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You said an unkind word or reacted rashly. You feel terrible because it was directed at someone you love. When you ask for their forgiveness the wound they feel is too raw and they don’t accept your apology. What can you do?
Today, Fr. Mike shares a word of challenge and encouragement on how to exercise the virtue of patience and show mercy as you wait to be forgiven.
Sometimes saying sorry just isn’t enough.
Chances are that you can remember a time you hurt someone through your actions. Maybe it was just missing something important to them, or letting your words slip to someone else, but whatever you did cost them something. And when your mistakes lead to someone in your life losing something, saying you’re sorry just isn’t enough.
Today, Fr. Mike explains why we have to ask people for forgiveness and not just say we’re sorry.
Have you ever heard the expression, ‘To err is human; to forgive, divine?’ Surprisingly this well-known phrase does not come from the Bible but a poem by the English poet Alexander Pope.
Today, Fr. Mike shares some great insights into the process of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration and how God offers all three stages to us in the Sacrament of Confession.
As Catholics, we believe in the forgiveness of our sins through the graces of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But often, even though we are absolved but we can struggle to forgive ourselves for our past faults and failings.
Today, Fr. Mike shares the main reason why we struggle to let go of the past and surrender to God who is our loving Father.
Commenting on the recent Bruce Jenner “gender reassignment” issue, Father Mike Schmitz discusses the difference between one’s perception of gender and gender reality. Gender stereotypes have altered our perception of what it means to be a man or a woman, but it is unhealthy to expect reality to conform to our perceptions. If there is someone in your life struggling with gender identity, or any other brokenness, Father Mike encourages you to be there for them.
The key to a happy death is not a long and fulfilled life—it’s a life of gratitude for the time given.
We often forget that this life isn’t owed to us. Every breath we take is a gift from God, who is holding us in existence at this very moment. Once we start to think that this life is owed to us, that in some way we deserve it, we will become ungrateful for the time that is given, even if we’ve lived a long and happy life.
Today, Father Mike explains how to fill your life with gratitude, and how that will prepare you for a happy death.
The Ten Commandments tell us to “honor thy mother and father”, but what does that really look like? Especially for adult children?
Parents are not perfect, and sometimes they make mistakes that leave us and others wounded. So when God tells us to honor them, what does he mean by that? There’s a certain respect that all are owed simply by their personhood, and then there’s a respect that someone deserves because of their role or position. But what if our parents are dishonorable people? Does this commandment change once we’re adults out of their direct care?
Today, Father Mike explains how we can love difficult parents.
How is it that a young French girl who entered the convent at 15 years old and died at only 24 years old would become a Doctor of the Church? How is it that on her deathbed her own sisters thought her life was so unremarkable that they struggled to write her obituary?
Today, Fr. Mike reflects on how the “Little Way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux contains a secret to holiness for every modern Catholic.
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.
Sometimes they’re things we don’t want to do… but we have to do them anyway. Sometimes you make it through saying, “I’ll learn to like it.” But what about if you never do?
Today, Fr. Mike gives us a word of encouragement to find joy even in the midst of suffering and to avoid falling into despair or resentment as we walk toward eternity.