You’re Going to Die—What to Do in the Meantime (w/ Fr. Mike Schmitz)

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Fr. Mike Schmitz Catholic Podcast

Episode: You’re Going to Die—What to Do in the Meantime

Date: December 11, 2025
Host: Fr. Mike Schmitz
Presented By: Ascension

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Fr. Mike Schmitz tackles one of life’s most undeniable truths: death. Drawing from Dr. Peter Kreeft’s book Love is Stronger Than Death, Fr. Mike explores Christian perspectives on mortality, emphasizes the importance of longing for heaven, and challenges listeners to reflect on how their attitude toward death shapes the way they live. With depth and candor, he reframes death not simply as an enemy or threshold, but as the doorway to a much-desired union with Christ.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Four Views of Death (00:00–04:04)

• Death as an Enemy

  • Fr. Mike recalls being raised to see death as the enemy, citing Christian tradition and scripture:

    "Scripture says death is the enemy, but the final enemy to be destroyed is death. I've always been raised with the truth that Jesus has conquered death." (00:00)

  • He clarifies why death is viewed as evil: it separates the body and soul, tearing apart what is meant to be united in humanity.
  • Death evokes fear and avoidance, explaining cultural attitudes such as the U.S. reluctance to discuss or sing about death.
  • Example:

    "In Brazil, our music is...not just about love. It's also about death. But you guys never sing about death." (01:35)

• Death as a Doorway

  • Many adopt a sober, realistic take, accepting death as an inevitable passage everyone must face.

    "The harsh reality. It's the door we have to walk through. What's on the other side, nobody knows." (02:55)

• Death as Birth

  • Christian hope reframes death as a new birth into life with Christ, though often approached without enthusiasm:

    "I have the awareness that if I die in Christ, I live in Christ...But I'm not excited about it." (03:20)

• Limitations of These Views

  • Fr. Mike notes that all three views—enemy, doorway, and birth—fall short of the fullness the Christian faith offers.

2. Death as a Lover—Longing for Heaven (04:04–07:21)

• Peter Kreeft’s Ultimate Insight

  • The most profound Christian view is to see death as a "lover":

    "For the Christian, Kreeft will highlight this... death is actually like a lover." (04:04)

  • Not a lover in the sense of desiring death itself, but as longing for the one (God) who awaits us beyond it.
  • Fr. Mike points to the Saints, especially St. Paul, who expressed a tension between serving in this life and longing to be with Christ:

    "It's not longing for death specifically. It's longing for the one who we get on the other side of death." (04:52)

• Distinguishing True Longing

  • Fr. Mike emphasizes this is not escapism or a wish to "end it all," but a heartfelt yearning to unite with God.

    "I'm not talking about...running away from something, but it's running towards someone." (05:19)

• Application to Our Lives

  • Reflects on whether most Christians genuinely long for heaven:

    "Is your heart or is my heart lonely for heaven?...I can't wait to be in your presence...Do we long for heaven? I don't think we do." (05:40–06:14)

  • Suggests longing for heaven would make us less fearful, more courageous, and more loving.

• Implications for Life

  • This longing would drive deeper prayer and engagement with God:

    "God, I just want to spend more time in your presence. God, I just want to spend more time in your word. God, I just want to spend more time with you because you are the one that my heart longs for." (06:30)

3. Synthesis and Challenge (06:58–07:21)

• Fr. Mike summarizes, weaving the various views together:

  "Death is the enemy, but Christ has overcome the enemy. Death is that door. But we know what's on the other side of that door. Death gives new birth. But death as a lover...means that we live in this life. But our heart belongs to the one we will meet in an unmitigated and unmediated way after this life." (06:58–07:21)

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Death is the obscenity because it takes something good, a human person, body and soul, and rips apart these two integral parts of what makes us human beings, which I think is very fascinating." (00:53)
• "If we really longed for heaven, longed for Jesus, that would bring us to prayer more often." (06:30)
• "Are our hearts broken for heaven?" (05:40)

---

Timestamps of Important Segments

• 00:00 – Introduction: Death as enemy, doorway, birth
• 01:10 – Cultural avoidance of death
• 02:55 – Sober realism: Death as harsh inevitability
• 03:20 – Christian hope: Death as birth in Christ
• 04:04 – Kreeft’s insight: Death as a lover
• 05:19 – Distinguishing longing for God vs. escapism
• 06:14 – What happens if we truly long for heaven
• 06:58 – Bringing it together: Living with our hearts pointed to God

---

Tone and Language

Fr. Mike’s delivery is warm, honest, and gently challenging. He balances theological depth with relatable anecdotes and pastoral care, encouraging listeners to move beyond fear and indifference toward an active, courageous love and longing for God.

---

Summary Takeaway:
Fr. Mike invites listeners to reconsider how they view death—not merely as the enemy or an unavoidable crossing, nor even just a new birth, but as the hopeful, love-driven journey toward union with God. This longing for heaven, he argues, should animate the way Christians live, making us more prayerful, loving, and courageous as we await the fullness of life beyond death.

Transcript

[A]

A lot of us might fall into any one of those categories. Death is the enemy. It's kind of the door to the next life, or even death as birth, where I get to have the new life in Christ. But all three of those fall short. Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz, and this is Ascension Presents. There is a great book by A man named Dr. Peter Kreeft called Love is Stronger Than Death. One of the things that, when I first read this book, that struck me so profoundly was he said, we have to realize that death actually is an evil. Now, I grew up as a Christian, right? So I've always heard, like, no, no, no. Death is the door we have to go through to get to heaven. So I had to learn how to look. Death is the enemy. In fact, scripture says death is the enemy, but the final enemy to be destroyed is death. I've always been raised with the truth that Jesus has conquered death. And so now death is not the end. Death is the doorway to eternity. Death is the doorway to heaven. Had to come to the reality that. No, he's right. Scripture's right. Death is the enemy. Death is an obscenity. Why? Because it's the separation of soul and body. As human beings, we're meant to be soul and body together. Death is the obscenity because it takes something good, a human person, body and soul, and rips apart these two integral parts of what makes us human beings, which I think is very fascinating. So. So he goes through four different ways of looking at death. Now I'm going to modify a couple of his because it just. It might make more sense to me. The first one is death is the enemy. And that is the biblical view that. That sense of it's death is the thing we need to avoid. Right, at all costs. It's not just the biblical view. I think it's also the view that many of us have. We don't like to think about death. We don't like to face the reality of death. I remember years ago, there was a Brazilian musician and they were interviewing her about her music. And she said, well, in Brazil, we sing about things that are taboo for you up here in the United States of America. There was a crowd there, and they kind of all chuckled, and she said, oh, no, no, you think? I mean, you guys don't sing about sex. She said, oh, you. That's all you sing about. All you sing about in America is sex. She said, but in Brazil, our music is. Is not just about love. It's also about death. But you guys Never sing about death. We don't meditate on it. Why? Because for a lot of us, death is the enemy. The thing to be avoided at all costs. Which is one of the reasons why during the COVID pandemic there are so many people who were captured by fear because this thing could be the end of their lives. If my life is over, then that's the enemy now everything's over. So one way to look at death is death is the enemy. The other way to look at death is maybe you get more sober, maybe you're like, okay, listen, I'm going to be realistic. I'm going to say a natural part of life is death. And so I'm going to have this, that recognition that death is mandatory. I'm going to go through life with my eyes wide open. I'm not going to consider death to be the enemy. I'm consider death to be the door I have to pass through. So it's a door I have to go through. I don't want to, no one likes it, but we have to do it. If I'm going to be a realistic, that's what I'll do. Maybe that's some of us do, some of us who have that, you know, kind of that hard nosed look at way of looking at.

Life and we say that's how it is. Just that's what death is. It's the harsh reality. It's the door we have to walk through. What's on the other side, nobody knows. So the first two as the enemy, the second one as simply like this doorway to another life. We have no idea what's on the other side of this. The third Christian would be death is birth. That I have the awareness that if I die in Christ, I live in Christ. That if I pass through this life into the next in friendship with Jesus, then I have a new life that is open for me. Now here's the interesting thing about this is that's good. But we could still look at that as if. Yep, I get it. That's new life, new birth. I don't really want it. I'm not excited in, in any way, shape or form of going to it. But I get it, I get it. It's a good, it's a good, it's a good. But I'm not excited about it. It's birth. Great. I think a lot of us might fall into that. Actually a lot of us might fall into any one of those categories. Death is the enemy. Death is this. I have to be realist about it. It's kind of the door to the next life, or even death as birth, where I get to have the new life in Christ.

But all three of those fall short because for the Christian, Craig will highlight this. For the Christian, death is actually like a lover. And I think what he means by this is.

I don't long for the enemy. I fight the enemy. I'm going to stay alive as long as I possibly can. I don't long to pass through this door into unknown, the unknown or the uncertainty. I have to just bravely stiffen my lip and go.

I don't long for a new birth.

I resolve and say, okay, if that's what has to happen, I trust Jesus and I'm going to go through that door.

But when you love someone, you long to be with them.

The saints talk about this. Saints talk about. I mean, even St. Paul, he's like, what should I do? Should I continue living in the body and serving? Or could I just be taken to the Lord right now? He says, I don't know what to choose. So, God, you're gonna choose it for me, which is actually the way we do this. But he has this longing, and it's this. It's not longing for death specifically. It's longing for the one who we get on the other side of death. How many of us have that longing? How many of us have that desire again not to end it all? That's a whole other thing. Sometimes we get so tired in this life. We're hurting in this life. To say this is the only escape from pain in this life is death. That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is not running away from something, but it's running towards someone.

Is your heart or is my heart lonely for heaven? Does your heart or my heart, does it break from for heaven? Do we wake up and pray and say, jesus, here you are in the Eucharist, Here you are. Anytime we pray, God, you're real. But I can't wait to have you. I can't wait to be in your presence. I can't wait to be had by you for all eternity. Do we long again not to end life? Do we long for heaven? Do we long for eternal life? I don't think we do.

I think if we did, we would be less fearful and more courageous. I think if we did, we would be less indifferent to life, to people around us. We'd be less indifferent to God and more loving.

I think if we really longed for heaven, longed for Jesus, that would bring us to prayer more often. God, I just want to spend more time in your presence. God, I just want to spend more time in your word. God, I just want to spend more time with you because you are the one that my heart longs for. Death is the enemy, but Christ has overcome the enemy. Death is that door. But we know what's on the other side of that door. Death gives new birth.

But death as a lover.

Death as the doorway to the one we love with all our heart, mind, soul and strength means that we live in this life. But our heart.

Our heart belongs to the one we will meet in an.

Unmitigated and unmediated way after this life. My name is father Mike. God bless. Is that what I say? That's not what I say. Anyways, that's all I got for all of us here. That's all I've got. From all of us. From all of us here at. Golly. From all of us here at essential presents. My name is father Mike. Anyways. From all. From all of us. Anyways. From all of us here at ascension presents. My name is father Mike. God bless. Nope.