The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast
Episodes
Why Non-Catholics Can’t Receive Communion
14 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Catholics, Alcohol, and Drinking
07 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
How to be a Good Disciple of Christ
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Can a Catholic Marry a Non-Catholic?
25 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Religion Doesn't Cause as Many Wars as You Think
18 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Do You Present Your True Self to Others?
14 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Dealing with Stress
09 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
3 Questions to Ask to Prevent Gossiping
27 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Is It OK To Stay The Night?
20 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike offers a message that may be hard to accept for some of us, but his intention is to help us live happily and get to heaven. In a culture wher...
The Culture of Netflix and Chill
13 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Every generation has its own code words for things that are taboo, but when watching TV and relaxing could mean having casual sex, it’s fair to say ...
How to Prepare for the Sunday Readings
06 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Have you ever left Mass feeling like the homily just wasn't satisfactory? In this episode, Father Mike Schmitz shows us how to always gain what we nee...
Fr. Mike's Autobiography
29 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is not a new autobiography by Fr. Mike Schmitz. It’s about everyone’s autobiography, which is—in a word—the crucifix. Je...
Take Courage!
23 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
It's easy to think of courage as something we only need when facing our greatest fears, but in this episode Fr. Mike explains how courage is necessary...
What's the Point of Fasting During Lent?
16 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
We fast during Lent for many reasons. Whether those reasons are good or not is hard to tell sometimes, though. Sometimes we fast and do penance for p...
Confessing the Same Sins Over and Over Again
07 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike discusses why confessing the same sins over and over isn’t entirely a bad thing. He also offers some ways we can make our confessions more ...
Why Should I Confess My Sins to a Priest?
05 Mar 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve ever been in a conversation where you had to defend the Catholic Faith, people have probably asked you this question. It can be a tough on...
Should Catholics Call Priests Father
26 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most common Bible verses people use to try and debunk Catholic teaching is Matthew 23:9, where Jesus says, “Call no man on earth father.”...
Overcoming Envy and Dealing with Jealousy
16 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Envy and jealousy sneakily gain control of our minds. They don’t feel like other sins that give at least a brief moment of gratification, so it’s ...
4 Helpful Rules for Discernment
09 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
When we are discerning God’s will in our lives, we often get overwhelmed by the anxiety of making the right choice and don’t permit ourselves to c...
Motivation to Go to Catholic Mass
01 Feb 2018
Contributed by Lukas
You may have heard priests or devout Catholics say something like, “If only people knew what was happening at Mass, they’d be more willing to go.”...
Why God Gave Us Bodies
25 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
God made the world—and you—on purpose. What is that purpose? Well, that’s what St. John Paul II went to great lengths to explain in his Theology...
Inspiration to Stop Complaining
18 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “In all things give thanks” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). In this episode, Fr. Mike shows us how to live up to that...
The Virgin Mary's Struggles
11 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
If we want to be holy, the Virgin Mary should have an integral role in our spiritual life; but sometimes, perhaps, you might think you cannot relat...
The Secret to Sticking to a New Year's Resolution
04 Jan 2018
Contributed by Lukas
So you felt a strong wave of inspiration and became determined to make a New Year’s resolution. Great. Now what? In this episode, Fr. Mike teaches h...
Christmas: A Time for Hope
28 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
While many of us may become stressed out before Christmas and depressed afterwards—working hard to make the holiday perfect and burning out once it’...
Learning How To Love from the Bible
21 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Do you want to learn how to love like the Bible teaches? Bible-based love, indeed any Bible-based relationships, can be attained if we understand what...
Straightforward Career and Job Advice
13 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It’s all too common for us to think of our work as either the thing that gives us our identity, or something to be avoided at all cost, or some unhe...
The Problem With Criticism
07 Dec 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Fr. Mike delivers a crackdown on habitual criticism. He discusses how easy it is to criticize something, and how hard it is to create...
Finding God in Darkness
30 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The phrase “dark night of the soul” is thrown around quite a bit in Catholic circles, but what does it mean exactly? In this episode, Fr. Mike Sch...
How Do Priests Pray
23 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Finding the right words to pray can be difficult, and the rote prayers we were taught as children are too often not prayed from the heart. In this epi...
The Lesser Known Final Judgment
16 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Death, judgment, heaven, and hell—the four last things—are popular enough topics among Christians; but there’s more to these things than just ou...
Decision Making 101
09 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike gives help when it comes to making decisions.
The Battle of Prayer
02 Nov 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Drawing from the wisdom of the saints, Fr. Mike explains why prayer should be in the center of our lives, while offering some helpful pointers on how ...
Tolkien's Leaf
25 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
J.R.R. Tolkien’s short story "Leaf by Niggle", reveals that minutia matters: even the little things we do have can have great significance. In this ...
Wonder Woman
19 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What is it that makes a hero? In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz offers a definition we can all live up to. Using the Wonder Woman movie as an example,...
Living in the Present Moment
12 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Never before was there and never again will there be a moment quite like the present, yet so often we find ourselves wishing we were in another time i...
NFL Protests
05 Oct 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Football has recently become a forum to look at where patriotism and protest intersect. The last thing most NFL fans want is for the NFL to get politi...
Finding Balance in Christian Life
28 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Balance in life is something many of us strive for while not having much insight on how to achieve it. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz provides thre...
What is Hope
21 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Hope, in the Christian sense, is often misunderstood. It is not the same as optimism or presumption. It is not the blind faith that we will go to heav...
Avoiding Impurity
14 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Did you know we have the ability to write our own stories? So often we consider ourselves victims of our own passions, constantly giving in to them wh...
Is it OK to Judge Someone
07 Sep 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Jesus commanded us not to judge… but not to judge what? If we look at the words of Jesus, we find he’s actually telling us that even though we can...
What's Your Burden
31 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How do you carry your burdens in life? In this episode, Father Mike discusses a tendency to make our life harder based on the "work beneath the work....
Who Do You Spend Time With
24 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Common wisdom tells us we become the people we spend the most time with, so choose your friends wisely. In this video, Fr. Mike expands upon that advi...
Training vs Working Out
17 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by the diligence of professional athletes and St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Fr. Mike encourages us to approach our prayer lif...
Talking About Suicide
03 Aug 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike explains why hope is the best remedy for suicidal thoughts. If you know someone struggling with such thoughts, don’t hesitate to reach out ...
Be a Hater
27 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
You may be familiar with the expression, “Hate the sin, not the sinner.” Fr. Mike would agree, especially when it comes to ourselves. We are quick...
Responding to the MMA Episode
20 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike addresses some of the disagreements his audience expressed regarding last week’s video on mixed martial arts. Showing that he wasn’t sing...
Why Watching MMA Strips Human Dignity
13 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes the forms of entertainment we choose to watch raise important moral questions. In this episode, Fr. Mike puts the sport of mixed martial art...
Generosity - The Greatest Spiritual Gift
06 Jul 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In Matthew 17:20, Jesus tells us if we have faith as small as a mustard seed we could move mountains. The problem is most of us don’t put our fai...
Are My Sacrifices Working
29 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Book of Eli (Denzel Washington) and The Road (Viggo Mortensen) provide powerful illustrations for Fr. Mike’s talk about hope this week. These tw...
Do Catholics Worship Saints
22 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike Schmitz wants to straighten out some confusion regarding Catholics’ veneration of saints. In this episode, he explains how—far from being...
Why We Don't Drink Coffee At Mass
15 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Leaving our coffee cups outside - there are a few reasons for this. Fr. Mike reminds us that we all have a vital role to play in the Mass, and it’s ...
Why Be Catholic And Not Just Christian
08 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There are many similarities and differences between the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches. In this video, Fr. Mike Schmitz narrows the diffe...
How To Face Temptation
01 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Father Mike uses the classic myths involving the Sirens to explain some ways to avoid temptation. He points out the differences between the ways Ulyss...
What I Learned Getting Roasted At The Seminary
26 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike uses a memory from the seminary to discuss a lesson about self-identity. He asks us what we would like to be known for at the end of the day....
What You Should Know About Purgatory
17 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Some people reject the idea of purgatory because they misunderstand its purpose. In this episode, Fr. Mike explains why purgatory is needed and straig...
Is God in the Center of Your Life?
11 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Does your life revolve around your relationship with God, or is your relationship with him just a side-note?
Is it OK to Hate Someone?
04 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
What do we need to do as Catholic Christians to convey that the message of our religion is one of pure love? So often we misrepresent what it means to...
What Is the Sin of Gluttony?
27 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Many of us have learned the hard way that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. In this episode, Fr. Mike shows us how to savor life’s deligh...
God Doesn't Owe You Anything
20 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
When we’re going through hard times, it’s easy to think we deserve better from God. In this episode, Fr. Mike uses a compelling story from the boo...
Good Friday- The Meaning of the Cross
13 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Many people wonder, and even become angry, about God’s ways. In this episode for Good Friday, Fr. Mike explains why God’s answers often seem like ...
Hell Is for Real
06 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It’s a question that arises whenever someone challenges the beliefs of Christianity: If God is all-loving, why does he send people to hell? Some Chr...
Where is Lent in the Bible?
30 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Just about any question you might have about Lent is answered in this episode. Fr. Mike explains where the observance of Lent came from (the Bible), c...
Acedia- The Noonday Devil
23 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The Meaning of Suffering
16 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Books upon books have been written about the problem of suffering. Fr. Mike isn’t about to reinvent the wheel in this video, but the wisdom he share...
Fasting Can Change You Forever
09 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike talks about the real reasons Christ tells us to fast. It isn’t just about strengthening our will and showing our love for God through some ...
Why Fast on Ash Wednesday?
02 Mar 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike offers a refreshing reason for fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting shouldn’t be simply something Catholics do to show they...
That's Offensive!
23 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The more we live in the truth, the harder it will be for others to offend us, because false statements about us won't bother us and true ones won't be...
Preparing for Lent
04 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this video, Fr. Mike explains how prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are the three pillars of a spiritually fruitful Lent. He then challenges us to tr...
Mortal Vs Venial Sin
02 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Even though mortal sins are more deadly than venial sins, that doesn’t mean venial sins are harmless. Fr. Mike explains the damage venial sins do to...
3 Steps to Unceasing Prayer
31 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
First Thessalonians 5:17 says to “pray constantly,” but how do we do that? In this video, Fr. Mike Schmitz suggests a three-step approach used by ...
Love is an Ability
27 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Chapel Veils and the Significance of Dreams
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How can we know if God is speaking to us through a dream? Is it acceptable to wear a chapel veil to a Novus Ordo Mass? Fr. Mike responds to these ques...
What Is Sin?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Fr. Mike lays out not just what sin is but also what it is not. He also explains the difference between regret and repentance, and ho...
Mastering Love and Relationships
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Who doesn’t want to have more constructive conversations in their close relationships? In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains how achieving this...
What Constitutes a Practicing Catholic?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It may be difficult to tell a non-practicing Catholic that he or she can’t receive Communion, but—as Fr. Mike Schmitz proves in this episode...
Letting God Take His Time
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike reflects on why God often takes his time when working in our lives. Sometimes God has to go back to the foundation of a problem to answer our...
Venting or Gossip
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes we forget how much of an impact our words can make. In this episode, Fr. Mike reminds us that our words have the power to build up or destro...
Will My Pet Be in Heaven?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The question addressed in this episode runs much deeper than the cartoon classic All Dogs Go to Heaven. Fr. Mike ventures into the theology of the mat...
Wanting to Fix People
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
We have a tendency to want to fix the people we love. While delighting in all their good traits, we think, “If only they didn’t have this one quir...
Learning to Be Alone
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Being alone isn’t supposed to be scary. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz shows us how solitude can be an invitation and doesn't have to lead to lon...
Can I Go to Confession Over the Phone?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
With all of the communication we do through the Internet and over the phone, why do we still have to go to confession in person? Fr. Mike Schmitz expl...
Is Shyness Your Excuse?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike helps us break down the barriers that may keep us from evangelizing. He points out that the best way to spread the gospel is just by being yo...
Will God Heal My Wounds?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Being alone isn’t supposed to be scary. In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz shows us how solitude can be an invitation and doesn't have to lead to lon...
Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How can God be good, but allow bad things to happen? Fr. Mike Schmitz tackles one of the toughest questions religious believers must answer
Adulting Level- Expert
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
The mark of an adult really comes down to one word: responsibility. In fact, being responsible just happens to be a sign of sainthood as well, accordi...
Independence Day Special
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It might be tough not to feel patriotic after hearing why Fr. Mike Schmitz loves America in this episode. More importantly, though, he talks about the...
3 Reasons Catholics Genuflect
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
By genuflecting before the tabernacle at church, we’re saying at least one of three things with our bodies. Those three things have to do with humil...
Are All Catholics Hypocrites?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Sometimes we’re not everything we wish we could be. At times all we can do is act as if we believe, because we’re just not up to truly putting our...
The Value of Silence
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
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 Schmitz feels it’s ...
Can I Get a Tattoo?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike Schmitz gives us some things to consider before getting a tattoo. If we do choose to place permanent marks on our bodies, Fr. Mike advises us...
Procrastination Isn't Always Laziness
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike teaches us the two questions we need to ask ourselves to figure out whether our procrastination is laziness or 'strategic procrastination'. H...
Do We Deserve God's Love?
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Before we receive Communion, we essentially tell God we are not worthy to receive him. In this episode, Fr. Mike explains why this is not a reflection...
Discernment 101
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike Schmitz explains that it is best to focus on one thing at a time when discerning a vocation. Not only is it most prudent to discern ...
Dogma, Doctrine, and Meat on Fridays
25 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike explains that Church teachings can develop without essentially changing. Using examples such as the doctrine of the Incarnation and abstainin...
Praying in a State of Mortal Sin
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Contrite prayer can be an act of courage, because Lord knows there’s no harder time to pray than after we know we’ve sinned. In a way, we’re afr...
Batman V Superman Review
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Fr. Mike critiques Zack Snyder’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Outdoor Weddings
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike Schmitz explains why a Christian marriage has to be inside a church. With the marriage vows we aren’t just committing ourselves to our spou...
4 Reasons for Almsgiving
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Fr. Mike Schmitz encourages us to be charitable this Lent, emphasizing how almsgiving is a foundational part of living the Catholic faith.
Fr. Mike's Easter Special
24 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
For this first week of Easter, Fr. Mike wants us to know how important we are to Jesus. When Jesus rose from the dead, the first people he encountered...