Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Homily from the (week in Church year.) Subtitle Description Mass Readings from {Month} {Date}, {Year}: First Reading PsalmSecond Reading Gospel

Homily from the The Baptism of the Lord The traps of believing we are God's advisors...or His performers. Baptism changes us. It begins an entirely new life in each one of us. And yet, when we approach the Lord, we can be tempted to act, not as God's adopted children, but as His counselors or his performers. Mass Readings from January 11, 2026:Isaiah 42:1-4, 6-7 Psalm 29:1-2, 3-4, 3, 9-10Acts 10:34-38 Matthew 3:13-17

Homily from the The Epiphany of the Lord Indifference can turn into hostility. Christ has come close. And yet, we all still have a choice: will we remain indifferent to His presence or will we seek Him out? If we choose indifference, we will not remain indifferent. When it comes to God, we either give Him our hearts or we remove Him from our lives. Mass Readings from January 4, 2026:Isaiah 60:1-6Psalm 72:1-2, 7-8, 10-11, 12-13Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 Matthew 2:1-12

Homily from the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God Resolve: I will not take these things for granted. We are surrounded by the amazing and miraculous every day. But we often miss it because our lives are too busy and too full. If we take a page out of Mary, the Mother of God's book, we would reflect on all these things...and no longer take them for granted. Mass Readings from January 1, 2026: Numbers 6:22-27Psalm 67:2-3, 5, 6, 8Galatians 4:4-7 Luke 2:16-21

Homily from the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph The "trad family" goes back farther than the 1950's... Men and women need to be authentically masculine and feminine for their marriages and families to thrive. But what IS authentic masculinity? What IS authentic femininity? Mass Readings from December 28, 2025: Sirach 3:2-6, 12-14 Psalm 128:1-2, 3, 4-5Colossians 3:12-21 or 3:12-17 Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23

Homily from The Nativity of the Lord (Christmas) What if all I received was HIM this Christmas? We have waited for Jesus—and now that He is here, true gratitude is shown by living fully in the gift of His presence and love. Mass Readings from December 25, 2025:Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98:1, 2-3, 3-4, 5-6Hebrews 1:1-6 John 1:1-18

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Advent What happens when I don't get what I've been waiting for? All through the Bible, God makes certain promises. He always fulfills them. But we cannot expect God to fulfill a promise that He has never made. No matter what, whether we get what we've waited for or not, we can hope in HIM. Mass Readings from December 21, 2025:Isaiah 7:10-14 Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6Romans 1:1-7 Matthew 1:18-24

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Homily from the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. You have already been given everything you need to be a saint. Imagine finding out that you had an inheritance. So many problems could be solved and you could do so much...if only you had more. But what if you had everything you need already? Mass Readings from October 5, 2025: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4 Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-92 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14 Luke 17:5-10

Homily from the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time When comfort is our god, we end up underliving our lives. Modern life has done a powerful job of reducing stark deprivation. This is a good thing. But one of the results is that many of us have become captive to comfort. Mass Readings from September 28, 2025: Amos 6:1a, 4-7 Psalm 146:7, 8-9, 9-101 Timothy 6:11-16 Luke 16:19-31