Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz 2/8/26 Wasted Potential
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Feb 7, 2026 A reflection on wasted potential and how a life can be reclaimed from choices, prison, and wrongful conviction. Stories of conversion, prayer, and starting a mission where you are. Practical images like salt and light illustrate living out gifts and passing grace to others.
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From Street Kid To Long Prison Sentence
- Daryl Woods Sr. grew up amid addiction and street life and became a teenage drug dealer who was convicted and spent 29 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
- His story illustrates wasted potential turned into a ministry and transformation after he embraced faith in prison.
Defining Wasted Potential
- Wasted potential is when you already had what you needed but failed to use it, not mere missed hypothetical chances.
- Real potential belongs to those who possessed the means and didn't apply them, making wasted potential a personal tragedy.
Use The Gift You Already Have
- Accept that Jesus' death and the Holy Spirit already give you God's love and new life now, not someday in the future.
- Use that gift immediately by embracing grace rather than waiting to become 'good enough.'