Podcast Summary: Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz
Episode: “Waiting Well: Engaged”
Date: November 29, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Theme: Learning how to live fully and engage deeply during times of waiting, especially during Advent.
Episode Overview
In this Advent-themed homily, Fr. Mike Schmitz explores the spiritual discipline of “waiting well.” Drawing from personal anecdotes, contemporary life, and the Sunday Gospel (Matthew 24:37-44), Fr. Mike challenges listeners to move beyond passive endurance and instead embrace active engagement during times of waiting. He calls on Christians to recognize the present moment as crucial—an opportunity for God’s shaping and our own growth, not just something to get through on the way to desired outcomes.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Advent: Season of Waiting and Preparation
- Fr. Mike recalls the dual nature of Advent: a time of both preparation for the Lord’s coming and a period of waiting.
- He notes how much of our lives are spent waiting—commuting, standing in lines, waiting for food, friends, or events—(06:40).
- Quote: “How much of our time, how much of our lives are spent just waiting? Waiting for something to happen… waiting for life to happen, waiting for the next thing.” (06:40)
2. Passive vs. Engaged Waiting
- Many see waiting as a waste—something to be anxiously endured or distracted from (12:10).
- Fr. Mike distinguishes between enduring and engaging in waiting.
- Quote: “We don’t wait well, because we think waiting is passive. But waiting is not passive.” (16:30)
3. Childhood Tools for Waiting and the Struggle to be Patient
- Personal stories about Advent wreaths, chocolate calendars, and paper chains highlight how hard waiting can be for children (10:00).
- The marshmallow experiment is cited as a vivid illustration of human struggle with delayed gratification.
- Quote: “I remember getting an Advent calendar for my birthday once… it was torture. I’m right in front of this calendar… I get one, one a day. It was torture.” (10:50)
4. Modern Distraction and Scrubbing Through Life
- Fr. Mike observes that today, “waiting” often means being distracted—checking out with phones or mentally skipping to the end (15:00).
- He shares a self-aware story about skipping through movies and even looking up endings online, missing out on the engagement with the journey (19:35).
- Quote: “I’ll fast-forward through certain parts… That’s ridiculous. The whole point of the story is to engage the story, not just to know how it ends, but to live the story.” (19:35)
5. Choosing Engagement: Declaring the Present Moment Matters
- The central challenge: Don’t minimize the now in pursuit of “then.”
- Christians should embrace uncertainty, recognize God's presence in the now, and become active participants in every moment.
- Quote: “I am confident that this moment is crucial. I’m confident that this moment matters. And so I can’t just check out. I can’t just worry. I can’t just whine. I have to be here.” (18:30)
6. The Value of Formation: Becoming Who God Needs You to Be
- Fr. Mike shares a parent’s reflection about NICU nurses: the years of hidden preparation equipped them for crucial moments (21:19).
- Links this to academic life and spiritual growth—today’s waiting is forming you.
- Quote: “Waiting matters. Why? Because this moment is helping me become the kind of person God needs me to be.” (22:27)
7. The Process is the Path
- Uses the marathon training metaphor: The journey—the process of getting to the destination—matters as much as the destination itself (24:00).
- Quote: “The destination matters, but so does how you get there. It’s actually that process… I didn’t just get from Two Harbors to Duluth. I ran each step. Yes, it does matter that one gets there, but it also matters a whole heck of a lot how we get there.” (25:00)
8. Advent Invitation: Wait Well
- Fr. Mike urges listeners not to rush to Christmas, just as we shouldn’t rush through life (26:30).
- Encourages engagement: Ask “What is happening now? How am I engaged now? How can I wait well?” (27:20)
- Quote: “God is doing something now. …How in this moment can I wait well?” (27:35)
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “I’m not waiting, I’m training.” (On marathon preparation and the attitude of engaged waiting) (03:28)
- “Waiting is not simply to be endured. Waiting is something that we need to engage. Waiting well means that I’m an active participant in this moment.” (17:54)
- “So often for many of us… where I want to be is just somewhere other than here.” (14:35)
- “The process is actually the point. The process is the path, even when I just want to be there.” (23:45)
Timestamps for Important Segments
- 00:02-03:28 — Introduction, Gospel reading (Matthew 24:37-44), Marathon metaphor
- 06:40-12:10 — How much of life is waiting? Examples and life statistics
- 10:00-12:43 — Childhood experiences with waiting tools (Advent wreath, calendar, paper chain)
- 12:44-16:30 — Why we struggle with waiting, distractions, and dissatisfaction
- “We don’t wait well, because we think waiting is passive.” (16:30)
- 19:35 — Skipping through stories vs. living the story
- 21:19-23:00 — NICU story: Preparation and formation in hidden seasons
- 24:00-25:00 — The marathon metaphor: “The process is actually the point”
- 26:30-end — Advent’s invitation: How will you engage the now and wait well?
Tone and Language
Fr. Mike balances humor with earnestness, using personal stories, cultural touchpoints, and direct appeals to listeners’ lived experience. He speaks conversationally, often drawing listeners in with rhetorical questions and memorable, repeatable phrases.
Summary Takeaway
Instead of rushing through waiting periods—whether Advent, life transitions, or daily inconveniences—Fr. Mike urges us to “engage the wait.” By declaring the present moment as purposeful, Christians can participate in God’s ongoing work, allowing seasons of waiting to shape them for what’s ahead. The homily ends with a practical, spiritual challenge:
“God is doing something now. … How in this moment can I wait well?” (27:35)