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The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Ascension
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Faith, pop culture, and headline reflections from Fr. Mike Schmitz.
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Pray About It? Or Just Do It?
2d ago
7 mins
Pray About It? Or Just Do It?
Have you heard the phrase, "Ora et Labora" before? What about the maxim, "Pray as if everything depends on God. And work as if everything depends on you." Today Fr. Mike breaks down the Benedictine charism of prayer AND work and offers us some food for thought when tempted to fall into fatalism or quietism and remove our will from the equation.
2d ago
7 mins
How to Love Someone that is Hard to Love
"Love your neighbor as yourself." We all know the drill. Jesus calls us to love even our enemies. But loving people can be so HARD. Today Fr. Mike offers us some 3 practical tips and a word of challenge to lean into loving those we find difficult to love and care for.
May 19 2022
8 mins
The Truth Is, You're Spiritually Burnt and Want to Quit
Are you feeling tired and spiritually exhausted? Do you feel like throwing in the towel on everything? Today Fr. Mike offers us a way to evaluate our spiritual practices, service, and prayer based on our relationship, identity, and mission (RIM) to know what we can remove and keep from our Catholic spiritual life.
May 12 2022
8 mins
Does God Have a Love Language?
Most of us are familiar with the 5 Love Languages; gift-giving acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation, and quality time. But which of these is how God gives and receives love? Today Fr. Mike shares with us how God often loves us not in the way we might expect or prefer but in the way that most draws us into union with him.
May 5 2022
8 mins
Fr. Mike Got a Tattoo?!?
What happened? Did Fr. Mike change his mind on tattoos? Today Fr. Mike reveals his recent tattoo, why he got it, and why he’s not really happy about it.
Apr 28 2022
9 mins
The True, the Good and the Beautiful: A Lesson in Human Flourishing
Today Fr. Mike unpacks the three Transcendentals; Truth, Goodness, and Beauty, and why and how our hearts can be misled by emotion and feelings at times which distorts these fundamental realities.
Apr 21 2022
9 mins
Fr. Mike and Mark Wahlberg on Father Stu | What "Picking Up Your Cross" Looks Like
Today Fr. Mike had the chance to interview Mark Wahlberg about his amazing new movie, "Father Stu," which follows the incredible true story of Fr. Stuart Long, a "boxer-turned-priest who inspired countless people during his journey from self-destruction to redemption."
Apr 15 2022
11 mins
Father Mike Responds to "General Absolution"
If you're Catholic, you know the drill: we sin, we break our relationship with God, and then he offers us the incomprehensible mercy to restore that relationship with him. You can see this beautiful grace most Saturday afternoons at parishes around the world in the Sacrament of Reconciliation—or, Confession. But have you heard of "general absolution"? Is it a way to skip the confession line and get "bulk forgiveness"? Today, Fr. Mike dispels the confusion around general absolution and redirects us to the true source of reconciliation that Christ has given his Church.
Apr 7 2022
10 mins
Will Smith, Vladimir Putin, and When Rules Get Broken
Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. Vladimir Putin and Russia invading Ukraine. COVID ripping through the world. What do these all have in common? The rules get broken. We all know the rules. The lights turn on. The toilet flushes. We all play nice. But that’s not "how things work". That’s "how things have been working". Today, Fr. Mike tells you what to do when you get slapped in the face by a broken world.
Mar 31 2022
12 mins
What (Not) to Do with Criticism
When we receive criticism from someone it's easy to think that we can either put up our fists and fight it or let it defeat us. But are those really the only two options? Today, Fr. Mike walks us through the third option when being criticized and how to receive a negative comment well and with charity.
Mar 24 2022
7 mins
How Long Can You Be Miserable?
Sometimes they're things we don't want to do... but we have to do them anyway. Sometimes you make it through saying, "I'll learn to like it." But what about if you never do? Today, Fr. Mike gives us a word of encouragement to find joy even in the midst of suffering and to avoid falling into despair or resentment as we walk toward eternity.
Mar 17 2022
8 mins
If Lent Doesn't Make You Feel Good...
Want to know what the #1 goal of Lent is? Believe it or not, we don't have to feel the joy of the season to reach it. Instead, we have to focus on living it! Today, Fr. Mike challenges us to go beyond performing our works of penance for selfish reasons but instead to model our prayer, fasting. and almsgiving in a way that helps us become more like Jesus.
Mar 10 2022
7 mins
Lent Is a Process—Not an Event
Lent has begun and with it our season of penance and fasting. What are you planning on giving up or adding to your spiritual life? Today, Fr. Mike helps us understand that Lent is less like a crockpot—which you can set and forge—and more like an ongoing, iterative process that requires our continual discernment about how we are drawing closer to Jesus. God wants to give you more. How will you respond this Lent? Order the Lenten Companion today: https://tinyurl.com/yb9vsuva
Mar 3 2022
7 mins
When Attending Mass Virtually Just Doesn’t Cut It
"It’s time to stop watching and start worshiping." - Fr. Mike Today, Fr. Mike continues part two of his series on worshipping God each Sunday at Mass and why our Sunday obligation is more about our relationship with a loving Father than a rule of Church law alone.
Feb 24 2022
7 mins
God Ain’t Your Grandma (Making God an Idol)
What does God want from us? What does God deserve from us given that he's our creator? Today, Fr. Mike shows how we can actually turn God into an idol—when we "choose our version of God." This is what happens when we pull God off the shelf when we want him or need him, but put him back on the shelf when we don't. Today, Fr. Mike invites us to ask God what he wants from us.
Feb 17 2022
10 mins
Why Get Married If It Doesn't Exist in Heaven?
Why should you consider getting married, if as Jesus states in Matthew 22:30; "at the resurrection, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven?" Today Fr. Mike continues his series dealing with questions related to the vocation of marriage.
Feb 10 2022
7 mins
If God is Good, Why Do We Need to Pray?
Today, Fr. Mike delves into this age old question.
Feb 3 2022
6 mins
What Makes Mary and Joseph's Marriage Different?
As we know, an essential part of the Sacrament of Marriage is entering into the sexual embrace. And yet, our Catholic faith teaches that Mary and Joseph remained lifelong virgins even after they were married. So, how does this make their marriage different? Today, Fr. Mike unpacks this common question and helps us further understand the beauty and grace of the Sacrament of Marriage.
Jan 27 2022
7 mins
Kids: A Right? A Curse? or a Gift?
For probably the first time in human history, the common perception of children as a gift has been under attack by our culture at large. More and more the world sees kids as an affront to our personal autonomy or the driver of a pending apocalyptic catastrophe. Today, Fr. Mike weighs in on the "primary goods" of marriage and why we need to re-orient our mindset when it comes to children.
Jan 20 2022
11 mins
What Can You Do When Another Won't Forgive?
You said an unkind word or reacted rashly. You feel terrible because it was directed at someone you love. When you ask for their forgiveness the wound they feel is too raw and they don't accept your apology. What can you do? Today, Fr. Mike shares a word of challenge and encouragement on how to exercise the virtue of patience and show mercy as you wait to be forgiven.
Jan 13 2022
7 mins
