Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Homily from the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Who you are now is who you are. Joy is the abiding sense of well-being. It is a feeling, but it is also a choice. But we do not choose joy itself. We must choose the source of joy. Love is the source of joy. Mass Readings from September 11, 2022 Exodus 32:7-11 Psalms 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 191 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-32

Homily from the Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Loyalty is a force that conquers time. The essence of a eulogy virtue is character. Not merely who people think you are, but who you actually are. A person of character does what they said they would do…despite changing feelings or circumstances. This is loyalty. Mass Readings from September 4, 2022: Wisdom 9:13-18 Psalms 90:3-6, 12-14, 17Philemon 9-10, 12-17 Luke 14:25-33

Homily from the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less. The Book of Sirach makes the claim that the humble person is loved more than a giver of gifts. But what does it mean to be humble? Does it mean what most of us automatically think of? Or does it mean something deeper...something freer? True humility gives a person the ability to pay attention. Mass Readings from August 28, 2022: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 Psalms 68:4-7, 10-11Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24 Luke 14:1, 7-14

Homily from the Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time. How are you fighting for Heaven? Jesus makes it very clear that our call is to make our pursuit of Heaven exactly that: a pursuit. He is personal and practical when He tells us that each and every one of us must strive for Heaven. Mass Readings from August 21, 2022: Isaiah 66:18-21 Psalms 117:1, 2Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13 Luke 13:22-30

Homily from the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Sometimes God gives the victory and sometimes God gives what we need to finish the race. Every one of us is in the middle of the race of our lives. God has called us and brought us here, even when there is no victory in sight and even when victory is not possible. But God will always give whatever we need to finish the race. Mass Readings from August 14, 2022: Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10 Psalms 40:2-4, 18Hebrews 12:1-4 Luke 12:49-53

Homily from the Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We sacrifice because we love and we love because we sacrifice. The roots in our lives can be so beneficial. Family and friends, home and homeland. But roots can also become traps. Good things can become Ultimate Things. When we say "I need this" and are willing to sacrifice anything to get or to hold on to it, we become trapped. In this, God loosens the roots and calls us to walk by faith. Mass Readings from August 7, 2022: Wisdom 18:6-9 Psalms 33:1, 12, 18-19, 20-22Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Luke 12:32-48

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