter obstacles. In that encounter with obstacles, we will be tempted to go back. But it is necessary to ask “what is God asking of me right now?”

Mass Readings from November 14th, 2021:
Deuteronomy 12:1-3
Psalms 16:5, 8-11
Hebrews 10:11-14, 18

09/05/21 Seen. Known. Loved.

Ascension — Mon, 06 Sep 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Transition always involves destruction.

Jesus heals the man who was deaf and mute. In doing this, He was destroying something in the man’s life…his identity. Jesus has to take away the false identity in order to tell us who we truly are.

Mass Readings from September 5, 2021:
Isaiah 35:4-7
Psalms 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
James 2:1-5

07/04/21 "Ruined"

Ascension — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 18:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The beauty is in the broken.

Too often, when we encounter our own brokenness and woundedness, we either pretend it isn’t there or we just want it to be taken away. But surrendered to God, our weakness is more than replaced and more than erased, they are redeemed.

Mass Readings from July 4, 2021:
Ezekiel 2:2-5
Psalms 123:1-4
2 Corinthians 12:7-10

06/27/21 Everyday Courage: Plan B

Ascension — Mon, 28 Jun 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Love requires risk. Risk requires courage.

Many of us make plans. And many of those plans don’t end up working out the way that we had expected. Fortunately, God calls us to be courageous even when things don’t work out as we had expected.

Mass Readings from June 27, 2021:
Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24
Psalms 30:2, 4-6, 11, 12, 13
2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

10/20/19 The Hardest Step: The Next Step

Ascension — Mon, 21 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Often, the next hardest step is the next step.

Continuing to walk in the midst of failure, rejection, and imperfection is a sign of a great life. In your life, you will take hundreds of first steps.

Mass Readings from October 20, 2019:
Ezekiel 17:8-13
Luke 18:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2

10/13/19 The Hardest Step: The First Step

Ascension — Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

You just have to start.

The first step is the most difficult…but it is also the most important.

Mass Readings from October 13, 2019:
2 Kings 5:14-17
Psalms 98:1-4
2 Timothy 2:8-13

05/12/19 #Fail: Failure is Feedback

Ascension — Mon, 13 May 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Failure either gives us clarity and conviction or course correction.

Failure is not final and failure is not fatal. As long as we don’t stop, and as long as we are willing to learn from our failures, they have no power to defeat us but only to educate us and make us better.

Mass Readings from May 12, 2019:
Acts 13:14, 43-52
Psalms 100:1-2, 3, 5
Revelation 7:9, 14-17

05/05/19 #Fail: The Only Way to Fail

Ascension — Mon, 06 May 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter.

The only way for failure to be final is if you stop.

Even sin is not final if you don’t stop. God has a call for you that is not erased by failure.

Mass Readings from May 5, 2019:
Acts 5:27-32, 40-41
Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-12, 13
Revelation 5:11-14

04/28/19 #Fail: Free to Fail

Ascension — Mon, 29 Apr 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from Divine Mercy Sunday.

Failure is the one necessary prerequisite for God’s greatest gift.

Many people battle with perfectionism. God’s mercy in the midst of failure is His remedy for the fear that failure is the end.

Mass Readings from April 28, 2019:
Acts 5:12-16
Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22
Revelation 1:9-11, 12-13, 17-19

03/24/19 Behind Enemy Lines: Trust God...and Fight

Ascension — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent.

Trained in trust...strengthened through struggle.

God has freely given so much to us…and we are grateful. But why do we still experience the consequences of slavery? God gives us the chance to grow in trust of Him and His love…and He allows us to grow stronger in our ability to walk as His children.

Mass Readings from March 24, 2019:
Exodus 3:1-8, 13-15
Psalms 103: 1-4, 6-8, 11
1 Corinthians 10:1-6, 10-12

02/10/19 Disqualified: Unfit

Ascension — Mon, 11 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

God is able to make you holy even if He never makes you whole.

There are some things in our lives (our decisions, our wounds, our weaknesses) that we wish and pray were gone. God calls you and I in our weakness; He doesn’t necessarily call us out of our weakness.

Mass Readings from February 10, 2019:
Isaiah 6:1-2, 3-8
Psalms 138:1-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11