Homilies preached by Fr. Mike Schmitz, Chaplain for the University of Minnesota-Duluth Newman Catholic Campus Ministry and host of The Bible in a Year.
Homily from Divine Mercy Sunday.
It’s not about your first or last confession. It’s about your next one.
The Christian life doesn’t end with a first confession, baptism, or Easter moment, it continues through the next step. What keeps love alive is not looking back, but continually returning to Christ through confession, mercy, and grace. Each “next” encounter with Jesus strengthens faith and guards against a cold heart.
Mass Readings from April 12, 2026: Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-241 Peter 1:3-9John 20:19-31
Homily from Easter Sunday.
Everything given and taken is restored.
Jesus did not rise from the dead to merely prove a point. He rose so that all could be restored. Everything we give to Him...everything we allow Him to take...all of it can be restored.
Mass Readings from April 5, 2026: Acts 10:34,37-43 Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23Colossians 3:1-4John 20:1-9
Homily from Good Friday.
A king without His armor.
At the end of our lives, there are no defenses. At the end of Christ's life, He clings to no defenses. He has poured it all out, and all is taken from Him. All that is left is the Man Himself. At the end of our lives, we will only be left with our heart...everything else is taken.
Mass Readings from April 3, 2026: Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Psalm 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9John 18:1—19:42
Homily from Holy Thursday.
Jesus knew. And He still gave everything.
At the end of Lent, we realize that we have been called to give. To give our time and attention to God in prayer. To give up things in fasting. To give help to those in need. Jesus gives at the Last Supper. He gives everything...fully knowing the truth of the people for whom He gives everything.
Mass Readings from April 2, 2026: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalm 116:12-13, 15-181 Corinthians 11:23-26John 13:1-15
Homily from Palm Sunday.
It is not my fault, but it is my responsibility.
When there is something that we like, we are quick to claim it. When there is something we don't like, we are quick to claim it is not our fault. But our story must end with our becoming like the Father...and the Father bears the marker of adulthood: The Cross.
Mass Readings from March 29, 2026: Isaiah 50:4-7 Psalm 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24Philippians 2:6-11Matthew 26:14—27:66
Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Lent.
Life AFTER his life WITH.
Some great stories tell us an important piece of information: where are they now? In our autobiography, after we have experienced "the return"; after we have experienced grace, how do we live? What does our "bonus chapter" look like? What is in our Epilogue?
Mass Readings from March 22, 2026: Ezekiel 37:12-14 Psalm 130:1-8Romans 8:8-11John 11:1-45
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Lent
At the end of the story, who will you be?
What you seek shapes what you see. Look for hope. Look for joy. Look for goodness. The things you train your eyes to notice will shape the person you become. At the end of the story, who will you be?
Mass Readings from March 15, 2026: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a Psalm 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6Ephesians 5:8-14John 9:1-41
Homily from the Third Sunday of Lent
From the middle, you can't see the end.
From the middle, you can't see the end. But just know you're making progress, even if you don't feel it.
Mass Readings from March 8, 2026: Exodus 17:3-7 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9Romans 5:1-2, 5-8John 4:5-42
Homily from the Second Sunday of Lent
Every story has a title. Does one moment define the whole thing?
There is often a speech that lives inside each of us. That speech can become the title of our story. Is that title marked by resentment? Or is there a larger event that can define our lives?
Mass Readings from March 1, 2026: Genesis 12:1-4a Psalm 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 222 Timothy 1:8b-10Matthew 17:1-9
Homily from the First Sunday of Lent.
Every story has a beginning.
As we begin Lent, we are faced with the question: If I live the next 25 years of my life the way I've lived the past seven days, where will I end up? Who will I become? We are writing our life story with every choice that we make. Are we writing in rebellion? Or with God as the Co-Author?
Mass Readings from February 22, 2026: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7 Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17Romans 5:12-19Matthew 4:1-11
Homily from the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Jesus didn't give us a new weight to carry, but a new way to carry the weight.
We all have things that we NEED to do. When we show up knowing that we are doing what God has asked, there is the necessity to also do what God has asked us to do the WAY God has asked us to do it…with love.
Mass Readings from February 15, 2026: Sirach 15:15-20 Psalm 119:1-2, 4-5, 17-18, 33-341 Corinthians 2:6-10Matthew 5:17-37