Fr. Schmitz, 'Bible in a Year' podcaster, calls for repentance

By Peter Finney jr.

Clarion Herald

    INDIANAPOLIS – Father Mike Schmitz, the priest who took the Catholic world by storm in 2020 with “The Bible in a Year” podcast that became No. 1 in Christian media, told the National Eucharistic Congress Thursday night that a revival in eucharistic practice and belief must be tied to personal repentance.

    “A year ago, when I was asked to be part of this (congress), I was so honored … but this word kept coming back, again and again,” Father Schmitz told thousands of attendees in Lucas Oil Stadium. “If this is going to be a revival – a real revival – here’s the reality: In the history of Christianity, you can never have a revival without repentance.

    “You can’t just say, ‘We have Jesus, we have Jesus, we have Jesus.’ Like (the prophet) Jeremiah said, ‘You have to reform your ways.’”

    The Bible scholar, who directs the Catholic ministry at the University of Minnesota Duluth and oversees youth ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, said another Old Testament story provides a warning to modern-day Catholics.

    In the first book of Samuel, Eli the priest’s two sons urged their father to bring the ark of the covenant out to the battlefield in hopes of turning the tide against the Philistines, just as Joshua had used the ark to win battles in the past.

    “But then they go to fight, and the Philistines win, because they might have (had) the presence of the Lord, but he’s not a toy,” Father Schmitz said. “God might be in our midst, but he’s not our plaything. He’s not our pet. He doesn’t exist to help us win whatever battle we want to win. He’s in our midst to transform our hearts so that we can be close to him and not to make us fight for whatever we want to fight for.”

    Father Schmitz said while Catholics understand the eucharistic Jesus is a treasure of the faith, problems can develop if they become indifferent to that treasure.

    “Here’s the problem – I can just not care,” he said. “I can say, ‘Here’s the moment of redemption, here’s the moment of restoration.’ I can be at every single Mass and say, ‘That’s it!’ But, if I’m not willing to repent, it makes no difference whatsoever.”

    Jesus honored the father’s will by being obedient to death and redeemed the world, he said.

    “The world is saved at every Mass,” Father Schmitz said. “But if I don’t give (Jesus) my heart, he’s just that much less glorified, and the world is just that much less saved. What I need to do is – I need to repent. ‘Hey, I’m faithful. I go to Mass.’ I know, I know. Maybe we’re here tonight and Jesus is saying, ‘I know you’re doing all the right stuff. I know you’re fighting. I know you’re persevering. I know you’re enduring, but you’ve lost your first love, and the road to love is repentance.

    “If I’ve lost the fire of my love for the Lord, my first love, then what are the fire extinguishers in my life? Sometimes the fire extinguishers are big, big sins. I take my fire and love for God and bring it out in a tornado and (I say), ‘I don’t know why this keeps going out.’ (But) most often it’s the small things that we settle for. They don’t snuff out our flame right away. The fire just keeps getting lower and lower and smaller and smaller.”

    Father Schmitz invited attendees to identify the “fire extinguishers” in their lives.

    “The Lord is present among us,” he said. “I don’t need more knowledge. I need more love. … I can’t expect to take the fire of this weekend, bring it back to my home and try to cram it into the life I just left. Something has to change. That’s why I have to redecorate my home. We have to do some remodeling.”

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