Podcast Summary

Podcast: Called (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)
Episode: Called to Rebuild w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz and Harry Lennix
Date: February 20, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode explores the theme of "rebuilding"—not only physical structures like churches, schools, and neighborhoods, but also people, communities, and cultures. Fr. Mike Schmitz and guest Harry Lennix, a celebrated actor, reflect on faith, service, storytelling, and the transformative power of the arts—especially in under-resourced communities. Drawing from personal stories and community involvement, the conversation delves into vocation, the importance of beauty, and the arts' role in healing and cultural renewal.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Foundations: Growing Up and Responding to a Call

[03:30 - 14:28]

• Harry's Background:

  • Grew up on Chicago’s South Side during a time of significant social change.
  • Raised in a working-class, primarily Black Catholic community.
  • The Church and Catholic education provided stability and formation, with priests and nuns acting as surrogate family figures after the loss of his father.
  • Early exposure to diversity—neighbors from Jewish, Polish, Irish backgrounds—and to evolving local culture, music, and faith expressions.
  • Served as an altar boy, drawn to the sacredness of the Mass, and discerned priesthood in his teens, attending preparatory seminary.

• Key Quote:

  • “The Catholic priests were my father, so to speak. And the nuns were like these kind of surrogate mothers.” (Harry Lennix, 05:15)

2. The Arts as a Calling and Service

[14:28 - 21:57]

• From Actor to Teacher to Community Leader:

  • Harry credits Catholic formation and community service for shaping his vocation as a storyteller and later as a teacher in Chicago Public Schools.
  • He describes acting, teaching, and directing as forms of service to others, rooted in the Benedictine idea of "ora et labora" (pray and work).
  • Service, as learned from faith, is fundamentally for the good of the other, not for personal gain.

• Key Quote:

  • “That [service] is addictive in its way. That’s very attractive because it’s honorable. It’s based in a principle that I think is of great benefit to everybody.” (Harry Lennix, 16:18)

3. Beauty, Storytelling, and Evangelization

[17:18 - 24:23]

• Christian Aesthetics:

  • Inspired by St. John Paul II’s “Letter to Artists,” Lennix emphasizes the artist’s role as a servant of God, participating in divine creativity.
  • His seminary training instilled a love for beauty, literature, and storytelling—not just as craft, but as a vehicle for truth and human flourishing.
  • He cites teachers who helped him see Biblical stories as true but not always literal, expanding his view of narrative and meaning.

• Key Quotes:

  • “It goes on about how the arts are of service to God, that … we have used these great techniques.… We are being like God in that sense, in that we are creating something….” (Harry Lennix, 17:48)
  • “Everything in the Bible is true … but it is not fact. That blew my mind.” (Harry Lennix, 19:36)

4. The Power of Story and Understanding Humanity

[21:57 - 27:45]

• Role of the Artist:

  • Art and storytelling as frameworks for understanding human behavior, emotion, and motivation—whether teaching children or portraying complex characters.
  • Good acting requires identifying with a character’s internal logic, even when portraying villains.
  • The role of the artist is compared to that of a priest—submitting oneself in service to something greater.

• Key Quotes:

  • “As an actor, I’m a studier of human behavior.… My job… has to be pointing toward an authentic experience of humanity.” (Harry Lennix, 21:57)
  • “You have to think or to know that that person believes himself or herself to be right.… History is not determined in the struggle between right and wrong, but between two rights.” (Harry Lennix, 25:47)

5. The Necessity of Arts & Culture in Community Rebuilding

[28:29 - 39:13]

• Healing & Hope Through the Arts:

  • The absence of artistic spaces in underprivileged communities like Chicago’s South Side is identified as a “privatio boni”—a lack of something good.
  • Artistic expression, both individually and communally, channels creative energy that might otherwise be destructive.
  • The power of gathering—live performance and shared experience—forms bonds, awakens dignity, and can prompt neighborhood transformation, as witnessed in Brooklyn and elsewhere.

• Key Quotes:

  • “There’s no substitute for the real thing, for being in the space of other humans really there… A kind of sacred space.” (Harry Lennix, 29:04)
  • “When you experience that beauty or, you know, the power of story, it has the ability to change our minds, to change our hearts and to change our lives.” (Fr. Mike Schmitz, 37:27)

6. The Lillian Marcy Center: A Vision for Cultural Renewal

[34:23 - 43:59]

• Creating a Home for the Arts:

  • Harry is spearheading the Lillian Marcy Center for the Performing Arts in Bronzeville, Chicago—named for his mother and a beloved colleague.
  • The goal is to create an enduring institution for artistic expression within the community where so much talent historically originated, but often had to leave for other parts of the city.
  • Drawing on other success stories, the mission is to root this renewal in the local soil—honoring mothers and the legacy of faith, service, and creativity.

• Key Quotes:

  • “If it weren’t valuable, why would we be getting robbed of it, so to speak?” (Harry Lennix, 39:13)
  • “We want to make it known that this makes business sense and spiritual sense. And I think that we won’t need many years to prove that.” (Harry Lennix, 42:17)

7. Education, Formation & Passing the Baton

[44:45 - 54:15]

• Investing in Youth & Legacy:

  • Early exposure and ongoing access to the arts are essential, especially for youth in low-income communities.
  • Collaborations between arts institutions and schools (e.g., the Josephinum Academy) can impart dignity, skills, and aspiration.
  • Lennix frames his work as building something for the next generation; marriage and adulthood shifted his focus from personal achievement to legacy.

• Key Quotes:

  • “When a guy gets married, you start thinking about the next generation. And so I think in terms of giving to the next generation, it got solidified there.” (Harry Lennix, 48:31)
  • “You go out there… you’re gonna do greater stuff than me.” (Harry Lennix, 52:50)

8. Redefining Success & Mercy as the Highest Love

[54:15 - 62:15]

• Enduring Good:

  • True success is measured in the minimization of harm (“minimal collateral damage”) and the creation of something that endures beyond one’s lifetime.
  • The example of multi-generational artistic families (e.g., 900 years of kabuki) is cited as the goal for the Lillian Marcy Center and similar institutions.

• Justice and Mercy:

  • A rich, nuanced discussion on justice, mercy, and forgiveness—even for those who have done great evil—rooted in Christian scripture, tradition, and personal prayer.

• Key Quotes:

  • “Mercy is the highest love that God can offer us because it’s the love that we need the most but deserve the least.” (Fr. Mike Schmitz, 62:15)
  • “Success would be to create an institution that goes on for 900 years… with minimal collateral damage.” (Harry Lennix, 56:31)

9. Where to Begin: Charity at Home

[63:26 - 66:31]

• Practical Wisdom:
  • Service starts at home: “We have to remember to be kind to those who are closest to us, to be most merciful and patient with those who are most in proximity… Then it goes out to family, friends, community, and the world.” (Harry Lennix, 63:26)
  • The truest witness is attractive service, echoing Jesus’ words: “By your love for one another, they’ll know that you’re my followers.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "That [service] is addictive in its way... It’s honorable. It’s based in a principle that I think is of great benefit to everybody."
  — Harry Lennix, (16:18)

• "Everything in the Bible is true … but it is not fact. That blew my mind."
  — Harry Lennix, (19:36)

• “There’s no substitute for the real thing, for being in the space of other humans really there... A kind of sacred space.”
  — Harry Lennix, (29:04)

• “Mercy is the highest love that God can offer us because it’s the love that we need the most but deserve the least.”
  — Fr. Mike Schmitz, (62:15)

• "We have to remember to be kind to those who are closest to us, to be most merciful and patient with those who are most in proximity, physical proximity, also in identity and so on..."
  — Harry Lennix, (63:26)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Harry’s South Side upbringing & faith foundation: 03:30–14:28
• Formation, vocation, and service through the arts: 14:28–21:57
• Beauty, storytelling, and religious formation: 17:18–24:23
• Acting as empathy and the art of understanding humanity: 21:57–27:45
• The necessity of community arts for healing and renewal: 28:29–39:13
• The Lillian Marcy Center – vision, purpose, progress: 34:23–43:59
• Cultural investment in youth/education; legacy: 44:45–54:15
• Redefining success; justice and mercy: 54:15–62:15
• Practical first steps: Service beginning at home: 63:26–66:31

Resources Mentioned / Where to Learn More

• Lillian Marcy Center for the Performing Arts: lillianmarcy.org
• AMPA (African American Museum of the Performing Arts): aampamuseum.org
• Film projects:
  • Revival (Gospel of John set to gospel music)
  • Godless (Film where Lennix plays a Catholic bishop)
• Other works:
  • The Bear (TV series set in Chicago)
  • Boston Blue (with Donnie Wahlberg)

Closing Encouragements

• “Start at home, through small things, and then the rest will be revealed... By your love for one another, they'll know that you're my followers.”
  (Harry Lennix, 64:25)

• The episode concludes with a call to continue listening for God’s call and courageously answering it in practical acts of service, right where we are.

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