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

09/11/22 Eulogy Virtues: Joy

Ascension — Sat, 10 Sep 2022 11:45:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Who you are now is who you are.

Joy is the abiding sense of well-being. It is a feeling, but it is also a choice. But we do not choose joy itself. We must choose the source of joy. Love is the source of joy.

Mass Readings from September 11, 2022
Exodus 32:7-11
Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
1 Timothy 1:12-17

07/31/22 Then What?

Ascension — Mon, 01 Aug 2022 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Time and Death make most of what we live for hevel.

We are preoccupied with "done", but we are simultaneously addicted to asking "then what?". The wisdom of Ecclesiastes notes that so much of what we live for is impermanent, passing, or meaningless. Yet Jesus reveals that there is a real meaning and a real hope.

Mass Readings from July 31, 2022:
Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23
Psalms 90:3-6, 12-14 and 17
Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11

05/08/22 The Time of Great Distress

Ascension — Mon, 09 May 2022 18:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

You are not abandoned. You are not alone. You are not afraid.

Our lives are marked by stress. Not only is stress unavoidable, it is necessary. The main question is: what is our response to stress?

Mass Readings from May 8, 2022:
Acts 13:14, 43-52
Psalms 100:1-3, 5
Revelation 7:9, 14-17

04/15/22 The Crown of Thorns

Ascension — Fri, 15 Apr 2022 19:00:00 -0500

Homily from Good Friday of the Lord's Passion.

The heart of envy.

The crown of thorns reveals the darkness of the human heart. This darkness is in each one of us in the form of envy.

Mass Readings from April 15, 2022:
Isaiah 52:13—53:12
Psalms 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-17, 25
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

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

02/13/22 Nothing to Fear: The Future

Ascension — Mon, 14 Feb 2022 19:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We are called to do today what prepares us for the challenge of tomorrow.

We have become more comfortable with the "completed" past than the unknown future. Rather than desiring to launch into the challenge of the future, many of us have become paralyzed by fear of the future. When we are rooted in the Word of God each day, we become more rooted in God Himself each day. When we are rooted in the Lord, there is no room for fear of the future.

Mass Readings from February 13, 2022:
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalms 1:1-4, 6
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20

01/16/22 Jesus Changes Things

Ascension — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 17:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Jesus changes shame into joy.

There are certain things, certain failures, embarrassments, and shames, that could define our lives. There are certain events that could define our lives in a negative way unless something changes. Jesus can change those things.

Mass Readings from January 16, 2022:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalms 96:1-3, 7-10
1 Corinthians 12:4-11

12/25/21 Look Up

Ascension — Sat, 25 Dec 2021 14:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Nativity of the Lord (Christmas Mass).

God is with you on the bathroom floor.

We are so distracted by so many things that we need to look up. But sometimes we need to look lower in order to see where God is in our lives.

Mass Readings from December 25, 2021:
Isaiah 62:11-12
Psalm 97:1, 6, 11-12
Titus 3:4-7

05/09/21 Spark Joy

Ascension — Mon, 10 May 2021 12:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

Joy is rooted in confidence and comes as a consequence.

We can choose joy only insofar as we can choose the source of our joy. Joy comes as a consequence; it is a fruit. And the depth and permanence of our joy is only going to be as deep and long lasting as what we place our confidence in. Only when we surrender to the love of God can we have a joy that is deeper and more permanent than any amount of suffering that comes from life.

Mass Readings from May 9, 2021:
Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48
Psalms 98:1-4
1 John 4:7-10

10/11/20 No Difference

Ascension — Mon, 12 Oct 2020 15:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There are many goods. There is only one best.

Modern indifference is the inability to take joy in in one's situation regardless of the circumstances. It is seeing "no difference" between the awesome and the awful...as well as the awesome alright.

Mass Readings from October 11, 2020:
Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalms 23:1-6
Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20

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

04/19/20 Insecure: The Source of Security

Ascension — Mon, 20 Apr 2020 01:00:00 -0500

Homily from Divine Mercy Sunday.

In a time of incredible insecurity, we trust in incomprehensible mercy.

We live in an insecure world, but God’s mercy is stable.

Mass Readings from April 19, 2020:
Acts 2:42-47
Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-24
1 Peter 1:3-9

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

09/08/19 First Thing First

Ascension — Mon, 09 Sep 2019 08:00:00 -0500

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Out of everything in life, Jesus has to be first.

In our lives, we continually divide ourselves and divide our hearts by giving away our small “yesses”. Jesus calls us to experience freedom, joy, and clarity by giving Him our big “Yes” because He is the priority.

Mass Readings from September 8, 2019:
Wisdom 9:13-18
Psalms 90:3-4, 5-6, 12-14, 17
Philemon 9-10, 12-17

01/20/19 Insufficient and Insignificant

Ascension — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 07:00:00 -0600

Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

God uses what we have and gives us what we need.

It is often very tempting to forget the heart of God. To forget that He notices us, delights in us, and rejoices in us. When the focus shifts from His love to our insufficiency and feelings of insignificance, He reminds us of the truth.

Mass Readings from January 20, 2019:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalms 96:1-3, 7-10
1 Corinthians 12:4-11