12/08/25 This Present Moment

Summary

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

Episode: “This Present Moment” (12/08/25)

Date: December 8, 2025
Theme: Living in the Sacrament of the Present Moment—God’s Grace in the Immaculate Conception

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz shares a stirring reflection on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, connecting the doctrine of Mary’s conception without original sin to the everyday challenge of living in the present moment. Drawing from the Sunday Gospel (Luke 1:26–38), he explores the idea that God’s grace is not only historical but a living reality offered to each of us right now. Fr. Mike challenges listeners to say “yes” to God today, insisting that holiness is possible in our brokenness because God’s grace is greater than sin.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Immaculate Conception: More Than a Doctrine

• What the Feast Means:
  Fr. Mike begins by unpacking the meaning behind the Immaculate Conception:
  • “From the very first moment of her conception, the Lord God… preserved Mary from all stain of original sin by the merits of her Son’s future life, death and resurrection.” (03:23)
• He emphasizes that this is not just an abstract, theological claim but a profound act of God’s love and preparation.
• Why It Matters:
  The event shows God's ability to anticipate and overcome sin, not merely respond to it:
  • “God isn’t just a God of repair. He’s a God of preparation… the God who builds a world where his plan of love is going to win.” (04:52)

2. Mary’s “Yes” vs. Eve’s Choice

• Contrasting Responses:
  Fr. Mike describes how Eve’s “yes” to the serpent brought death, while Mary’s “yes” to God brought life:
  • “Mary is truly called the new Eve because her yes brings life where Eve’s yes brought death.” (05:38)
• Freedom and Cooperation:
  The Immaculate Conception does not override Mary’s freedom. Just as Eve’s choice mattered, so did Mary’s. God prepared, but Mary had to choose.
  • “At some point, she had to say yes to that as well. Just like us…” (08:09)

3. The Sacrament of the Present Moment

• Definition and Challenge:
  Holiness is about being engaged right now:
  • “To be holy is to be engaged…in what they call the sacrament of the present moment.” (03:23)
• God offers grace in every moment, but we’re often distracted by the past or future.
  • “Oftentimes we’re not present to this moment, and we want to be on another day…God’s grace is here for us right now.” (03:38)

4. Grace is Greater than Sin

• A Prophecy, Not Just a Privilege:
  The feast is not just about Mary's privilege but about an ongoing prophecy:
  • “This feast day is not just a privilege for Mary, it’s a prophecy for us. This is God saying sin will not have the final word, that his grace is greater.” (06:25)
• Applicable to All:
  The grace given to Mary is a promise of what God can do in us.
  • “And if God can do that in Mary, he can do that in you.” (07:09)

5. Our Response: Don’t Wait—Say Yes Now

• Cooperation is Required:
  Despite God’s free gift, human cooperation is necessary:
  • “At some point, we have to also say yes to the Lord.” (08:09)
• Act Now:
  Fr. Mike urges listeners not to delay responding to God’s grace:
  • “I could wait…or I can just say, no, Lord. Now.” (08:51)
  • “All we have to do is say yes.” (09:40)
• Mary’s Example:
  Though we don’t know how long she pondered, Mary ultimately responded quickly and wholeheartedly.

6. The Power and Reach of God’s Grace

• Restoration Beyond Damage:
  God can heal before something breaks, and can restore what’s been broken.
  • “He can heal before something even breaks. And that means that he can restore everything after it’s broken.” (10:05)
• Ultimate Assurance:
  • “Sin does not have the last word. God does.” (10:22)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On God’s Preparation:
  “If my son is going to take flesh from her, then she has to be all mine…sin can have no claim on her.” (04:14)
• On the Feast’s Meaning:
  “This feast, this Immaculate Conception, is not about Mary being special. It’s about God’s determination to save us.” (09:43)
• On Immediate Response:
  “We don’t have to wait. God’s grace has already been given. All we have to do is say yes.” (09:30 – 09:40)
• On God’s Final Word:
  “Sin does not have the last word. God does.” (10:22)
• Parting Challenge:
  “In response to God’s last word that he chooses us, he chooses you. What will we say?” (10:28 – 10:35)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Gospel Proclamation (Luke 1:26–38): 00:37 – 02:01
• Introduction to Immaculate Conception & Mary’s Preservation: 02:05 – 03:23
• Holiness as Engagement—Sacrament of the Present Moment: 03:23 – 03:59
• Mary and Eve—Yes to God vs. Yes to Deception: 04:52 – 05:38
• Sin’s End and God’s Prophecy over Us: 06:16 – 07:13
• Baptism, Confession, Communion—Grace Winning for Us: 07:13 – 07:59
• Human Cooperation & Our Invitation to Say Yes: 08:09 – 09:06
• Don’t Delay—Act Now: 09:26 – 09:43
• God’s Grace: Deeper than Sin, Stronger than Death: 09:43 – 10:22
• Final Challenge—God’s Choice and Our Response: 10:24 – 10:35

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Tone and Language

Fr. Mike’s tone is passionate and compassionate, blending theological depth with relatable urgency. He speaks directly to listeners' experiences, encourages them not just to admire Mary but to imitate her readiness, and insists Jesus' victory is meant for all.

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Summary Takeaway

Fr. Mike’s homily on the Immaculate Conception is a masterful reminder that God’s grace is real, immediate, and greater than any sin or brokenness. The feast isn’t just about Mary’s specialness; it’s God’s bold guarantee that holiness is possible now, for everyone willing to say “yes” in this present moment.

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Challenge for Listeners:
As you finish this episode, ask yourself—how is God inviting you to say "yes" today, in this present moment, and will you respond?

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to Sunday Homilies with me, Fr. Mike Schmitz. I hope today's homily inspires and motivates you, and I also hope that it leaves you hungry for the One who gave everything to feed you. If you want to get this and other Sunday Mass resources sent straight to your inbox, sign [e-mail] Sunday or by texting Sunday to 33777. You can also follow or subscribe in your podcast app for weekly notifications. God Bless the Lord be with you. A Reading from the Holy Gospel According to Luke.

Chapter 1, verses 26:38 the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her he said, hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of David, his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever. And and of his kingdom there will be no end. But Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I have no relations with a man? And the angel said to her in reply, the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. And behold, Elizabeth, your relative has also conceived a son in her old age and this is the sixth month for her who was once called barren, for nothing will be impossible for God. Mary said, behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord, may it be done to me according to your word. Then the angel departed from her the Gospel of the Lord.

Jesus Christ I want you to have a seat.

So this feast is incredible but also it fits in with what we've been talking about with when it comes to waiting. Well, I want to go back to this is there's something today that is extraordinary this.

But on the surface it can maybe seem a little abstract like or even kind of how does this affect us at all? That what the declaration of this day is is the truth that from the very first moment of her conception, the Lord God so God did this. He preserved Mary from all stain of original sin by the merits of her son's future life, death and resurrection. Right? So that Mary can say, jesus is my Savior, because Jesus, by his life, death and resurrection, the merits of that, what he did was applied to her at her conception. Again, but again, that sounds. That can be pretty abstract. It can be one of those questions where it's like, well, why? And so what? Particularly when it comes to this season. We're in the season of waiting. We talked about this before. We talked about how this is not a season of passivity. It's a season of being engaged in real life and being engaged in right now, when we're so tempted, so often tempted, to try to escape that, to try to escape this moment and try to be somewhere else this day. The Immaculate Conception also reminds us that.

To be holy is to be engaged.

In what they call the sacrament of the present moment. So the sacrament of the present moment is what it is. The reality is the declaration that God wants to offer us grace at every single moment and every single day. But oftentimes we're not present to this moment, and we want to be on another day. But the sacrament of the present moment declares that God's grace is here for us right now. And this is such a huge thing. I'll get back to that in a second. But one thing to reaffirm is that again, Jesus is Mary's Savior. Jesus is Mary's Lord, Jesus is Mary's God. In fact, just like the merits of Jesus, life, death, and resurrection have been applied to us through baptism, they were applied to Mary ahead of time. And so, just like Jesus saved us after our fall, Jesus saved Mary before she fell. And I think this is something. It's almost like this. It's almost like God reached into history and said this about Mary. If my son is going to take flesh from her, then she has to be all mine. If my son is going to take humanity from her, then she has to completely belong to me. That sin can have no claim on her. And this is the thing, see, sin has a claim on us. But this feast declares that God doesn't just react to sin, he anticipates it.

The God isn't just a God of repair. He's a God of preparation, that he doesn't just clean up after the mess, that he is the God, the God who builds a world where his plan of love is going to win. And that's what this is. This is part of God's plan of love that was waited for for centuries, for millennia. If you go back all the way To Genesis, right? We have humanity. We've heard it in the first reading today. Humanity. We all fall from that yes of Eve. Now, sometimes we always think of the Eve's answer is no. But actually, she said yes. She said yes to the evil one. She said yes to the lies. She said yes to the deception. She said yes to the invitation to not trust God. That gets undone by Mary's yes. And it's the yes to the truth. It's a yes to the truth teller. It's a yes to life. And so Mary is truly called the new Eve because her yes brings life where Eve's yes brought death. Of course. Again, once again, this feast isn't about Mary's personal holiness. It's about God's new creation breaking into something that had been broken. It's about God's grace entering into a place where darkness had reigned.

Because this is the real significance, the Immaculate Conception. This feast day is not just a privilege for Mary, it's a prophecy for us.

This is God saying sin will not have the final word, that his grace is greater. Pause on that for a second. Because how do we look at our lives? A lot of times look at our lives and say, well, see the people around us who are holy, see the people around us who are doing well. Or we look at the saints or even look at Mary and say, well, that's good for them, that's really nice for them. Is it possible for me? Once again, this feast today is not about Mary's privilege. It's about God's prophecy over us saying that sin doesn't have the final say, that God's grace is actually greater in Mary. Today, this feast, we see God's proof. We see the proof where actually God's grace does win. And if God can do that in Mary.

He can do that in you.

Let's pause on that for a second. God did this in Mary at the moment of her conception. So here we are. We have more knowledge than she, we have more strength than she. We have more ability than she did in that moment.

And God did something remarkable in her life because grace is greater. Sin doesn't have the final word in baptism. What happened to her in a new and different way happened to you. When you and I fall and we go to confession, what happened to her? Grace winning happens to you and me when we receive Holy Communion. What happened to her? Grace winning happens to us.

And I would say this, this feast is like God shouting out to a broken world. Holiness is possible because grace is real.

And yet this is the last thing. And yet it takes our cooperation, right? So here's God's free gift to Mary at the moment of her conception. Incredible free gift where sin's not going to win, grace is going to win. But at some point, she had to say yes to that as well. Just like us at your baptism. Grace wins. Go to confession. Grace wins. But at some point, we have to also say yes to the Lord. And this is the reality is that, yes, sin does not get the final word. Grace is greater. And you and I have the invitation today to say, I'm not going to wait any longer. And that's the key. The sacrament of the present moment is this, is that God's grace offered to Mary is offered to you and to me. And I could wait. I could wait until next Saturday. I could wait until next week. I could wait until reconciliation service. That happens, you know, at the end of Advent. Or I can just say, no, Lord. Now.

I don't know how much time passed between when Gabriel said, no, here's the answer to your clarifying question, and Mary saying, behold, I'm the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your will. I don't know how much time passed in that moment. I don't know how much. How much she had to reflect on this or how much she had to process this, how much time she needed.

But right now, you and I don't need any time.

We just need to give our answer. We don't have to wait. God's grace has already been given.

All we have to do is say yes.

You know, this feast, this immaculate conception, is not about Mary being special. It's about God's determination to save us.

It's about his ability to reach deeper than sin, reach deeper than brokenness, reach deeper than death. And he can heal before something even breaks. And that means.

That he can restore everything after it's broken.

There's no need to wait. God's grace is greater. Sin does not have the last word.

God does.

And in response.

In response to God's last word that he chooses us, he chooses you.

What will we say?