What does God really want from us?
When you look at every religion, Christian or otherwise, you’ll find worship at the heart. No matter who or what our religion is calling us to, we are meant to worship. And even further, the heart of worship is sacrifice. In order to truly love and worship something or someone, we must give something up in return, whether that be time, attention, or material possessions.
Today, Fr. Mike explains what’s at the heart of religion, and how realizing this can strengthen our relationship with God.
Meet Fr. Mike Schmitz
Fr. Mike Schmitz serves as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth and as chaplain for the Newman Catholic Campus Ministry at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.
He is a presenter in Ascension’s Chosen, Altaration, and The 99 programs, and has a channel on Ascension Presents. He is also the host of the Ascension podcasts The Bible in a Year and The Catechism in a Year.
Father Mike- this spoke right to my heart. This last Sunday at mass, I felt SO discouraged after my 3-year-old knocked over the kneeler and upset the woman sitting behind us. I know that our noisy and energetic children can be like a thorn in our side at times, but I also remember the homily was also about Jesus saying “let the children come to me.” Thanks for the reminder that all of our annoyances, and sacrifices can be united with Christ- to have eternal glory and significance. God bless you!
I just want to share that, this particular podcast struck a cord with me. I too am a single mother of two young children who can do just about anything but hold still and be quiet all throughout mass. Often times I feel so frustrated and occasionally as if we took a step (or many steps) backward in learning how to behave in church.
I’ve heard family members say to me (when I’m going through struggles) “offer it up”. This short podcast not only helped me understand what that meant but, now I can view and embrace the struggles as an opportunity to do something pleasing to God.
Added bonus, thanks to CoVid, I have been able to watch Fr. Schmitz’s celebration of the mass after the kids go to sleep Sunday night for the past 18 months (since I usually miss about 50-75% of what was said during mass). Because of that, my faith and understanding of the church has grown leaps and bounds.
Not to mention the co-worker I convinced to join in my bible study a year ago pretty much was hooked from the first time i played one of Fr. Schmitz’s talks.
Keep on doing what you’re doing…please. 🙂 You’re changing lives. #catholicsuperman