Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Ascension

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.

  • 21 minutes 19 seconds
    Episode 123137: 12/14/25 Waiting Well: Praise While We Wait

    Homily from the Third Sunday of Advent

    In seasons of waiting, do we complain or praise?

    While we are waiting, it can feel like nothing is happening. And yet, faith tells us that God is at work even when we can't yet see the fruit. Rather than complaining while we wait, there is another option.

    Mass Readings from December 14, 2025: Isaiah 35:1-6a, 10 Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10 James 5:7-10

    Matthew 11:2-11

    13 December 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 10 minutes 38 seconds
    12/08/25 This Present Moment

    Homily from the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

    This feast day of the Immaculate Conception is not just a privilege for Mary: it's a prophecy for us.

    The Feast of the Immaculate Conception reveals God's plan to conquer sin not just by repairing what is broken, but by preparing a path where grace triumphs first. This Advent we are invited to enter into the "Sacrament of the Present Moment", where God offers real, life-changing grace in each moment we choose to be present to Him. Mary's unique "yes" reminds us to stop waiting and to respond to God's already-given grace with a wholehearted and immediate "yes".

    Mass Readings from December 8, 2025: Genesis 3:9-15, 20 Psalm 98:1-4Ephesians 1:3-6, 11-12

    Luke 1:26-38

    8 December 2025, 4:00 pm
  • 23 minutes 25 seconds
    12/07/25 Waiting Well: Trust His Timing

    Homily from the Second Sunday of Advent.

    We worry while we wait.

    Advent teaches us not just to wait, but to trust while we wait. When we surrender worry and remember who God is, waiting becomes a place of grace instead of frustration.

    Mass Readings from December 7, 2025: Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 12-13, 17Romans 15:4-9

    Matthew 3:1-12

    6 December 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 17 minutes 12 seconds
    11/30/25 Waiting Well: Engaged

    Homily from the First Sunday of Advent.

    The process is the point.

    When we are waiting, we often want to be "done". We want to be "there". We want our waiting to be over so that we can start living. But life happens right here and right now. And God is doing something right now. We do not simply endure waiting, we engage during the waiting. The declaration of faithful waiting is: I am confident that this moment is crucial.

    Mass Readings from November 30, 2025: Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122: 1-9Romans 13:11-14

    Matthew 24:37-44

    29 November 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 23 minutes 19 seconds
    11/23/25 The Moment of Victory

    Homily from The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

    The moment of victory is the moment of vulnerability.

    We often think that we win by being strong, or beautiful, or clever, or powerful. But Christ wins by another means. Christ the King, Lord of the Universe wins by choosing to empty Himself of all that we think we need to win.

    Mass Readings from November 23, 2025: 2 Samuel 5:1-3 Psalm 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5Colossians 1:12-20

    Luke 23:35-43

    22 November 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 28 minutes 54 seconds
    11/16/25 In The Light

    Homily from the Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time.

    Would you rather be admired? Or loved?

    The Day of the Lord is coming. When everything that is true about our hearts will be revealed. What should not be there must be burned up or transformed so that we can be fully known...and fully loved.

    Mass Readings from November 16, 2025: Malachi 3:19-20 Psalm 98:5-6, 7-8, 92 Thessalonians 3:7-12

    Luke 21:5-19

    15 November 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 20 minutes 25 seconds
    11/09/25 Meant to Be

    Homily from the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.

    If you were what you were meant to be, you would set the world on fire.

    There are some things that are dedicated...consecrated to be something special. They are meant to be something unique. Others merely used to be something unique. Which one am I?

    Mass Readings from November 9, 2025: Ezekiel 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 Psalm 46:2-3, 5-6, 8-91 Corinthians 3:9c-11, 16-17

    John 2:13-22

    8 November 2025, 5:45 pm
  • 27 minutes 14 seconds
    11/2/25 After This

    Homily from the Commemoration of All the Faithfully Departed (All Souls).

    By the end of this Mass, some things will be changed forever.

    Purgatory is an essential teaching of Christianity. It highlights that salvation is both an event and a process. Purgatory is God's gift on continuing the process of making our hearts like His that He began in this life.

    Mass Readings from November 2, 2025: Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6Romans 5:5-11

    John 6:37-40

    1 November 2025, 4:45 pm
  • 20 minutes 26 seconds
    10/26/25 I Got Nothin'

    Homily from the Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

    Nothing to Offer. Nothing to Prove. Nothing to Hide.

    When we stand before the gates of Heaven and we are asked why we should be let in...what is our answer? How would we approach Heaven? How do we approach God now? We might approach God with our resume, or as an audition, or with perfection...but we need to approach in a different way.

    Mass Readings from October 26, 2025: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18 Psalm 34:2-3, 17-18, 19, 232 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18

    Luke 18:9-14

    25 October 2025, 4:45 pm
  • 22 minutes 58 seconds
    10/19/25 Moments of Consequence

    Homily from the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

    Persist through severity.

    There are big moments in our lives. We usually think of the beginning or the end of something as the moments of consequence. But the middle often holds the most impactful moments of consequence; times when we are called to persevere...to "remain faithful" to the decisions we have made.

    Mass Readings from October 19, 2025: Exodus 17:8-13 Psalm 121:1-82 Timothy 3:14-4:2

    Luke 18:1-8

    18 October 2025, 4:45 pm
  • 23 minutes 18 seconds
    10/12/25 Two Mule Loads

    Homily from the Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

    Break the cycle and build your life on a relationship with the God who saved your life.

    We often find ourselves in the same cycle as many people in the Bible: We find ourselves in desperate need, we cry out to God, He answers, we thank Him...and then we forget. There is a way to break this cycle and build our lives on a relationship with the God who saved our lives.

    Mass Readings from October 12, 2025: 2 Kings 5:14-17 Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-42 Timothy 2:8-13

    Luke 17:11-19

    11 October 2025, 4:45 pm
  • More Episodes? Get the App