Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Ascension

Every week, Catholic priest Fr. Mike Schmitz delivers powerful homilies based on the Sunday Mass Scripture readings, inviting you to live more fully as the person God created you to be. Engaging and motivating, these 20-30 minute homilies will help ground your faith, fortify your heart, and transform your life. Fr. Mike Schmitz preaches from Duluth Minnesota, where he serves as the Newman chaplain for University Minnesota Duluth’s Bulldog Catholic campus ministry.

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20 episodes
Updated Yesterday

Episodes20

Newest first

Yesterday · 20 min
8/2/26 Give
Homily from the Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Can money buy happiness? People will wisely claim that money cannot buy happiness. But what if the answer is actually "it depends"? It depends what you spend it on...and HOW you give.
July 25 · 20 min
07/26/25 Fruitful and Faithful
Homily from the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is possible to use the gifts, use the opportunities...and lose your heart. King Solomon asked God for an understanding heart, and he was blessed with incredible wisdom. So how did he end so poorly? He did remarkable things, but he failed to do the ordinary things.
July 18 · 21 min
07/19/26 We Do Not Know How
Homily from the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Faith grows through trial and prayer. We all want a greater faith...and we all want a purified love. But how does our faith grow and how does our love get purified? Through trial and prayer. But we do not know how to pray as we ought. Prayer is more a posture than it is a procedure. And the posture is trust.
July 11 · 16 min
07/12/26 No Bad Days
Homily from the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is possible to live the rest of your life with no more bad days. Life can be so overwhelmingly difficult and challenging. But challenge and suffering can and do change us; they can break us down or they can change us. Not only that, but every challenge can be united to Christ and can change lives.
July 4 · 26 min
7/5/26 Citizens, Not Subjects
Homily from the Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. Citizens must live with conviction, responsibility, and courage. On the 250th anniversary of our nation, it is a moment to stop and reflect on our identity. Are we "subjects" or are we "citizens"? Are we "American Catholics" or are we "Catholics who are citizens of America"? And what would it be to live as a citizen without the virtue of patriotism?
June 27 · 14 min
6/28/26 Intentional Limitation
Homily from the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The necessary risk we must take. Jesus calls us to love Him first. To place Him ahead of every other goal or desire in our lives. In order to answer the question "What are you living for?", we have to take the risk of knowing what we are NOT living for.
June 20 · 15 min
06/21/26 The Moment of Moments
Homily from the Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time. We will need Humility and Hope. The moment will come when we will all stand before the Good and Holy God in judgment. This truth can fill us with fear, but there are two virtues we need more powerful than fear: humility and hope.
June 13 · 18 min
06/14/26 Precisely
Homily from the Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time. Precisely as strong as it needs to be. When Jesus sends out His Apostles in His Name, He also gives them all of the strength and ability that they are going to need. He continues to give us the same: precisely the strength that we need at every moment.
June 6 · 19 min
06/07/26 May They Be One
Homily from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi). To have the Real Presence in the Eucharist, one needs the Apostolic priesthood. Corpus Christi is an important feast for an important Reality. We know that Jesus was clear when He taught about His Body and Blood in the Eucharist...yet this true Presence requires the true ministerial priesthood that Jesus established with His Apostles. Christ's followers are divided, but He continues to desire our unity.
May 30 · 16 min
05/31/26 Understanding...or Trust?
Homily from the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. God is not a problem to solve, but One to be trusted. The Holy Trinity is the term that we use to try and convey the Mystery of Who God ultimately is. But no definition will suffice. And no explanation could possibly capture God's fullness. God is simply beyond anything that we can conceive of or imagine...but He has revealed Himself and called us into relationship with Him. Even if we do not fully grasp Him.
May 23 · 14 min
05/24/26 Near Occasion of Grace
Homily from Pentecost Sunday. God always answers our prayers, but our prayers do not control or convince Him. We can say that "prayer works", but we must be very careful to know what we mean if we were to utter such words.
May 16 · 11 min
05/17/26 A Necessary Goodbye
Homily from the Ascension of the Lord. "It is better for you that I go...". Is that true? Jesus told His apostles that it was better for them that He ascended to the Father; that it was better for them if He left them. But why?
May 9 · 15 min
05/10/26 A Reason to Hope
Homily from the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Hope that is not tested is hope that cannot be trusted. How do we grow in hope? Saint Paul tells us: through affliction that leads to a new level of trust in the God who loves us.
May 2 · 25 min
05/03/26 The Next...: The Next Goodbye
Homily from the Fifth Sunday of Easter. What is this in light of eternity? Our perspective either helps us see things clearly or muddies the waters. The only way forward is perspective, and not just any perspective, eternal perspective. Without eternal perspective, our hearts will never find rest and we will always be searching for our true purpose.
April 25 · 22 min
04/26/26 The Next...: The Next Road
Homily from the Fourth Sunday of Easter. There is no perfect road. There is only the next right road. There are many things that we might end up regretting in the course of our lives. But the most important thing is to keep our eyes on Jesus and our ears attuned to the sound of His voice; to listen to Him, stay close to Him, and follow Him.
April 18 · 25 min
04/19/26 The Next...: The Next Mass
Homily from the Third Sunday of Easter. The Enemy wants to steal your heart. The Lord wants to give you His. It is possible to know the truth; the truth about the Resurrection, the truth about Christianity, the truth about Jesus...and still struggle. It is possible to know and wrestle to have the courage it requires to continue on. Courage is necessary. Heart is necessary...especially in the battle of discouragement.
April 11 · 26 min
04/12/26 The Next...: The Next Confession
Homily from Divine Mercy Sunday. It’s not about your first or last confession. It’s about your next one. The Christian life doesn’t end with a first confession, baptism, or Easter moment, it continues through the next step. What keeps love alive is not looking back, but continually returning to Christ through confession, mercy, and grace. Each “next” encounter with Jesus strengthens faith and guards against a cold heart.
April 5 · 16 min
04/05/26 Easter Sunday: Everything is Restored
Homily from Easter Sunday. Everything given and taken is restored. Jesus did not rise from the dead to merely prove a point. He rose so that all could be restored. Everything we give to Him...everything we allow Him to take...all of it can be restored.
April 3 · 13 min
04/03/26 Good Friday: Everything is Taken
Homily from Good Friday. A king without His armor. At the end of our lives, there are no defenses. At the end of Christ's life, He clings to no defenses. He has poured it all out, and all is taken from Him. All that is left is the Man Himself. At the end of our lives, we will only be left with our heart...everything else is taken.
April 2 · 15 min
04/02/26 Holy Thursday: Everything is Given
Homily from Holy Thursday. Jesus knew. And He still gave everything. At the end of Lent, we realize that we have been called to give. To give our time and attention to God in prayer. To give up things in fasting. To give help to those in need. Jesus gives at the Last Supper. He gives everything...fully knowing the truth of the people for whom He gives everything.

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

8/2/26 Give

07/26/25 Fruitful and Faithful

07/19/26 We Do Not Know How

07/12/26 No Bad Days

7/5/26 Citizens, Not Subjects

6/28/26 Intentional Limitation

06/21/26 The Moment of Moments

06/14/26 Precisely

06/07/26 May They Be One

05/31/26 Understanding...or Trust?

05/24/26 Near Occasion of Grace

05/17/26 A Necessary Goodbye

05/10/26 A Reason to Hope

05/03/26 The Next...: The Next Goodbye

04/26/26 The Next...: The Next Road

04/19/26 The Next...: The Next Mass

04/12/26 The Next...: The Next Confession

04/05/26 Easter Sunday: Everything is Restored

04/03/26 Good Friday: Everything is Taken

04/02/26 Holy Thursday: Everything is Given