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

08/21/22 You, Strive

Ascension — Mon, 22 Aug 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

How are you fighting for Heaven?

Jesus makes it very clear that our call is to make our pursuit of Heaven exactly that: a pursuit. He is personal and practical when He tells us that each and every one of us must strive for Heaven.

Mass Readings from August 21, 2022:
Isaiah 66:18-21
Psalms 117:1, 2
Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

05/22/22 The Gift of the Church

Ascension — Mon, 23 May 2022 17:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

The great temptation to stay in our own "version" of the Church.

God has given us the gift of the Church. The Church is His Body...the Church is His Bride. And we cannot have Jesus without His Church.

Mass Readings from May 22, 2022:
Acts 15:1-2, 22-29
Psalms 67:2-3, 5-6, 8
Revelation 21:10-14, 22-23

10/10/21 Holding On: Holding On to You

Ascension — Mon, 11 Oct 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

What you've been holding on to ends up holding on to you.

Anything can keep us from Heaven. Anything that we prefer over and over (and anything that we defer putting down over and over) can end up holding on to us. There are times when we've chosen so often that we no longer have a choice. And there are times when we have put off letting go so often that we can't put it down. And we find ourselves stuck. What do we hold on to then?

Mass Readings from October 10th, 2021:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalms 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-13

08/15/21 Consumer Catholic: The Body

Ascension — Mon, 16 Aug 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

You are your body.

The Assumption of Mary reveals many things. One of the things it reveals is that our destiny is to be reunited with our resurrected bodies forever. Our bodies are good, and an essential part of what it is to be human.

Mass Readings from August 15, 2021:
Revelation 11:19; 12:1-6, 10
Psalms 45:10-12, 16
1 Corinthians 15:20-27

08/08/21 Consumer Catholic: Farther to Go

Ascension — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 15:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The best of your life is ahead of you...you will need food for the journey.

The worst days of our life often come after the best days of our life. But even in those "worst days", you are not done yet. God has more for you to do and further for you to go. He wants to feed you with what you are going to need to have enough strength for the journey.

Mass Readings from August 8, 2021:
1 Kings 19:4-85
Psalms 34:2-9
Ephesians 4:30—5:2

12/06/20 Legacy

Ascension — Mon, 07 Dec 2020 17:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

We can’t go back to the beginning of the story, but we can start where we are and change the ending.

Saint Peter reveals that the Day is coming when The Story will have been written. On that day, everything will be revealed and we will know God’s hidden role in every moment of The Story…and we will know the truth and consequences of our roles in The Story. We will know our legacy.

Mass Readings from December 6, 2020:
Isaiah 40:1-5, 9-11
Psalms 85:9-12, 13-14
2 Peter 3:8-14

11/22/20 Roadmap: Expect Delays

Ascension — Mon, 23 Nov 2020 14:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Solemnity of Christ the King.

What you do with the delay makes all the difference.

We have a destination: to be who we are and to be that well. We have a Roadmap and a Rule of Life. What remains is one last question: Is there any room in your Rule for the Ruler?

Mass Readings from November 22, 2020:
Ezekiel 34:11-12, 15-17
Psalms 23:1-3, 5-6
1 Corinthians 15:20-26, 28

10/25/20 Roadmap: Reclaimed and Repurposed

Ascension — Mon, 26 Oct 2020 16:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Holiness isn’t always changing your what as much as changing your why.

Our lives have been reclaimed by Christ and we have become a new creation. Because of this, every moment of our lives can be lived with and for a new purpose. Every moment can be repurposed to be a sacrament, and sacrifice, and an act of surrender.

Mass Readings from October 25, 2020:
Exodus 22:20-26
Psalms 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51/dt>
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10

10/18/20 Roadmap: Be A Saint

Ascension — Mon, 19 Oct 2020 22:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The roadmap begins with “Who.”

There is one true goal in life: to be a saint. Many of us believe this, but is there a path? Without a plan, we will certainly fail to hit the goal. Without a roadmap, we will spend our time on this planet wandering as if we neither know where we are or where we are going.

Mass Readings from October 18, 2020:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalms 96:1, 3-5, 7-10
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5

06/28/20 Something to Lose

Ascension — Sun, 28 Jun 2020 18:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It is a gift to have something to lose.

Every good thing in our lives comes from Jesus. Since He is the source of everything, He must be more important than anything.

Mass Readings from June 28, 2020:
2 Kings 4:8-11,14-16
Psalms 89:2-3,16-19
Romans 6:3-4, 8-11

04/26/20 Insecure: Not Home

Ascension — Mon, 27 Apr 2020 17:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter.

Back to normal might not be what we think.

Our lives can be spent wishing for certain outcomes. But a security built on specific outcomes is a conditional and temporary security. We need true hope to walk in confidence.

Mass Readings from April 26, 2020:
Acts 2:14, 22-33
Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-11
1 Peter 1:17-21

12/01/19 Before Goodbye

Ascension — Sun, 01 Dec 2019 08:00:00 -0600

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

We do not know when, but we do know what.

Goodbyes can be painful. But what makes goodbyes even more painful is when we are not ready for the leaving or letting go. The goodness of the goodbye comes down to what we do with the time before goodbye.

Mass Readings from December 1, 2019:
Isaiah 4:2-6
Psalms 122:1-9
Romans 13:11-14

09/15/19 Are You Saved? From What: Fatherlessness

Ascension — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jesus saves us from being orphaned or abandoned.

I was saved at my Baptism. I am being saved. I hope to be saved. The Father has adopted us in Christ. And He cannot take it back. But do we live as children of the Father?

Mass Readings from September 15, 2019:
Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
1 Timothy 1:12-17

07/07/19 Declaration

Ascension — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The Father has uttered His declaration; we are offered the chance to answer.

All of Christianity comes down to one question: does God have permission to love you?

Mass Readings from July 07, 2019:
Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalms 66:1-3, 4-5, 6-7, 16, 20
Galatians 6:14-18

02/17/19 The Fighting Virtue

Ascension — Mon, 18 Feb 2019 07:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Willing to engage and embrace the realities of life.

Hope is not a “soft” virtue. It is a fighting virtue. Hope is what enables us to live in the present with strength and conviction. It takes hope to take action.

Mass Readings from February 17, 2019:
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalms 1:1-4, 6
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20