The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

While many of us may become stressed out before Christmas and depressed afterwards—working hard to make the holiday perfect and burning out once it’s all “over”—the Light of the season can still shine through if we remember one thing. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains what it means for Christmas to be a season of hope, and reminds us that strengthening our relationship with Jesus while learning to trust him is the one thing that matters this season. Fr. Mike is also a presenter in these faith formation programs from Ascension: Belonging: Baptism in the Family of God (http://bit.ly/2rdOFy7) Chosen: This is Your Catholic Faith (http://bit.ly/2r32vUK) Altaration: The Mystery of the Mass Revealed (http://bit.ly/2rIYjfE) YOU: Life, Love and the Theology of the Body (http://bit.ly/2nKLug5) Get 18 of Fr. Mike’s best Ascension Presents videos in this exclusive DVD from Ascension: Ascension Presents … Fr. Mike Schmitz (http://bit.ly/2sKUnJN) Fr. Mike spoke at the Ascension Cafe during the World Meeting of Fa

Do you want to learn how to love like the Bible teaches? Bible-based love, indeed any Bible-based relationships, can be attained if we understand what the Bible says about love. Loving someone rightly is difficult because selfish motives often seep into even our closest relationships. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz connects the Old and New Testaments, using the story of the Fall in Genesis to show how, despite our selfish motives, we are still made for love. He shows how the Fall was not a curse from God but a remedy for humanity’s broken idea of love. Because Adam and Eve — and subsequently, each one of us — chose self-preservation over self-gift and wanted pleasure apart from sacrifice, God had to teach us that love costs something. He provided a remedy and a Redeemer so we could learn to be a gift from him to others. Fr. Mike is also a presenter in these faith formation programs from Ascension: Belonging: Baptism in the Family of God (http://bit.ly/2rdOFy7) Chosen: This is Your Catholic Faith (http://bi

It’s all too common for us to think of our work as either the thing that gives us our identity, or something to be avoided at all cost, or some unhealthy combination of those two misleading philosophies. In this episode, Fr. Mike aims to bring inspiration to our everyday jobs by showing us how our labor can be a way to share in God’s nature. By striving to look past humanity’s brokenness and sin, we can move beyond seeing work as a burden, and see how every act of work has dignity. Fr. Mike is also a presenter in these faith formation programs from Ascension: Belonging: Baptism in the Family of God (http://bit.ly/2rdOFy7) Chosen: This is Your Catholic Faith (http://bit.ly/2r32vUK) Altaration: The Mystery of the Mass Revealed (http://bit.ly/2rIYjfE) YOU: Life, Love and the Theology of the Body (http://bit.ly/2nKLug5) Get 18 of Fr. Mike’s best Ascension Presents videos in this exclusive DVD from Ascension: Ascension Presents … Fr. Mike Schmitz (http://bit.ly/2sKUnJN) Fr. Mike spoke at the Ascension Cafe during

In this episode, Fr. Mike delivers a crackdown on habitual criticism. He discusses how easy it is to criticize something, and how hard it is to create something and open yourself to be critiqued. While pointing out how excessive criticism is a form of cowardice, he invites us to have courage and stand for the Creed while accepting the risk of criticism that comes with doing so.

The phrase “dark night of the soul” is thrown around quite a bit in Catholic circles, but what does it mean exactly? In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains precisely what is happening in our souls when we feel this kind of spiritual darkness, and he encourages us to hang in there when it happens; because it means God is preparing our souls for much greater things.

Finding the right words to pray can be difficult, and the rote prayers we were taught as children are too often not prayed from the heart. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz tells us about a way to pray that priests are taught in their formation years which helps make their prayers both habitual and genuine.

Death, judgment, heaven, and hell—the four last things—are popular enough topics among Christians; but there’s more to these things than just our own personal end. In this episode​,​ Fr. Mike explains how, as the Catechism teaches, in the Last Judgment “the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation” will be made known to us (CCC 1040). All the good and evil you and I have done will also become known. Fr. Mike’s perspective on this reality is both fascinating and humbling.

Fr. Mike gives help when it comes to making decisions.

Drawing from the wisdom of the saints, Fr. Mike explains why prayer should be in the center of our lives, while offering some helpful pointers on how to make that so, especially during distractions.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story "Leaf by Niggle", reveals that minutia matters: even the little things we do have can have great significance. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz explores how the author of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings shows that having a more complete vision for life can affect our attention to detail. Reflecting on this, Father Mike shows us how the hope of heaven can give eternally deeper meaning to even the most minute tasks in our lives.

What is it that makes a hero? In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz offers a definition we can all live up to. Using the Wonder Woman movie as an example, he explains how a hero, or heroine, is characterized more by his or her praiseworthy human qualities than by any super-human ones.

Never before was there and never again will there be a moment quite like the present, yet so often we find ourselves wishing we were in another time in our lives, wishing we could be enjoying the achievement of our future goals or the past times when things were better for us. In this video, Fr. Mike challenges us to notice the “sacrament of the present moment” and see what graces God wants us to enjoy right now.

Football has recently become a forum to look at where patriotism and protest intersect. The last thing most NFL fans want is for the NFL to get political, yet with the recent National Anthem protests around the league, that seems to be what’s happening. How do we take a stance that is Christian and respectful amidst such deep-rooted tension? In this episode, Fr. Mike lays out a game plan for us, and it starts with looking within.

Balance in life is something many of us strive for while not having much insight on how to achieve it. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz provides three principles that can help, advising that when we seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), everything else tends to fall into place.

Hope, in the Christian sense, is often misunderstood. It is not the same as optimism or presumption. It is not the blind faith that we will go to heaven or the escapist way to avoid the troubles of this world. It’s not the virtue we need to see the present moment with more positivity. It’s more personal than that. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains exactly why.

Did you know we have the ability to write our own stories? So often we consider ourselves victims of our own passions, constantly giving in to them while thinking they’re too strong. In this video, Fr. Mike empowers us to live out the vow we make in our Act of Contrition to “avoid the near occasions of sin.” Who knows where the path of life may lead if we simply choose a path other than the one upon which we know temptation lurks?

Jesus commanded us not to judge… but not to judge what? If we look at the words of Jesus, we find he’s actually telling us that even though we can’t judge the heart, we should judge actions – it’s important to make distinctions between right and wrong! Father Mike also reminds us why, with the mercy of God available to us, we don’t need to be afraid of judgment.

How do you carry your burdens in life? In this episode, Father Mike discusses a tendency to make our life harder based on the "work beneath the work." Our approach to difficulties doesn't have to make them even tougher.

Common wisdom tells us we become the people we spend the most time with, so choose your friends wisely. In this video, Fr. Mike expands upon that advice to encourage Catholics to spend more time with God in prayer, and surround ourselves with people who practice Christian virtue.

Inspired by the diligence of professional athletes and St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Fr. Mike encourages us to approach our prayer life—and life in general—with a goal and sense of purpose. Getting physically in shape requires more than just a casual workout, and getting spiritually in shape requires more than going through the motions of our religion.