Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

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 17Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 Luke 12:13-21

Homily from the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Who determines the How. The disciples did not merely want Jesus to help them have a "better spiritual life" or a deeper prayer life; they wanted to pray how He prayed. And Jesus taught them. He taught them that Who we pray to determines how we pray. Mass Readings from July 24, 2022: Genesis 18:20-32 Psalms 138:1-3, 6-8Colossians 2:12-14 Luke 11:1-13

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 15:2-5Colossians 1:24-28 Luke 10:38-42

Homily from the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. I can know all I need to know and still not do all I need to do. There are so many things that we know that we ought to do. There are even things that we know that we want to do. And yet...we just can't seem to act on what we know. How do we start? How do we become people who do what we know we ought to do? Mass Readings from July 10, 2022: Deuteronomy 30:10-14 Psalms 69:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36-37Colossians 1:15-20 Luke 10:25-37

Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time What else is there? Many of us want to grow spiritually. But what does that really mean? What is it that we really want? What is the actual goal of life? Put in the words of Jesus, what should we truly rejoice in? Christ's answer is nothing less than having our names written in Heaven. Mass Readings from July 3, 2022: Isaiah 66:10-14 Psalms 66:1-7, 16, 20Galatians 6:14-18 Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Deliberate. Decisive. Definitive. God continues to call. God calls us to follow Him, making it clear that being a disciple is challenging...that it costs something. Therefore, we need to weigh out our response, we need to avoid hesitation, and we need to choose to follow Jesus in such a way that it actually changes something in our lives. Mass Readings from June 26, 2022: 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21 Psalms 16:1-2, 5, 7-11Galatians 5:1, 13-18 Luke 9:51-62

Homily from The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. This is everything. The Body and Blood of Christ is one of the most underappreciated gifts God has ever given. In the Scriptures, God gives us His Word. In the Sacraments, God gives us His work. But in the Eucharist, God gives us Himself. Mass Readings from June 19, 2022: Genesis 14:18-20 Psalms 110:1-41 Corinthians 11:23-26 Luke 9:11-17

Homily from The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. It is not good for the person to be alone. The Feast of the Most Holy Trinity reminds us of the innermost secret of God: He is Love. It also reveals the innermost secret of humans made in God's image and likeness: we are made for love. Mass Readings from June 12, 2022: Proverbs 8:22-31 Psalms 8:4-9Romans 5:1-5 John 16:12-15

Homily from Pentecost Sunday. The greatest gift is to make yourself available. The Holy Spirit, poured out on the apostles (and the entire Church) at Pentecost would have gone to waste without the most important reality: the disciples made themselves available to be used by God for the service of the people around them. Mass Readings from June 5, 2022: Acts 2:1-11 Psalms 104:1, 24, 29-31, 341 Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13 John 20:19-23

Homily from the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord. What am I going to do with the gifts I've been given? In the Ascension, Jesus completes the work of redemption. He has taken His once for all sacrifice, bound to time and place, and brought it before the Father. Because of this, we have access to all of God's graces in every time and every place. Mass Readings from May 29, 2022: Acts 1:1-11 Psalms 47:2-3, 6-9Ephesians 1:17-23 Luke 24:46-53