The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Father Mike Schmitz discusses the personal renewal that can come from accepting the hardships, tragedies and difficult situations that hit us throughout life.

Father Mike discusses why our culture is addicted to "mature" content on television. This addiction is a sign of deeper issues facing society.

What if Judas chose to share his true intentions with one of the other apostles? Instead, he kept his plans to himself, preferring to keep them unexposed and leaving his friends in the dark. Father Mike Schmitz sheds some light on Judas’ betrayal, explaining how we are all tempted to hide behind a similar mask.

If getting to heaven were anything like getting into the Olympics, no one would make it. None of us are good enough to spend eternity in God’s presence. But Father Mike Schmitz reminds us that we don’t have to be good enough. God wants us to surrender our lives to him, accepting and responding to his grace and love.

Father Mike Schmitz teaches us that forgiveness is rooted in justice. It doesn’t forget or ignore the injustice done, but it frees us from the need to get revenge. When you forgive, the one who hurt you is released from their debt to you, and you are released from the pain so you can move on.

In this episode, Father Mike Schmitz gives some direction that can lead to an answer for ourselves or someone we know. He shares how a vocation is more than just figuring out whether we’re called to married life or religious life, and it’s about more than just finding out what we like to do. As he breaks down three different types of vocation we all have, he draws a practical path we can follow to pursue holiness.

Today, we tend to bring down our heroes to a more ordinary, human level, and make them less worthy of our aspirations. Fr. Mike challenges this trend, saying the most important qualities of our heroes are their character and virtue.

Father Mike Schmitz points out how oftentimes the issue is not whether we have time to pray but whether we truly believe that prayer works. If we truly believe prayer is effective, we’ll find time for it.

Commenting on the recent Bruce Jenner “gender reassignment” issue, Father Mike Schmitz discusses the difference between one’s perception of gender and gender reality.

Father Mike discusses how unwanted thoughts and temptations come and go, like a bear that intrudes upon your campsite and then leaves if you don’t bother it.

Father Mike offers a reflection on Avengers: Age of Ultron. Totalitarian governments tried to protect people by offering them comfort and security. Fr. Mike quotes Pope Benedict XVI, who said “you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness.”