The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why Catholics Call Mary Their Mother Mar 28, 2019

Show notes

When Catholics call Mary their mother, it may seem like they are taking away some of the respect due to Jesus and giving it to Mary. This is far from the case. Fr. Mike points out two reasons why calling Mary our mother can improve our relationship with Christ, and strengthen our faith life.

Loving the people Jesus loves helps you love him more. The more you love Mary the more you love God.
Jesus gave Mary to us as our Mother on the Cross.

“When Jesus saw his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’ And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home” (John 19:26-27).

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Signs that Your Relationship Is Falling Apart Mar 21, 2019

Show notes

Fr. Mike discusses four signs that your relationship is in danger of falling apart, especially when it comes to stonewalling. Stonewalling, as used in the context of this episode, is when we refuse to communicate or cooperate with someone. Psychologist Dr. John Gottman calls it one of the “four horsemen of the apocalypse”, or one of four types of expression that indicate that your relationship is falling apart. The other three are defensiveness, criticism, and contempt.

As Christians, we should always pay attention to the one who is communicating with us. After all, we would expect at least that much from them when communicating with them. Loving someone means seeing them. By seeing, here we mean literally looking them in the eyes when they talk to you, but also understanding them and seeing them as a person made in God’s image.

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What NOT to Do During a Breakup Mar 14, 2019

Show notes

Fr. Mike is asked a lot about what to do when your life is thrown off course by a breakup.

In a previous episode, Fr. Mike discussed four questions to ask yourself when discerning God’s will for your life. When presented with a new door (or big decision), ask yourself: Is it good? Is it open? Is it wise? Is it something I want?

Now when applying this discernment process to a relationship, you have to remember that the other person is likely asking him or herself the same questions. The hardest heartbreak, though, comes when the first three questions check out but the fourth question—Is this something I want?—does not.

In these situations, the one thing Fr. Mike says not to do is blame God. If you’re the one choosing to break up with your significant other, it’s easy to deflect the blame onto God and say he told you to do it. It’s more likely, however, that God gave you the freedom to choose what to do for yourself. So take responsibility.

If you are the one who was dumped, God still has a plan for you. You are more than a footnote to the life of your former boyfriend or girlfriend, so don’t let anything he or she said make you feel that way. Go and find where God is leading you next.

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The Purpose of Lent Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

What does the Israelites’ forty years in the desert tell us about the purpose of Lent?

Sure, they both involve the number forty—which often represents a time of test and trial in the Bible—but what’s the more important connection?

The Israelites’ time in the desert and our forty-day Lenten fast represent God’s invitation for us to trust him completely.

Fr. Mike explains, the Israelites did not believe the Lord could bring them into the Promised Land because it was inhabited by a people much more powerful and larger than Israel—they didn’t trust him even after he delivered them from slavery to the largest civilization on the planet, Egypt.

We can be the same way.

We think God can’t give us the strength to overcome this or that sin or habit. But purpose of Lent is to set aside time for us to trust God completely so we can see that he is all we need.

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Picking a Thing for Lent Feb 28, 2019

Show notes

Fr. Mike knows the tricks we can play on ourselves when it comes to picking something for Lent. So he gives a straightforward guideline: Don’t pick something that’s arbitrary. Pick something that is necessary.

In other words, don’t say you’re giving up watermelon when you know you will hardly eat watermelon anyway; and don’t give up hot showers if you know cold showers actually won’t help you grow in holiness. We can easily fool ourselves into thinking strictness equates to holiness. Likewise, we can fall into the trap of thinking that the easiest thing will be the most helpful.

What do I really need to do or give up for Lent? If I take an honest look inside myself, it may be something difficult, but I will know.

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Getting Involved in Parish Life Feb 21, 2019

Show notes

The value of a new parishioner introducing him or herself to parish life and just asking the priest, “How can I help?” is priceless.

When entering a new community, we may have all of these ideas about what we can do to help, but to listen and simply tell the leaders that you are available shows humility and understanding.

Fr. Mike knows firsthand about all of the different types of parishioners who are on fire for the Faith, and want to do something to enrich parish life. The ones who end up helping the most are those who in essence say, “I am your servant. Tell me what I can do for you.”

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The Meaning of "I Love You" Feb 14, 2019

Show notes

Fr. Mike breaks down the real definition of love, which is willing the good of the other for the other.

He goes further than that though, saying that if we truly believe in Christ, then the loving thing to do would be to share Christ with others by being his witness.

St. Valentine risked his life by being a witness for Christ and for love. In our calling as Christians, let’s be courageous and love others not just by doing good deeds for them, but by sharing Christ with them.

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How Does God Restore Us? Feb 07, 2019

Show notes

Fr. Mike explains how God restores our brokenness, especially when it comes to our bodies.

So often, we find that the more precious a thing is, the more fragile it is. And when something precious is broken, we often think it’s become worthless. Like when we break a fragile teacup, we throw it away because it no longer has value.

But that’s not the way it is with our bodies.

God created us to be temples of the Holy Spirit, something very precious. But we’re not like fragile teacups. If we’re broken, if we’ve been abused, if we’ve been taken advantage of, or even if we’ve chosen to give in to temptation, we’re not worthless.

God restores us.

And through his grace, we are restored to even greater glory.

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You Are a Burden Jan 31, 2019

Show notes

Yes, you are a burden. We are all burdens, including Fr. Mike, but we are burdens worth carrying. Many of us choose to deal with our problems on our own because we don’t want to bring our mess into other people’s lives. But the very nature of love is to sacrifice for others, and we cannot have any meaningful relationships in our lives if we do not share our burdens and bear some of the weight of other people’s burdens.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”—Galatians 6:2

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What is Stopping You from Becoming a Saint? Jan 24, 2019

Show notes

It may seem too difficult, or even unrealistic, to be a saint today. The reality is though, a saint is simply someone who has conformed their will to the Father’s will rather than the spirit of the age. Fr. Mike mentions three popular mentalities that prevent us from becoming saints:

Our hearts want instant gratification, while becoming like Christ is a process. Fr. Mike’s advice is learn to love the process.
We like keeping our options open, but becoming a saint requires giving everything to Christ.
We lack a fighting spirit. A saint needs a willingness to fight the good fight, especially when the spiritual battle is hardest.

Fr. Mike makes it abundantly clear that the only thing preventing us from becoming a saint is ourselves, because God’s grace is enough.

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