The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Series

The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Mike Schmitz

Faith, pop culture, and headline reflections from Fr. Mike Schmitz.

Older episodes

  1. 241Answering the Internet’s Most Asked Questions About PriestsFr. Mike is at the library of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, and he’s answering the most asked questions about priests and the priesthood—according to the internet. He answers great questions like: Do priests get paid? Do they get married? Do they pay taxes? How do priests become bishops? Why do they wear black? Why do they kiss the altar? And more … Fr. Mike is visiting St. Charles Seminary to give a talk on evangelization and new media. The talk will be posted on Ascension Presents. So stay tuned to catch it.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  2. 242BONUS: Telling the Story of God’s LoveFr. Mike speaks about evangelization, new media, and telling the story of God’s love at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. Addressing future pastors, he tells them “the heart of your formation is to become a dad” to your parishioners. He encourages them to use the same motto they use at the Newman Center of the University of Minnesota, Duluth, where he serves as campus minister. The motto he shares with students there is “See a need, fill a need.”  In other words, you don’t have to wait for permission to share the gospel, to be charitable, or to do good. Evangelization in the new world is at its heart no different than it’s always been. As Pope St. Paul VI shared in Evangelii Nuntiandi, if you’re baptized, you’ve been anointed to spread the gospel. And as Christ says when commissioning the apostles: “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Christ is saying it’s our job to continue his mission.  But it’s not all about going out. We also need to go in, to look inward. Before we go out to evangelize, we need to invite Christ into our hearts. What does it mean to know him? And what does all of this have to do with new media? It’s all connected because of one word: story. Evangelization is about telling the story of God’s love as you have experienced it, and new media is just a new medium for spreading that centuries-old message, the kerygma.  How do you become a Catholic speaker? “Well, you get baptized and then you start talking” Fr. Mike says. Opportunities will come, but your first yes has to be to Christ. And the opportunities don’t have to be to speak to thousands of people thousands of miles away. Saying yes to Christ means being willing to talk about him to one person one block or one house away, or just to the person in front of you. Just as it starts with a personal encounter with Christ, the next step is to tell the story of God’s love for you to one person.  So how do we evangelize with new media? We don’t if we aren’t willing to do it without new media.  Also, getting into new media requires more than a person sitting in his living room sharing his opinion on something. It requires an entire Church community, and you. The speaker speaks, the team puts everything together, but the most important piece is the person who shares the video, program, podcast, or article with someone they know and love. Check out St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and their John Cardinal Foley Chair of Homiletics & Social Communications Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast37 min
  3. 243Even More Questions from the Internet about PriestsFr. Mike follows up on his episode “Answering the Internet’s Most Asked Questions about Priests” with answers to even more questions from the internet about priests. Here he answers questions like: How do you bless holy water? Are priests allowed to drink alcohol? Where do priests live? Do priests go to confession? Are monks and friars priests? Do priests take a vow of poverty? Where do priests go to school? Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast7 min
  4. 244When Your Desires and God’s Plans Are DifferentJust because you desire something deeply doesn’t mean it’s God’s plans for you. Sometimes our desires and God’s will are different. Our desires are not predictors of the future and they’re not the voice of God. We are supposed to tend to our desires and discern what is being revealed through them, but letting them dictate your path in life is not wise. Especially when it comes to romantic relationships, we tend to favor the decisions that would give us our desire. If the person you desire keeps coming up in prayer, it’s because you keep bringing him or her up. Don’t fool yourself. At the heart of this desire is probably a good longing for marriage and a family. Acknowledging the desire for what it is will help you make a more clear-headed decision regarding it. You may also have a desire to pursue a certain career path. If you want to sing, for example, do you want to spend every day singing and live the life of a singer? When you acknowledge the realistic lifestyle your dream job would entail, it often brings sobriety to your desire. If the desire still does not subside, don’t automatically assume it’s because it must be your destiny. Examine your past, your conscience, and the things that have influenced you. Examine the things that may have brought about this desire. This examination will teach you valuable things about yourself. Our desire for goodness and holiness is a good thing. We have these desires so we can learn more about what’s deepest in our hearts. So next time one of your recurring desires come back, go deeper and ask yourself, “What does this desire really reveal about me? What do I really want at the very core of it?” Bring it to prayer and God will reveal something very profound, as he has often been known to do.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  5. 245Why Isn’t Ash Wednesday a Holy Day of Obligation?Why is Ash Wednesday not a holy day of obligation? A holy day is a day that has been consecrated for God, so in that sense Ash Wednesday is a holy day. At the heart of a holy day of obligation, however, is the Resurrection. For this reason holy days of obligation are times to celebrate and feast. Even in the midst of Lent, we feast on Sundays to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. You may have noticed, Holy Thursday and Good Friday also are not holy days of obligation. This does not diminish their importance, though. It simply makes no sense to celebrate these days as obligatory feasts because they are supposed to bring to mind the death of our Lord and also our own death—our physical death, and our death to self in order to avoid spiritual death. God does not force us to take up our cross and follow him, but he does invite us. With that said, what better place to go to start Lent than to Mass? It is the beginning of a long journey, and we need the strength the Lord can give us through the Ash Wednesday readings and the Eucharist. And what better way to remind ourselves of the whole point of Lent, that we are dust and to dust we shall return, so we ought to repent and believe in the gospel. Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation, but a holy day of invitation. For further reading, Fr. Mike mentions the story where Elijah, in a deep slumber, is awoken by a “messenger” who tells him to get up and eat. This story can be found in 1 Kings 19.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  6. 246How to Live This Lent for OthersLent is about transformation, but that transformation will be incomplete if we make it about ourselves. Instead of aiming for self-mastery alone this Lent, what is the key to living this Lent for others? In 2 Samuel 7, when King David says he will build a house for the Lord, the Lord says to David through Nathan that he will not be the one to build the temple—but his son will. Learning from this story, we see that we may want to do a good and noble thing for Lent, but that doesn’t mean it’s what God wants us to do. Ask God what he wants from you this Lent. Discipline is great, but there’s a step after that: being generous. Asking God what he is asking of you, instead of deciding on your own, is a step from discipline to generosity, from self-mastery to deeper relationship. Aim to do your prayer, fasting, and almsgiving out of generosity.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast7 min
  7. 247How to Start Strong and Stay StrongStarting strong is easy, but staying strong—perseverance—is a mark of holiness. It’s easy to be excited about a new relationship, ministry, job, or school, but enduring through the dull times when that newness wears off is difficult. Fr. Mike is not trying to downplay the importance of starting strong with a commitment, whatever it may be. It’s wonderful to be determined when a commitment is new, but to stay strong is a test of will power that many do not pass. For those who do endure, the endurance builds character. See more from Fr. Mike at media.ascensionpress.comSupport The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  8. 248Offering Up Your InconveniencesA great way to make this Lent even better spiritually is to offer up not only something you chose, but also to offer up your inconveniences. Give God those moments when you’re stuck in traffic, or when someone says something bitter to you, or when you have to run an errand you just don’t want to run. Offer up those inconveniences that you didn’t choose, and God will make you stronger in them. Intentionally receive these moments, and let them provide the opportunity to die to self. The Lenten commitment we chose is an active mortification, but these inconveniences you didn’t ask for are passive mortifications. They’re powerful because we have no control over them, and yet we can have control over what we do with those moments. Accepting these passive mortifications is a way for us to grow in freedom, because through them we learn to accept and live graciously in the moments that would otherwise have control over us. In the words of St. Paul: “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24). For full episode shownotes, visit AscensionPress.comSupport The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast6 min
  9. 249How Should Catholics Respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic?Fr. Mike gives us some advice about how we should respond to the coronavirus pandemic. He begins with the story of the recent pilgrimage he took to Israel amid the coronavirus outbreak. Israeli authorities were quarantining people in the country and canceling all flights except for citizens. Fr. Mike had to rush with his pilgrims and tour company to figure out what to do about their scheduled pilgrimage. At the very last minute, the tour company found a flight to Istanbul that allowed eight pilgrims, including Fr. Mike, to flee Tel Aviv. After successfully making it back home, he found that the original flight they had booked home was never cancelled. Moral of the story: everything’s a gamble. Some people, deeply convicted to speak the truth, may believe the reaction to COVID-19 is all for nothing, and that there is no need to cancel flights and even Masses. To those people, Fr. Mike asks, are we just being a critic toward those who have to make difficult choices? Worry, anxiety, fear and living in the what ifs won’t solve anything. Faith in God is the answer, faith that everything will turn out all right in the end. Some say this virus is a result of our faithlessness, and a call to repentance. Others say our reaction to it is an example of faithlessness. One thing is for certain: this is a call to faith as all adversity should be, but it is also a call to repentance as it should remind us of our frailty and mortality. How coincidental that we should be reminded of these things during Lent, which begins by telling us “You are dust and to dust you shall return,” and “Repent and believe in the gospel.” We can find a positive and negative side to any situation. How can we find the blessings amid this adversity? Pray. Be grateful. And cover your mouth when you cough.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast10 min
  10. 250God’s Ways Are Not Our WaysFr. Mike describes exactly how God works with us, even though God’s ways are not our ways. It’s like when a person you’re living with asks “What do you want for dinner?” and you say, “Whatever you want.” He then starts offering suggestions, but you turn them all down. After a few minutes of back and forth you both notice that what you really meant was not, “Whatever you want,” but, “You tell me what you want, and then give me the freedom to choose among those options.” This is a lot like the process God uses when you tell him, “Lord, just do what you need to do in my life.” People may not like the process, but it often works. When we tell God “just do whatever you want” more often than not he tells us to choose from a list of options. He respects our free will. If you ask him to purify your heart, that’s going to require breaking it so he can heal it. Trust the process, even if it’s going to hurt, and God will lead you to greater things. Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast6 min
  11. 251Does God Ever Lead Us into Temptation?When we pray “lead us not into temptation”, it may seem like God has the capacity to tempt us. But that’s not the case. God does not tempt us, but he can and sometimes must put us through tests. Here are a four helpful ways to look at this part of the Our Father: Tests reveal things to us. When God tests us, it reveals how much faith, hope, and love we have in God and for God. Tests also strengthen us. As St. Paul says, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope” (Romans 5:3-4). When we say, “lead us not into temptation”, what we’re really asking is “God, please don’t test me beyond my ability.” Trials will and must come, but when they do, we should ask God for no more than what we can endure. While God may not tempt us, the evil one does. God tests us by allowing the evil one to do what he does—so we can benefit from the strength and self-revelation that comes from the test. Hopefully this helps you say this part of the Our Father with more understanding and stronger intent.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast6 min
  12. 252Healing from the Wound of SinFr. Mike explains how even partial healing from the wound of sin is still worth the effort. Don’t give up just because you know your sins will leave some stains and scars. God’s mercy can do amazing things in your life, even if it is just partially healed. No matter how massive and unforgivable you think your sins are, God’s mercy is infinitely greater. St. Thérèse of Lisieux said if you took all of the sins in the world throughout all of time and tossed them to God, it would be like flicking a drop of water into a raging inferno (paraphrased). Nonetheless, justice demands for sins to have consequences. God forgives the eternal effects, but there will be temporal consequences. We shouldn’t let those temporal consequences prevent us from living the life God wants us to live. God can use anything we give him. Just because you can’t do everything doesn’t mean you can’t do anything.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  13. 253Have You Mastered the Basics of Your Faith?Fr. Mike makes the case that, before you claim a certain “style” in practicing the faith, you have to master the basics. He tells a story about when he was learning guitar. The teacher told his students to hold their guitar on an angle with their left knee higher than their right. This way they could play all kinds of music. Some of the students decided they wanted to hold the guitar their own way. This limited what they could play. Living the Faith is the same way. If you’re told to do something and don’t, is it because you can’t do it, or because you won’t? When practicing the Faith, you may say you’re not into prayer, or service, or witnessing about Jesus, but all these things are essential to growing in holiness. The saints are all different, true. Their fruit was unique, but the soil where they flourished is the same. Every saint started with prayer. They all did service, they all talked about Jesus. Fr. Mike recommends that we take advantage of all the riches our Catholic Faith gives us: the Rosary, Ignatian meditation, lectio divina, charismatic prayer, and so on. Let’s not limit our experience of God by saying some tradition is not our style. Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  14. 254How to Deal with Your Partner’s Sexual SinFr. Mike talks about how to navigate discussions with your partner about sexual sin—whether it’s pornography, masturbation, or other impurity. It’s important to realize that sometimes a person doesn’t have a right to know everything about you immediately. Keeping this in mind, at what point does a couple have to be vulnerable about their sexual sins? After two months of dating, maybe six months? It’s quite possible—actually likely—that a person’s sexual sins are the most shameful part of his or her life, so when someone is not exposing those sins—no matter how long the couple has been together—it may just be that the person is not comfortable being that vulnerable with their partner yet. A person has a right to be hurt and mad if their partner is not revealing their sexual sins, but he or she should also ask if they had a right to that knowledge. Father Mike asserts that such knowledge doesn’t have to result in the end of the relationship. Once the sin has been revealed, it should stay revealed. Neither partner should just assume that it’s in the past and done with. It’s bound to come up again. If you’re struggling with sexual sin, your partner needs to know you are doing everything you can to defeat the sin. He or she probably shouldn’t be your accountability partner, but should be informed. If your partner is the one struggling, you ought to help him or her defeat the sin in whatever way you can. Both of you should champion romantic love, since it is a strong combatant against sexual sin.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  15. 2554 Essentials for Every CatholicIn a previous episode, Fr. Mike said that all Catholics grow in the same “soil” together, but the fruit we bear is unique. But what is this common soil? What are the essentials for every Catholic Christian? “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” So there are four elements in the soil: Teachings of the Apostles: Magisterial teaching of the Church, Sacred Scripture, and Tradition. Communal Life (Fellowship): It’s not just me praying to Jesus. We need to share life somehow. Breaking of the Bread: This refers to the Mass, not just eating together. Prayer: There are so many ways to pray as a Catholic, and so many awesome prayers. You can pray the Liturgy of the Hours with the Church, or in your own words, or both. But to be in the soil you have to pray. For a great Liturgy of the Hours app, check out iBreviary. God wants us to flourish in faith, hope, and love for him and for others. He is the one who makes us grow in holiness, but in order to flourish we have to be nourished by the soil he gave us.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast6 min
  16. 256The Christian Solution to VanityVanity is not what many people think it is. It can come in many forms, and is not necessarily an infatuation with yourself. Vanity is an inordinate preoccupation with what other people think about you—which is different. It’s important, to an extent, to care what others think about you. It can even be charitable. But when this care becomes unbalanced, it leads to neglecting more important things. Wanting to be noticed can be vain, but not wanting to be noticed can also be vain. When you shrink back and don’t want anyone to look at you, it can be a form of vanity or false humility; because not wanting to be seen can be an indication that you care an inordinate amount about what people think of you. Vanity can also cause an unwillingness to share the Faith. Many times we think sharing the gospel will make people think less of us. How many times has the thought of what other people think prevented you from sharing the Faith? Balance is pertinent in every aspect of vanity, and the best way to achieve that balance is to care about what God thinks of you above all. These sayings about humility really sum it up well, since humility is the antidote to vanity: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less” (Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Life). “If you meet a really humble man … He will not be thinking about humility: he will not be thinking about himself at all” (C.S. Lewis).Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  17. 257How Do You Pray with the Bible?You know you should be praying. But do you ever wish someone would show you how? Fr. Mike starts by showing us how to pray with the Bible with a time-honored method called lectio divina. For full shownotes, please go to: https://bit.ly/2WYdL5F Monday, May 18 at 8 PM ET, Father Mike will answer your questions LIVE, for the first time ever on Ascension Presents! Whether your question is about why Catholics do the weird things they do, how you can overcome a specific challenge, or what Father’s favorite meal is, tune into the Ascension Presents YouTube channel to ask Father Mike live! https://bit.ly/2WUs1wpSupport The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast6 min
  18. 258The Benefit of the DoubtWhen someone says something hurtful to you, it is wise to give them the benefit of the doubt. What does that mean? It means ask yourself, “Do I firmly believe that this is a person of good will?” If so, is there anything that can help you better understand their behavior? Give them the benefit of the doubt that they are just tired, or “hangry”, or having a bad day for some reason. Especially in marital relationships, think of how many times your spouse has said hurtful things to you, while you knew that they still loved you. This is not to excuse hurtful behavior, and not a reason to tolerate being treated poorly, or to endure any kind of abuse. In many cases a person’s actions do reveal their heart. So we’re not talking about those cases. We’re not talking about people who manipulate others intentionally, and those who just willfully do evil. We’re talking about when people of good will just have a bad moment, or momentarily let their vain side get the best of them. The way we respond to an enemy and the way we respond to a friend is going to be different. Decide which one hurt you, and respond accordingly. www.ascensionpress.com/theFrMikeSchmitzPodcast Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  19. 259How to Practice the Presence of GodThroughout the Gospels Jesus says, “Remain in me” or “abide in me,” which—in simplified terms—means whatever you do, invite Jesus along. Ask him to “come with.” This is a way to grow in your relationship with him, but it’s also a smart thing to do because, after all, Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). When we ask someone to “come with” or “go with”, as Fr. Mike says they do in Minnesota, we are implying that we enjoy their company and even have a certain kind of love for them. When you love someone, you want them to come with you wherever you go. But “remain in me” means more than that. It also means gaze upon Jesus, not just at his face in a religious icon—though that could help—but gaze upon him with the interior gaze of the heart. Be aware that he is present. This shouldn’t be burdensome. It’s simple. Spending time with one you love is as easy as doing nothing. Thirdly, remaining in Christ means to speak to him. Tell him your dreams and desires. Ask him what he wills. When you do this keep in mind, the Lord is free. He is not robotic. He is free to love us as he wills, and sometimes that love is difficult—but it’s what we need. So next time you do something, anything, say, “Jesus, wanna go with?”Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast7 min
  20. 260Special Episode: Reconciling the Body of Christ (with Fr. Josh Johnson)In today’s special podcast, Fr. Mike Schmitz sits down with Fr. Josh Johnson to discuss racial division in the Church and how Catholics can strive to restore unity in the Body of Christ. Fr. Josh emphasizes that he is not infallible, so it’s okay to disagree with anything he says that doesn’t lead you closer to Christ, but he hopes this conversation bears fruit in your walk with Jesus and within the body of Christ. Many members of the Church want to know what they can do during these turbulent times. Fr. Josh gives four practical pieces of advice: listen to learn, use specific language when speaking with each other, act as one Body in Christ, and join in the suffering of Jesus to make reparation for others’ sins. For full shownotes, please go to AscensionPress.com/FrMikePodcastSpecial Guest: Fr. Josh Johnson.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast1 hr 20 min
  21. 261Family: Your Shortcut to HolinessFr. Mike explains how being at home with our family is one of God’s favorite ways to make us holy—if we are honest about the areas where we need to grow in our relationships with family members. Fr. Mike has observed that college students often have a profound encounter with Jesus through their college’s Catholic community. They find that they are praying more, receiving the sacraments more, participating in more service opportunities, and so on. Then they get back home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or—in the most recent cases—a lockdown. They realize, in their interactions with their family that they’re not as holy as they thought they were. Why do we struggle to be loving toward those whom we claim to love the most? It’s harder to love family members sometimes because—Fr. Mike explains—you didn’t get to choose this group, and they can make demands on you. It’s easy to be generous when it’s on your own terms. Our relationships with our family can reveal the impatience and lack of generosity inside us—the unedited version of us. Be honest with God and admit that the things you thought you defeated are still somewhere inside you. Surrender these things to Jesus. Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable with your family. They love you. Ask family members where they want you to grow this week. Pursue holiness at home. Like St. Teresa of Calcutta said, find your own Calcutta.Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  22. 262Make Small Sacrifices for a Big ChangeMaking small sacrifices is not just for Lent, because sacrifices and penance are necessary. As Christ said: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). And this is true all year long. But when Jesus said to deny yourself, he didn’t mean to always go against what you want. Really. He meant there are things I want that will not make me more like him—a lot of things, actually. So following him often means dying to self by denying myself those things. Mortifications—little deaths to self—make us more like Jesus and can be offered up for the sanctification of the world and others. Mortification can come in many different forms. It’s not always denying yourself something you want. Sometimes it means doing something you don’t want. Sloth or greed can cause us to not do things we should do. Choosing not to be slothful or greedy often means doing something for someone else—and this is a little death to self. Love is the not-so-secret ingredient that helps us die to self. The entire gospel and Jesus’ life are about love. He is constantly telling us and showing us how to love one another and God. That’s because when we learn to love, dying to self becomes so much easier since we start living for God and others. Life is hard when we’re selfish, but when we live for love we see what Christ means when he says “my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:30). You may also like No Greater Love: A Biblical Walk Though Christ’s Passion (https://bit.ly/2BjgNu5)Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast8 min
  23. 263Finding Balance in Your Walk with JesusRigidity and laxity are difficult obstacles to avoid when trying to find balance in your faith life. When we treat Christianity as a project, that leads to rigidity. When we treat Christianity like a projection, that leads to laxity. If you’re just looking at what Christians are supposed to do and then following those instructions, you’re treating your faith like a project and that’s bound to make you rigid. At the other extreme, if you see Jesus as a softy or a buddy who’s going to look the other way when you do the wrong thing, that’s just your projection of who he is. This mentality is bound to make you lax. How do we escape these two extremes? Here’s an analogy from Fr. Mike. When a pilot gets ready to fly a plane, he has a certain trust that the plane will fly, but he still has to check that everything is working properly before taking off. Also, he still has to check the controls even as he is flying and putting his life in the plane’s hands. There is a symbiotic balance between trust and diligence here. That’s what walking with Jesus should be like. Let’s take Christ seriously. He is infinitely loving. Let’s take grace seriously. God’s grace is infinite. However, it requires application. When you say, “Jesus, I trust in you” those words should help you not only let go, but also take a leap of faith and faith without works is dead (James 2:17).Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min
  24. 264Striving vs. AbidingIn the spiritual life, it’s difficult to know whether striving to do God’s will or just abiding in him is better. But why can’t we do both? Fr. Mike tells the story of a perpetually active student athlete. His inability to disengage in doing things and just abide in God was a problem, and he knew it. Fr. Mike advised him, it’s not that abiding is right and striving is wrong. It’s important to do, but it’s important to also know what not to do in order to acquire the goal your living for. There are many reasons why we choose to commit to activities, whether it’s for fear of missing out, liking being needed, needing to be liked. The list goes on. But if I find myself unable to rest, do I have a clear vision of what I really want out of life? Being slightly engaged and not knowing what you’re striving for can be more exhausting than being fully engaged while knowing what you’re striving for. It’s important to know when, where, and how I need rest, to know when to just abide in God, like Mary and not Martha (see Luke 10:38-42). In any given hour, you can be called to strive like Martha in one moment and abide like Mary in the next; to do something one moment and just be in the next. The best thing is when you know you’re doing the right thing and you get to abide in God as well because you know you’re doing his will. Support The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast9 min

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