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

07/17/22 The Question

Ascension — Mon, 18 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Feeling anxious, worried, or sorry for yourself is normal. It is also completely unhelpful.

We have a problem. And the problem is that we can do the right thing in the wrong way. We can choose to serve...while feeding our worry and self-pity. We can carry our cross...while feeling anxious and sorry for ourselves. Everything comes down to one question; it is not a matter of being tough, it is a matter of trust.

Mass Readings from July 17, 2022:
Genesis 18:1-10
Psalms 15:2-5
Colossians 1:24-28

02/20/22 Nothing to Fear: Vulnerability

Ascension — Mon, 21 Feb 2022 16:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Vulnerability is having enough courage and self-possession to let life in.

All of our fears stem from the fact that we are woundable. We care about rejection, inadequacy, and the future because we know that all of those things have the potential to hurt us, But the fear of being vulnerable does not have to define our lives.

Mass Readings from February 20, 2022:
1 Samuel 26:2, 7-9, 12-13, 22-23
Psalms 103:1-4, 8, 10, 12-13
1 Corinthians 15:45-49

02/06/22 Nothing to Fear: Inadequacy

Ascension — Mon, 07 Feb 2022 15:15:00 -0600

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The fear of being inadequate is the fear that I won't be able to rise to the challenge.

Fear is a gift. It is meant to keep us alive. But it can also keep us from living. There are two sources of fear are our biology and the stories we tell ourselves. We may not be able to change our biology, but we can change the stories we tell.

Mass Readings from February 6, 2022:
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138:1-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11

01/30/22 Nothing to Fear: Rejection

Ascension — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 10:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Do not sacrifice your identity and integrity on the altar of approval.

We all need acceptance. It is a basic human requirement. But we also must have the courage and freedom to know who we are and what we are about independent of the accepting group.

Mass Readings from January 30, 2022:
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Psalms 71:1-6, 15-17
1 Corinthians 12:31—13:13

12/19/21 Abounding Love: Love Commits

Ascension — Mon, 20 Dec 2021 18:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Love without a commitment remains an illusion.

In order to truly grow in love, there needs to be the willingness to make a commitment. And there needs to be the ability to keep a commitment.

Mass Readings from December 19, 2021:
Micah 5:1-4
Psalms 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19
Hebrews 10:5-10

09/19/21 Desperate

Ascension — Mon, 20 Sep 2021 19:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Edit, Convince, and Worry. Or Honesty, Trust, and Thanking God ahead of time.

The mass of men live lives of quiet desperation." We do not merely desire, we have inordinate desire driven by fear. We do not merely have ambition, we have selfish ambition in which we can only envision one possible outcome. To escape this trap, we must lean into honesty, trust and thanking God ahead of time.

Mass Readings from September 19, 2021:
Wisdom 2:12, 17-20
Psalms 54:3-6 and 8
James 3:16—4:3

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

03/14/21 To The Heart: Hidden Heart

Ascension — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 14:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent.

A hidden heart is a homeless heart.

The people of Israel were brought into exile. It was imposed from the outside. But after King Cyrus game them a way home, many of them chose to live in self-imposed exile. The same is true for all of us who have been exiled by our sin and slavery to death. Jesus has made it possible to step into the light and come home, but many choose to live outside the light...many of us live in self-imposed exile.

Mass Readings from March 14, 2021:
2 Chronicles 36:14-16, 19-23
Psalms 137:6
Ephesians 2:4-10

08/09/20 Why Did You Stop?

Ascension — Sun, 09 Aug 2020 17:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It is one thing to start walking. It is another thing to keep walking.

Distraction is anything that takes our focus away from where it needs to be.

Mass Readings from August 9, 2020:
1 Kings 19:9, 11-13
Psalms 85:9-12, 13-14
Romans 9:1-5

06/21/20 Fear No One

Ascension — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

You matter to God and you have a job to do.

Jesus tells us to "fear no one." Not because there is no danger, but because He is calling us to not be safe.

Mass Readings from June 21, 2020:
Jeremiah 20:10-13
Psalms 69:8-10, 14, 17, 33-35
Romans 5:12-15

05/03/20 Insecure: Untroubled by the Unknown

Ascension — Mon, 04 May 2020 06:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Knowing does not equal security.

In a world of insecurity, it is less important to know where one is being lead, and more important to know who is doing the leading.

Mass Readings from May 3, 2020:
Acts 2:14, 36-41
Psalms 23:1-6
1 Peter 2:20-25

02/09/20 Good...For Nothing?

Ascension — Mon, 10 Feb 2020 09:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Refuse to live as salt and light, and the Father remains unknown, unloved, and unglorified.

God trusts us with being His representatives in this world. He has made us His and He has made us good. But to what end? God has made us good for a purpose. Do we live in such a way that we have been made good for nothing?

Mass Readings from February 9, 2020:
Isaiah 58:7-10
Psalms 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9
1 Corinthians 2:1-5

11/03/19 CompariSIN: Infinitely Preferred

Ascension — Mon, 04 Nov 2019 08:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

What makes them so great? What makes me so awful?

When someone else being honored or loved more than we are meets our insecurity, we are tempted to tell stories…about them and about ourselves. But when we know who we are and are grateful for what we have, we have security. And comparison is powerless.

Mass Readings from November 3, 2019:
Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Psalms 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2

10/27/19 CompariSIN: The Way of Comparison

Ascension — Sun, 27 Oct 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In a life of comparison, every person is a potential threat.

Comparison is the desire to be “more” than another. At the heart of that desire is fear. Vulnerability breaks through that fear.

Mass Readings from Mass Readings from October 27, 2019:
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Psalms 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

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

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

10/21/18 Rivals: The Rival of Control

Ascension — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 01:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

What do I have to do to get what I want?

So much of our lives can be marked by the desire to control…or the fear of losing control. The rival of control can dominate. And the trust of praise and surrender can liberate.

Mass Readings from October 21, 2018:
Isaiah 53:10-11
Psalms 33:4-5, 18-20, 22
Hebrews 4:14-16

10/14/18 Rivals: The Reason is the Rival

Ascension — Mon, 15 Oct 2018 19:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

God has an absolute claim on your heart. What is the reason you won't give it to Him?

There is a clear difference between a reason and an excuse. Excuses are not acceptable answers, but there are times when even “good reasons” fail to be “good enough”.

Mass Readings from October 14, 2018:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalms 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-13