The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

We all have those people in our lives whom we love, but just ask too much of us. Establishing limitations in relationships can be hard, but we need boundaries. Even Jesus did it when he spent time with just his disciples, or just his apostles; or just Peter, James, and John; or even just his father in heaven. Fr. Mike explains not just why we need boundaries, but how we could do so without coming across as glib or too harsh. He talks about how establishing boundaries will help us more...

We use the term “friend” loosely, introducing casual acquaintances as “My friends Lucy and John.” But what is friendship, really? Fr. Mike uses Aristotle’s three kinds of friendship—pleasant friendships, useful friendships, and virtuous friendships—as guidelines. While all three can be good, the first two can end up being flimsy and fleeting; but the third kind, virtuous friendships, really get to the heart of what good friends are to us. They are on the same mission, they have many of the...

Father Mike Schmitz forgot to say one thing in his video “We’re Not Just Cosmic Accidents” – God loves you. In his previous video Fr. Mike made comments on The Greatest Showman song “This is Me”. To elaborate on his original message, he quotes Pope Benedict XVI, saying, “Until I am accepted and loved by another, I cannot accept and love myself. But even then the sense is fragile, because all human acceptance is fragile. Ultimately, we need a sense of being accepted unconditionally. Only if...

Fr. Mike shares three things that will help you build healthy relationships. If a couple wants to get married, that’s something we should celebrate. However, that doesn’t mean we should blindly encourage them no matter what, and offer cliche advice like, “You’re in love, and that’s all that matters,” or “Do what you heart tells you.” No matter how convincing a couple’s love for each other seems, there are some things that always need to be considered, especially in young relationships...

Blessed Father Stanley Rother was a farmer, priest, and martyr from Oklahoma who found a way to give everything to the Lord, even his greatest struggles and disappointments, because he knew nothing is wasted when given to God. Fr. Mike tells Father Rother’s story, and shows what we can learn from the undying love for Jesus this American farmer had. Fr. Mike encourages, no matter what hardships you’re dealing with, give them to God and your story will give him glory; bringing your life to...

Without our dignity that comes from God, we are just cosmic accidents. This is a humbling realization, but one that can also be empowering. Fr. Mike says we often misunderstand humility because we think it involves thinking less of ourselves. What it really involves is greater focus on God’s power and goodness, because he is the source of whatever power and goodness we have. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “A really humble man will not be thinking about humility. He will not be thinking about himself...

Happiness is circumstantial. In fact, the word has the same root as the word “happenstance”. And yet, despite how fickle it is, many of us base our lives on the pursuit of happiness. Joy, on the other hand, is the abiding and pervasive sense of well-being. Fr. Mike explains that joy is, as G.K. Chesterton wrote, “the gigantic secret of the Christian.” The Christian understands that God knows his name, loves him, and is here with him now. This never changes, and it is what gives the Christian...

Sometimes it can be hard to respect the character of a person you really don’t like. That’s no problem, says Fr. Mike, because you can still respect them as a human being and—if they are in a position of authority—you can still respect their position. Not everyone in our lives is going to earn the kind of respect that Fr. Mike would equate with trust. Those who have a respectable character will earn that trust though, and that’s the kind of person we should strive to be in other people’s...

Sure, there are times when it’s just hard to believe what the Catholic Faith tells us, but when someone says “I’m losing my faith,” or “I lost my faith,” there’s something much more serious going on there. Fr. Mike examines this problem, but emphasizes that we actually can’t lose faith because it’s a gift from God. We can use that gift wrongly and put it into what Fr. Mike calls “God’s chief rivals” or, in other words, idols; but the faith is still there and we can still put it in God if we...

Anyone can and should condemn the sins of the priests and cardinals that have been all over the news. The real challenge is to ask God what he is expecting us to do within this time, our time, in history. If he has created us to live in these difficult times for Catholics, he must be calling us to some great task to help bring renewal to his Church and individual souls. Here's a link to last week's episode. (https://media.ascensionpress.com/podcast/pennsylvania-sex-abuse-scandal/)

The wisdom he shares here is akin to that of many successful, insightful writers such as Cal Newport and Josef Pieper. You can find the works Fr. Mike references here: Cal Newport's Deep Work (http://calnewport.com/books/deep-work/) Josef Pieper's Leisure, the Basis of Culture (https://bit.ly/2Je5FwU)