Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz Ascension

Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter.
Stand in the truth and do the next right thing.
Life can easily overwhelm us, leaving us in a place where we feel beaten and in a season of discouragement. But choosing humility and hope...choosing to live the truth and to do the next right thing...is the key to living courageously.
Mass Readings from April 21, 2024: Acts 4:8-12 Psalms 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 28, 291 John 3:1-2 John 10:11-18

Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter.
The first step is to stop.
Once we realize that we have to repent...that we are called to "change our minds"...the first step is to stop. To examine what it is that we are thinking and to which thoughts, sins, and false images of God we have made agreements with. And then to break those agreements in order to say "Now I begin".
Mass Readings from April 14, 2024: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19 Psalms 4:2, 4, 7-91 John 2:1-5a Luke 24:35-48

Homily from Divine Mercy Sunday.
Mercy is the love we need the most and deserve the least.
We all want to get what we deserve. We want justice, and God is Just. But there are times when we need something more than justice...there are times when we might deserve justice, but need mercy.
Mass Readings from April 7, 2024: Acts 4:32-35 Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-241 John 5:1-6 John 20:19-31

Homily from Easter Sunday.
Are Jesus and the Mass merely optional...or essential?
We have such full lives and such small hearts that we are relieved when things get cancelled. But, for the things that are neccesary, we would be devasted if we missed them. Who Jesus is to us will determine our response when we are not able to get to Mass or receive the Eucharist.
Mass Readings from March 31, 2024: Acts 10:34a, 37-43 Psalms 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23Colossians 3:1-4 John 20:1-9

Homily from Good Friday.
Jesus won the world in His weakness.
We would like for our Lord to be triumphant in His conquering of sin and death. But the people around Him as He saved the world were largely ignorant, indifferent, or antagonistic. Yet, Jesus won the world through His wounds.
Mass Readings from March 29, 2024: Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Psalms 31:2, 6, 12-13, 15-16, 17, 25Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 John 18:1—19:42

Homily from Holy Thursday, the Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper.
We all have unique sadnesses. Jesus enters into all of them.
Holy Thursday is a day that marks the gift of the Priesthood, the Eucharist, Christ's humble service, and the beginning of the Triduum. Today, we reflect on Peter, Judas, and Jesus in their unique sadnesses.
Mass Readings from March 28, 2024: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Psalms 116:12-13, 15-181 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15