Fr. Mike Schmitz

Author -- 30 posts

Fr. Mike is the director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth.  He also serves as the chaplain for the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.  You can access Fr. Mike's homilies at umdcatholic.org or on iTunes.

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How to Bring Order to Your Life

When you clean and organize a room, you have to ask one very important question first: what is this room for? Once you can...

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Sneaky Ways to Be Prideful (and How to Stop)

"I don't... think... I'm prideful...?" Great! If you examine your actions and intentions and you don't detect any obvious...

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The Value of Silence

God never ignores us, but sometimes we simply can’t hear him due to all of the distractions in our life. That’s why Fr. Mike...

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Do You Want to Be Well?

Jesus asked the crippled man at the pool of Bethesda, “Do you want to be well?” It seems like an obvious question, but—as Fr....

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The Real Answer to Why God Allows Suffering

Playing a video game called Injustice helps Fr. Mike explain the real answer to why God allows suffering. In Injustice,...

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Picking a Thing for Lent

Fr. Mike knows the tricks we can play on ourselves when it comes to picking something for Lent. So he gives a straightforward...

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When God Doesn't Answer Your Prayers

If it feels like God isn't answering your prayers, that can be disheartening. But it can also be devastating. Today, Fr....

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The True Meaning of Advent

What is the best way to prepare for the season of Advent? You’re free to do what you know will help you prepare for Christmas...

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Answering Your Questions About Advent

Mary and Her Immaculate Conception Truly loving Mary will never lessen our faith in God, or take attention away from Christ....

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Advent: More Than a Chocolate Calendar

Stepping into Advent What does Advent mean to you? A time to put the lights up, gift shop, and eat chocolate? Or is it...

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Why God Loves You

God wants our brokenness.  He wants everything that makes us imperfect in the eyes of the world. In this video, Fr. Mike...

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Why It's Important to Have Good Friendships

At a glance, you may look at friendship and say it’s not necessary for day-to-day life. It’s just “nice to have.” And the truth...

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Do You Present Your True Self to Others?

If we put on a mask when we come to God in prayer, how can he love that fake version of us? In this week’s video from Fr. Mike,...

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How to Get Real Friends

How many real friends do you have?  Honestly, many people we call friends would probably better qualify as pals or buddies. The...

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When You’re Distracted in Prayer

Getting Closer to God When you're first growing in prayer and developing your relationship with Jesus, it is worth the...

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The Absolute Necessity of Saying "Thank You"

When was the last time you told God “thank you”?  We live in an extremely hectic world, full of distractions,...

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How Do We Spend Our Time?

How we spend our time is one of the most valuable decisions we make, because time is one thing we can never get back once it’s...

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What's Your Bedtime?

There’s an old saying, “Why put off until tomorrow what you could do today?” Our culture’s "seize-the-day" mentality can be a...

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What's a Sign From God (And What Isn't)

Signs are often tricky and fuzzy. They’re not always such a good tool for helping you make a decision.  Let’s be honest: we...

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Praying As You Can, Not As You Can't

What do you do when you don’t have the desire to pray? Today Fr. Mike encourages and challenges us to ask God to give us...

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What is The Purpose of Lent?

So... Why do we practice Lent?  What’s the real connection between the Israelites’ forty years in the desert and the...

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Preparing For Lent

How can we prepare our hearts to make the most of Lent? In this video, Fr. Mike explains how prayer, fasting, and...

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A Theology of Working Out

Let's talk about exercise! Today Fr. Mike challenges us to re-evaluate the way we treat and view our bodies as well as to...

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Why Is It So Hard to Forgive Yourself?

When you are struggling to forgive yourself As Catholics, we believe in the forgiveness of our sins through the graces of...

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If God is Good, Why Do We Need to Pray?

The age-old question: why do I need to pray?

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The "Little Things" Are Actually Most Things

Don’t Let The Important Moments Pass You By Saint Teresa of Calcutta once said, "We cannot all do great things. But we...

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All Saints Day Prep

Running the Spiritual Race What does a triathlon have to do with the Communion of Saints? Fr. Mike Schmitz draws...

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Why Does God Need Us To Worship Him?

Why Does God Need Us to Worship Him? God is an infinite, perfect, communion of persons, responsible for the intentional...

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Is It Ever Okay To Give Up?

Fr. Mike With Ascension Presents You may have seen the movie Rudy. Its eponymous protagonist is a not-so-athletic college...

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Family Brings Out The Worst (So God Can Heal It)

Do you ver feel like your worst comes out when you get with your family? Even if you think you’ve gotten more patient, kind,...