Category: Ascension

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Theology of the Body – Session Four – What Does This Mean for Your Life?

This video is one installment of a 4-part series on the Theology of the Body presented by Fr. Mike. For free access to the entire series, please visit https://www.ascensionpress.com/tobtalk/

“And now, O Lord, I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, but with sincerity. Grant that I may find mercy and may grow old together with her.” Tobit 8:7

In this fourth and final installment of the Theology of the Body Crash Course, we apply these teachings to Scripture. We look at the marriage of Tobias and Sarah and a reading from Song of Songs. We learn how the promises made during the sacrament of the Rite of Marriage bear the four marks of God’s love. Fr. Mike Schmitz then highlights three ways in which our society works against love that is free, total, faithful, and fruitful: through the use of contraception, pornography, and homosexuality (same-sex attraction). Summarizing what we’ve learned in each session, Fr. Mike instructs us in fasting, looking someone in the eyes, and saying no to ourselves. Implementing this way of life is a process, not an event.

We end this course with the words of Jesus and St. John Paul II: “Be not afraid.”

This series is brought to you for free by Fr. Mike’s local ministry, bulldogCatholic. This series is worth more than $80, but bulldogCatholic is providing it free of cost to you. Please donate to support their mission! https://bulldogcatholic.org/seeds-of-…

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If This Isn’t the Life You Asked for . . .

If This Isn’t the Life You Asked for . . .

Who is orchestrating your life? If it’s God—and not you—what will you say to him? Fr. Mike suggests trying “yes.”

Whether life circumstances bring the best out of you or the worst out of you, you need Jesus more than you think you do. And that is a very good thing. Here’s why.

//Ascension – YouTube – 4/22/2024//

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The Danger of Complaining

St. Paul tells us, “Do everything without grumbling,” but even the best-intentioned Christians can fall into a toxic habit of constant complaining. It’s true that sometimes, sharing a complaint can help rectify an unjust situation or call attention to something that needs to change. But when you start fixating on the negative things around you and voicing your critiques or grievances about everything in your life, you imprison yourself in your own personal hell.

Today, Fr. Mike encourages us to ask for God’s grace to break free from the habit of complaining.

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When You’re Discouraged

It’s not unusual to experience discouragement on the road to holiness, especially when we live in a world that is filled with temptations and persecution. With God on our side, nothing the devil can do will ever prevail over us. However, it’s the moment we become too discouraged to ask God for help that the devil is waiting for. So how can we prevent this from happening?

Today, Fr. Mike explains the root of discouragement in our faith journey, and how to keep leaning on God through that struggle.

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Is That God’s Voice . . . Or My Voice?

“Is God calling me somewhere else?”

Sometimes in our discernment—especially over major life choices, like our vocations—we start second guessing our decisions. Sometimes, we make hasty decisions because we thought we “messed up” our discernment. But most of the time… the best decision is to “stay the course”.

As the scriptures says, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no.”

Today Fr. Mike continues his series on vocational discernment and offers some helpful guidance on how and when to make life-altering choices.

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How Do I Know if I Made the Wrong Choice?

Each day of our lives we make countless decisions. Many of them have small consequences, good or bad. But what about the BIG decisions we make, like what career to be in, who to marry, or what vocation to follow?

Today Fr. Mike delves into the four principles surrounding our vocational discernment and what to do if we feel like we’ve made the “wrong decision” in that area of our lives.

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Reading the “Signs” from God

Fr. Mike offers the antidote of common sense for the anxiety that often comes after making a big decision. As a campus minister, he sees many students who feel like they made the wrong decision to come to college because things are not the way they imagined. To people in these situations, he advises them to stay the course. Paraphrasing St. Ignatius of Loyola and C.S. Lewis, he says to never change your course in times of desolation when that same course rang true for you in times of consolation. Give yourself a season, time to figure things out.

If you’re about to make a big decision and don’t know which course to take, or know someone who is in that situation, check out the new book by Jackie and Bobby Angel, with Fr. Mike Schmitz, Pray, Decide, and Don’t Worry: Five Steps to Discerning God’s Will, now available for pre-order: https://ascensionpress.com/collection

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What’s a Sign from God (and What Isn’t)

Signs are often tricky and fuzzy. They’re not always such a good tool for helping you make a decision.

Let’s be honest: we want shortcuts. We want God to do the hard work and make big decisions for us. Doing God’s will is the purpose of life, but that does not mean he is going to just reveal exactly what you ought to do. That would violate our freedom.

God speaks in clarity, not fuzziness. If he is telling you to do something, there will be no doubt that he is telling you. This kind of sign, however, is rare because in order to be a disciple of Christ—at some point—we have to make the tough decision to follow him on our own. There are steps that can help in this process:

1) Gather the data.
2) Seek counsel.
3) Weigh all the options and risks.
4) Take the responsibility for the decision you need to make.

If you follow those steps, the decision will be clear. God wants us to use our intellects to make decisions. He wants us to be stewards of our own lives. We can base our decisions on the facts rather than mere feelings and fuzzy signs.

If you would like more help making any kind of decision in your life, try the book, Pray, Decide, and Don’t Worry (http://tinyurl.com/yy6hk27j
by Bobby and Jackie Angel with Fr. Mike Schmitz.

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God, What’s Your Plan for My Life?

The angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her all about how she’d conceive and bear God’s son Jesus, and even when she asked how this could be, he elaborated. Wouldn’t that be nice? Wouldn’t it be nice to have an angel show up and tell us what God’s plan for our life is?

But… that’s not how it went. The angel actually told her very little. And after Mary’s “fiat” (“Let it be done unto me according to thy word”), what happens? “The angel departed.” That’s it.

See, God probably won’t tell you what his plan is for your life. Not all at once. And Fr. Mike is here today to tell you why it’s actually better that way, and how we can follow Mary’s example of trust.

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When God Doesn’t Answer Your Prayers

If it feels like God isn’t answering your prayers, that can be disheartening. But it can also be devastating.

Today, Fr. Mike offers the good word that your God is your loving Father who wants to give you good things. But he also offers the reminder that God is not a genie over which we have control.