Homily from the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We all need acceptance. It is a basic human requirement. But we also must have the courage and freedom to know who we are and what we are about independent of the accepting group.

Mass Readings from January 30, 2022:
Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19
Psalms 71:1-6, 15-17
1 Corinthians 12:31—13:13
Luke 4:21-30

01/30/22 Nothing to Fear, Part I: Rejection

Homily from the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Fear is a gift.  It is meant to keep us alive.  But it can also keep us from living.  There are two sources of fear are our biology and the stories we tell ourselves.  We may not be able to change our biology, but we can change the stories we tell.

Mass Readings from February 6, 2022:
Isaiah 6:1-8
Psalm 138:1-5, 7-8
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
Luke 5:1-11

02/06/22 Nothing to Fear, Part II: Inadequacy

Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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
Luke 6:17, 20-26

02/13/22 Nothing to Fear, Part III: The Future

Homily from the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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
Luke 6:27-38

02/20/22 Nothing to Fear, Part IV: Vulnerability

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Growing through the motions involves commitment, consistency, and companions. It means being willing to go through the motions no matter the season and no matter the circumstances. It is only by doing this that we can have full range of motion in our relationship with the Lord.

Mass Readings from October 16, 2022:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalms 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8

10/16/22 Growing Through the Motions, Part III: Full Range of Motion

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

We have 29 days until Christmas. And so much can change in that time. If we are willing to commit to spending 29 minutes every day for the next 29 days…if we are willing to beg the Lord to reveal Himself to us…everything could be different in just 29 days.

Mass Readings from November 27, 2022:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalms 122: 1-9
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44

11/27/22 Closer Than You Think, Part I: 29 Days

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.

We often find it difficult to wait for things to come to us. During this season of Advent, we can also struggle with the feeling that "nothing is happening". During this time, we need to be reminded that God is closer than we think; He is in each moment and in each step...and remember to be patient.

Mass Readings from December 11, 2022:
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
Psalms 146:6-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

12/11/22 Closer Than You Think, Part III: Be Patient

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent.

We've been showing up and placing ourselves in God's Presence for the past 22 days. Sometimes we merely expect God to be silent and still. But what if God revealed Himself in a dramatic way? What would be our response?

Mass Readings from December 18, 2022:
Isaiah 7:10-14
Psalms 24:1-6.
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-24

12/18/22 Closer Than You Think, Part IV: When He Reveals Himself

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

God is closer than we think. But the ways that He draws close to us is that He comes so close that we can miss Him and He becomes so small that we can ignore Him.

Mass Readings from December 25, 2022:
Isaiah 62:1-5
Psalms 89:4-5, 16-17, 27, 29
Acts 13:16-17, 22-25
Matthew 1:1-25

12/25/22 Closer Than You Think, Part V: Small Enough to Ignore

Homily from the Second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

"A good society is one that makes it easy to be good." But what if you don't live in a good society? Is "being good" the only goal?  Is it possible to be more than good...to be holy...even when you are living in exile?

Mass Readings from January 15, 2023:
Isaiah 49:3, 5-6
Psalms 40:2, 4, 7-10
1 Corinthians 1:1-3
John 1:29-34

1/15/23 Homeless, Part I: Homeless But Holy

Homily from the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

One of the greatest things that is lost while in exile is a true sense of identity. Too quickly, we forget who we are and settle for something too small to be enough. But if we keep identity at the heart of our resolutions, we will be able to live homeless and Holy.

Mass Readings from January 22, 2023:
Isaiah 8:23-9:3
Psalms 27:1, 4, 13-14
1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 17
Matthew 4:12-23

1/22/23 Homeless, Part II: Resolution

Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent.

Jesus wept. Why does Jesus weep in the face of the death of Lazarus? He weeps to silence the Great Lie. He weeps because He loves. He weeps in order to teach us to weep.

Mass Readings from March 26, 2023:
Ezra 37:12-14
Psalm 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
Romans 8:8-11
John 11:1-45

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

3/26/23 Prototype, Part VI: Tears

Homily from Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion.

In His final moments on earth, our Rabbi teaches us one of the greatest lessons of Bet Midrash: how do we face the worst possible realities of life? Do we resist reality? Do we avoid addressing what scares us? Or do we do what Jesus did? Do we choose voluntary and radical acceptance?

Mass Readings from April 2, 2023:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24
Philemon 2:6-11
Matthew 26:14—27:66

4/2/23 Prototype, Part VII: Acceptance

RCIA class recording taken November 12, 2024.

Proofs of God's Existence

God and the Fall

Weeekly Review/Q&A

The Eucharist

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Many people aren’t bad…they’re just busy. As Catholics, we believe that people matter. The world has been changed by Catholic Christians who did more than just believe this truth; they allowed this truth to interrupt their lives and they acted on it. What is the difference between them and us? It is threefold: we are too busy to notice, too numb to care, and think we are too small to matter. What if that changed?

Mass Readings from September 25, 2016:
Amos 6:1, 4-7
Psalm 146:7-10
1 Timothy 6:11-16
Luke 16:19-31

2016-2017 UMD NEWMAN CCM

Interrupted, Part III: Too Busy to Notice

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Every great story needs a beginning. But it needs more than just a beginning. A great story requires tension, obstacles, and patient perseverance. When we give God our “yes”, even when we don’t know how the story will end, we are walking the path of faith. This path is necessary to become the people God will us to be. But it is easy to forget and hard to remember the reasons we are walking in the first place.  Because of that, we all need reminders in our lives who call us back to our “yes”.

Mass Readings from October 16, 2016:
Exodus 17:8-13
Psalm 121:1-8
2 Timothy 3:14-4:2
Luke 18:1-8

2016-2017 UMD Newman CCM

Faith Works, Part II: The Forge of Faith

Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

God desires your happiness. But this happiness is more than mere pleasure and more than mere emotion.  True joy, like true love, is a decision. Joy is the sense of well-being that is the result of the certain expectation or possession of one’s heart’s desire.

Mass Readings from November 27, 2016:
Isaiah 2:1-5
Psalm 122: 1-9
Romans 13:11-14
Matthew 24:37-44

UMD Newman 2016-2017

Joy to the World, Part I: Choose Joy

Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

Christian joy is more than a feeling. It is the sense of well-being that is the fruit of something else. It is the fruit of a life lived in God. A life “lived in God” is eminently practical; it simply involves the honest prayer, “Father, Thy will be done”. If a person lives this prayer in every environment, one can experience the joy that thrives in any environment.

Mass Readings from December 4, 2016:
Isaiah 11:1-10
Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17
Romans 15:4-9
Matthew 3:1-12

UMD Newman CCM 2016-2017

Joy to the World:, Part II: Anti-Fragile Joy

Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent.

Is it possible to love without conditions? Is it possible to have faith without conditions? Is it possible to have joy without conditions? When we love to love God for His own sake, unconditional joy can be a reality.

<strong><u>Mass Readings from December 12, 2016:</u></strong>
Isaiah 35:1-6, 10
Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
James 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11

UMD Newman 16-17

Joy to the World, Part III: Unconditional Joy

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

A culture of excess is an unhappy culture. A person of excess is a person driven by fear. But with Christ, a person can find joy even when they do not have what they need. Because with Christ, they know that they have enough.

Mass Readings from October 15, 2017:
Isaiah 25:6-10
Psalm 23:1-3, 3B-4, 5, 6
Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20
Matthew 22:1-14

'16-'17 UMD Newman CCM

10/16/17 Enough

Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There are times in life when a person is so overwhelmed that they feel like they cannot move. They need more information or they need more strength.  But often, what we need is more courage. Facing fear and surviving, regardless of success or failure, instills courage. We recognize that we know enough and are enough to move. But life is still bigger than any of us. In those moments, we realize that we are not enough and need something SomeOne…more than us.

Mass Readings from October 22, 2017:
Isaiah 45:1, 4-6
Psalm 96:1, 3, 4-5, 7-8, 9-10
1 Thessalonians 1:1-5
Matthew 22:15-21

Enough, Part II: I Am Not Enough

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

So many people feel like they can never do enough. In life, in relationships, in their faith. Because of this, people try to do everything and then beat themselves up over the fact that they are not able to do everything. But doing everything was never the goal. The goal, given by Jesus, is to love God with all. The question we are left with is therefore not “How can I do everything?”, but “How can I do the one thing that will grow love?”

Mass Readings from October 29, 2017:
Exodus 22:20-26
Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 47, 51
1 Thessalonians 1:5-10
Matthew 22:34-40

10/29/17 Enough: Never Enough

Homily from Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion.

The Passion and death of Christ is so...big. Sometimes it can seem so big that it becomes impersonal. But this event was not anonymous and the sufferings of Jesus were not generic. Each moment has a name attached to it, and each blow was specific. Until what I did to him becomes personal, what he did for me it's not personal.

Mass Readings from March 25, 2018:
Isaiah 50:4-7
Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24.
Philippians 2:6-11
Hebrews 5:7-9
Mark 14:1—15:47

03/25/18 Sign Your Name

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We often want to measure greatness by a person's ability, or by what they have accomplished. But God reveals that, while what we do matters, who we are and who we become matters more.

Mass Readings from September 9, 2018:
Isaiah 35:4-7
Psalm 146:6-10
James 2:1-5
Mark 7:31-37

Greatest of All Time, Part I: Identity, Not Ability

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

The desire to be seen and to be known is written deep in the human heart. But is a person great simply because a large number of people acknowledge them?  Jesus reveals that true greatness is when a person gives themselves away to something or someone greater; it is to lay down one’s life for Him and for the Gospel. It does not consist in self-protection or self-expression, but in self-donation.

Mass Readings from September 16, 2018:
Isaiah 50:5-9
Psalm 116:1-9
James 2:14-18
Mark 8:27-35

Greatest of All Time, Part II: To Be Great, Give

Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

There is a clear difference between a reason and an excuse. Excuses are not acceptable answers, but there are times when even “good reasons” fail to be “good enough.“

Mass Readings from October 14, 2018:
Wisdom 7:7-11
Psalm 90:12-13, 14-15, 16-17
Hebrews 4:12-13
Mark 10:17-30

'18-'19 UMD Newman CCM

Rivals, Part II: The Reason is the Rival

Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

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 October 27, 2019:
Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 23
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Luke 18:9-14

CompariSIN, Part I: The Way of Comparison

Homily from the Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time.

When someone else being honored or loved more than we are meets our insecurity, we are tempted to tell stories…about them and about ourselves.  But when we know who we are and are grateful for what we have, we have security. And comparison is powerless.

Mass Readings from November 3, 2019:
Wisdom 11:22-12:2
Psalm 145:1-2, 8-9, 10-11, 13, 14
2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2
Luke 19:1-10

CompariSIN, Part II: Infinitely Preferred

Homily from the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We will continue walking through this world in which people are better than us. How can we become invincible to comparison?

Mass Readings from November 10, 2019:
2 Maccabees 7:1-2, 9-14
Psalm 17:1, 5-6, 8, 15
2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5
Luke 20:27-38

CompariSIN, Part III: Incomparable

Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

In the battle to escape the comparison trap, we can become invincible to bad comparison by actively looking for the blessings, giving thanks, and inviting others into celebrating them. Because there are some things worth celebrating.

Mass Readings from November 17, 2019:
Malachi 3:19-20
Psalm 98:5-9
2 Thessalonians 3:7-12
Luke 21:5-19

CompariSIN, Part IV: Stealing Joy

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

We all have experienced the temptation to see someone who has failed or someone who has hurt us as a non-person. But taking responsibility for the people in our lives means fighting that temptation. And it means doing what we can to fight for that person.

Mass Readings from September 06, 2020:
Ezekiel 33:7-9 
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9    
Romans 13:8-10     
Matthew 18:15-20

How Do I Look? Part II: Fighting For

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Forgiveness is neither excusing nor enabling evil. There is always a debt that needs to be paid…and somebody needs to pay it.

Mass Readings from September 13, 2020:
Sirach 27:30—28:7 
Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12    
Romans 14:7-9    
Matthew 18:21-35

How Do I Look? Part III: The Cost of Forgiveness

Father Mike Schmitz is the Newman Center Chaplain at the University of Minnesota Duluth.

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