A (0:00)

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz. I am so excited to be joining the Courage under fire gala on May 23rd in Nashville, Tennessee. And I would love for you to be there too. I believe that this world needs people of faith who are willing to live with clarity, conviction and compassion. That's what this night is all about. Standing in truth, rooted in Christ and unshaken by the storms around us. You know this. We weren't made for comfort.

B (0:26)

We weren't.

A (0:26)

We were made for courage. So go to the Courage Under Fire gala by grabbing your ticket@courageunderfiregala.org that's courageunderfiregala.org.

B (0:37)

And God bless the Lord be with you. A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John. Glory to you, Lord. Chapter 13, verses 31, 33, and verses 34 and 35. When Judas had left them, Jesus said, now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified with him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself. And God will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new. Love one another. As I have loved you. You are also to love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. The Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I should have a seat. So when I was in high school I found this book that my parents had. It was just kind of random that sat there. I don't know if either of them ever read it. It was a book by M. Scott Peck. It was a book called the Road Less Traveled. And it just really popular book back I think in the 80s, maybe the 70s. It's kind of a self help book about just how to get the most out of life and whatnot. But one day I just randomly. I think I might have been a senior in high school, maybe I was in my first years of college and it picked it up and I read the first three words in the first chapter on the first page of this book and I put it down and I was just like that's awesome. Because the first three words of this book I just, it filled me with so much, so much confidence. It filled me with so much just kind of excitement. It filled me with even just it was refreshing to read these three words. And the three words were the first three words of this whole book about like how you know you can be your best self, blah, blah, blah, blah. You know, the first three words were life is difficult and I remember just thinking, reading those words as a teenager, as a young 20, whatever I was, and thinking like, yes, this is so good. This is just. It is so refreshing for someone to be able to say, like, yeah, that's the. What you're going through, what you're experiencing when things are tough, like, that's actually normal, that everyone around you seems like, oh, they're just skating through life, or they're just kind of like loving everything when you experience life and like, oh, no, life is difficult for someone to just tell you the truth. Something about that is so refreshing and also, I just think, so encouraging. You know, we've been for the last three weeks, is the fourth week of talking about this series, Move On. And we had our students who two weeks ago, they took their tests, they graduated, and they're moving on. And it's exciting. But at the same time, we realize that transitions are tough, that going to a new place is difficult, even if it's exciting and even if it's the thing you need to do to move on, oftentimes underscores that truth. Life is difficult. I remember years ago, my little brother, he was going off to residency, and it was one of those situations where it was the 4th of July, because his residency started on the 5th of July. And it was one of those situations where it was this next step he had to take. And he had to take this step by himself. And so we're all, well, my whole family, we're at the lake and we're hanging out, we're having a good time. But he knew that if he was going to make it to work the next day, he had to leave at a certain time. And so here we are, everyone's hanging out by the. By the fire. We're all, you know, eating stuff. And. And he says goodbye to everybody. Then he had to leave. And as he walked away from all the group, I was like, I'm going to go with him. So I followed. Followed him out to the car. Cause I was like, I just don't want. I hate that. That feeling. I don't know if you ever had that feeling of, like, having to leave the group, having to leave your family, having to say goodbye, having to move on. So I'm like, I want to go with him as far as possible. And so we went to the driveway, and here he is getting in his car, doing this scary thing he's never done before, taking this next step, moving on like he's never had to before. And we just both are standing there in the driveway. Both crying. But at some point, he had to get in the car and drive off by himself. Because moving on can be exciting. It can also be really, really difficult, which is why I'm really glad that M. Scott Peck wrote those words. Life is difficult. I'm also really, really glad that St. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles today, in the first reading, wrote these words that when Paul and Barnabas showed up, it said this. It said they strengthened the spirit of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, it is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. And just. I paused in that for a second. It says they strengthened the spirits of the disciples by telling them, oh, it's necessary to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God. I think that is so refreshing. That is so encouraging. Now, on the face of it, it looks. No, that's. That's discouraging. It's necessary to undergo many hardships, enter the kingdom of God. But when you're talking to people who are undergoing hardships, they realize, oh, this is where I'm supposed to be when it's difficult to move on. And someone says, actually, that's okay. It's okay. When it's difficult to move on. That's not discouraging, that is encouraging. Because what you're saying is what I'm going through isn't unusual. We need that word. I think we need that word of encouragement, especially when we feel like we have to move on alone. Because every one of us, right in life, we have to move on. But I think sometimes we think that the only way to move on is you have to move on alone. And, yes, there are some ways we have to do that. Like my brother, when he had to go off to the next step of school. I think about this a lot of times when. So back in the day, I don't know if you guys know this, I don't know if you know this, but when you used to go to the airport, one of the things that you would do before 2001, you would go all the way into the airport. If you brought someone to the airport, you wouldn't just drop them off at the curb. You would park the car, you'd walk in with them, you would make all the ticketing stuff, you'd walk all the way to the gate, and one of those things, like, you want to hold on to the last moment. You don't want to say goodbye too soon. I remember being that person. I remember the first time I Had to leave my family for a significant amount of time. And they did. They parked the car, we all walked in. They walked me all the way to the gate. And it was something good about not having to be alone. But at some point, at some point, every one of us had to take that one step that no one else could take with us. At some point, even if they walked all the way to the gate, it was okay, but you're gonna go down the Jetway now, and we can't come with. And I always think about that image and that feeling when I think about death. Because, I mean, what a joy to be able to be surrounded by people when you're dying. What a joy. I mean, what a great comfort it would be to know that, oh, these are people who actually care about me. But at some point, every one of us, when we die, we have to say goodbye to everyone we know. At some point, that's next one step. No one can do it for us, and no one can do it with us. At some point, we have to move on alone. So, yes, there are times when we have to move on alone, but at the same time, we're not meant to do life alone. In fact, I'll say this. I'll say one of my. One of my favorite unsung heroes in the entire Bible is mentioned in today's first reading as well. So there's so many heroes in the New Testament, right? We have Mary, the mother of God, pretty big hero. We have Mary Magdalene, incredible woman. We have Peter, we have John, we have Paul. But one of the guys that I just think is, again, one of my favorite unsung heroes is Barnabas, which is not his actual name. His actual name is Joseph. But he gets a nickname. And it's not even a. I mean, in some ways, they're like, it's not even a cool nickname. Here's Simon. He gets the nickname Rock, right? Peter, you have. You have Jane or John. John is the. You know, he's the beloved disciple. That's his nickname. That's kind of a nice nickname to have. Or James and John are the sons of thunder, which I think is pretty intense and awesome. Or you even have Paul. Paul is known as the apostle. Like, all these have cool nicknames. Here's Joseph, who's nicknamed Barnabas. And Barnabas means son of encouragement. Like, that's what he's known for, is encouragement. I. I would be. If I was one of the apostles or one of the disciples, if I was mentioned in the Bible, it'd be like, yeah, they're known for their, you know, preaching or they're known for their healing. They're known for their mighty works. They're known for all the miracles they do. Barnabas, what are you known for? Well, my encouragement. Womp, womp. But think about how, how necessary Barnabas was. Because all throughout the Acts of the Apostles, it talks about who Paul and Barnabas. Paul needed Barnabas. Why? In Second Corinthians, chapter 11, Paul Paul describes a little bit of his life. A little snapshot, a little glimpse into what he's experienced. He says this, he says, five times I received 40 lashes, minus one. So five times he was scourged with 39 lashes. Three times beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked night and day on the sea. He said we experienced frequent journeys and frequent dangers. He said, dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers of the sea. He said we experienced dangers, the danger of false brothers, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, and daily pressures and anxiety for all the churches. Here's this man, Paul the Apostle, who's bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. And he's experiencing all these setbacks. I don't think he could do that alone. I don't think that Paul could actually be Paul. Unless Barnabas was Barnabas. No. Imagine how much someone like Paul would need, absolutely need someone like Barnabas. Someone like Paul would absolutely need encouragement. And there was Barnabas. Because Paul didn't have to do it alone. Paul moved here and there and everywhere, but he didn't ever move on alone. And we don't have to do that. That's why I think in the Gospel today, here's Jesus commandment says love one another. Implied in Jesus commandment, love one another is, hey, you're going to need one another. You're going to need each other. See, I think there's this massive lie in Christianity that says that you have to do this on your own or even that you can do it on your own. That's legitimately a lie. You know, even. Even in monastic communities, there are some hermits, right? People who live out on their own. But in monastic communities, you don't show up and say, hey, I'm here to be a hermit. You have to live in the community for a significant amount of time in order to be able to be prepared to spend a significant amount of time by yourself. Because why? Because it is a lie to believe that you have to do it on your own or that you even can do it on your own. That's one of the reasons why we have community. That's one of the reasons why we have parishes. It's one of the reasons why Jesus gave us the church. It's one of the reasons why we have friends. And yet, when you move on, what do you do? Typically, when we move on, we have to leave our friends. And that's what our students are doing now. They're in a place right now where they have to make new friends. I always think about this. I think about this when our students arrive as freshmen. One of the things I like to point out is that they're learning to do something they never had to do before. Like, when they get to campus, they probably have never had to really make friends. I mean, maybe if they moved around a little bit as kids, but, like, typically, you show up at kindergarten, you're like, oh, these are my friends. Or you're on the sports team, like, okay, these are my friends. But when you get to college, you have to kind of make friends. Not from scratch. You have to make friends like, hellofresh. You know, hellofresh. Where, like, the ingredients show up in a box. You have to put it together, because that's what they are. I mean, all these freshmen show up looking for friends, everyone's looking for friends, so they just throw them together. It's kind of like, get the ingredients, just put it together. When they leave college, now they have to make friends from scratch. I've got to go. Because why? Because they're thrust into life where everyone else already has their friends. Everyone else already has their family. And you have to learn how to make friends. Another way to say it is you have to learn how to be a Barnabas. Because we can't do it alone. None of us are called to do it alone, and none of us can do it alone. And so we pray every time they leave. Pray that they find a Barnabas. But this is for all of us. If you haven't found a Barnabas, you can be a Barnabas. Like, reality is, you don't have to wait. You can do immediately. Every one of us can do three things. Number one, we can notice the people near us. That's the first. I think the first movement of a Barnabas is just look around and say, okay, who are the people around me? Secondly is to notice their gifts or even notice their effort, notice their attempts at doing something right. And thirdly is simply to remind them that they're not alone. I mean, this Is how every one of us, even if we don't have a friend, we can be a friend. Even if we don't have a Barnabas, we can be a Barnabas. To notice the people around us, to notice their effort, to notice how they're trying to notice their gifts, and then to remind them that they're not alone, that they don't have to do this alone either. Because we have to move on, but we do not have to move on alone. And that even if, even if right now where you're at in life is not surrounded by people, maybe even where you are at, life is just, I have God alone. Well, then you've got something good. What did that second reading say? Second reading? From the book of Revelation. It says, behold, God's dwelling is with the human race. He will dwell with them and they will be his people. And God himself will always be with them as their God. Yes, you have to move alone, move on, but you don't have to move on alone. In fact, we can't. And this is the last thing. Yes, we have to move on, but we don't have to move on alone. A little while back, I heard a story from Bishop Vetter. Bishop Vedder was a priest in North Dakota. Now he is a bishop in Montana. Grew up on a farm. Bishop better shared a story. He said, the deepest lesson I learned about God, I Learned as a first grader. When he was 7 years old on the farm, he had a pale calf. He said, what a pale calf is when you want to save the milk of the mother cow, you wean the calf off of the mother's milk and you put it on formula. And he said, my dad, as first grader, my dad put me in charge of the pale calf. Like the pale calf was mine to take care of. So I had to go out and I fed it twice a day, every single day, took care of it every single day. So at one point that pale calf got sick. And so I gave it more formula. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do. And I didn't let it out in the pasture. I kept it in the barn. Apparently that was the wrong thing to do. He said, I did everything I possibly could think of. But the pale calf died. And he said, there I was, you know, this six, seven year old, this first grader, and I'm sitting on the straw next to my dead pale calf and I'm just crying my eyes out. My dad came out. I look up at my dad. I'm sitting there on the hay. I look at my dad and say, dad, I'm sorry. I did my best. I'm so sorry, dad, but I did my best. And he said. My dad looked at me and he said, no, you didn't. So, no, you didn't. You didn't do your best. Because doing your best would have been asking me for help. You don't have to do it alone. Doing your best means asking the Father for help. See, as we take this step, as we move on, we don't have to do it alone. And none of us can do it alone if we actually want to do our best. It's not about making more effort. It's not about trying harder. Life is difficult. We already know that. But doing our best means not doing it alone. That even if there aren't people around you, God has made his dwelling with the human race. And every one of us has access, direct access to the Father at all times. And so be a Barnabas, move on. But you don't have to move on alone.