Father Mike Schmitz, the popular priest known for “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts, spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Palace Theatre in downtown Columbus on Monday, Oct. 21 during the first stop of his four-city tour to Midwest cities.
The event, titled “The Hour That Will Change Your Life,” was part of a fundraiser to help build a new Catholic campus ministry center and a recording studio for his digital evangelization at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, where he serves as a chaplain for Newman Catholic Campus Ministries and also as director of the Office of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Duluth, Minnesota.
The tour, sponsored in part by Ascension Press, continued after its opening night in Columbus with stops in Akron, Indianapolis and St. Louis on successive evenings.
The Columbus event began with a deep and profound talk on the Eucharist filled with the priest’s signature humor and forthrightness.
During the second half of the evening, the audience was invited to submit questions through Brian Miller, the host and senior director of evangelization and discipleship for the Diocese of St. Louis who shared a warm rapport with Father Schmitz while telling stories of his own.
The gathering of Catholics in attendance resembled a family reunion. Many of the attendees brought a guest and it was delightful to see them using the evening as an opportunity for evangelization and outreach.
A sold-out crowd listens to Father Mike Schmitz at the Palace Theater in Columbus.
The theater was filled with people of faith and people seeking faith, creating a welcoming environment of hearts ready to receive the Eucharistic message of love that Father Schmitz came to share.
“If we do not love the Eucharist, we do not love Jesus,” he proclaimed boldly to a crowd desiring closeness with Jesus.
Father Schmitz articulated clearly the gospel of the Real Presence, walking the crowd through the Bread of Life discourse from the Gospel of St. John with clarity and his usual anecdotes.
After Jesus declared himself to be the Bread of Life when He said, “Whomever shall eat of my flesh and drink of my blood shall have eternal life,” the disciples started to murmur among themselves, Father Schmitz explained. “This teaching is hard,” they said. “Who can accept it?” But Father Schmitz said their response raises questions to ponder: If it was just a symbol, how could it be hard to accept? And why would disciples leave if it was just a symbol?
The priest also shared a beautiful message about the goodness of God the Father who desires closeness with His children. Father Schmitz said that if God were to fully reveal Himself in His abundant love and mercy, mortal humans would not feel comfortable or worthy coming close to Him despite being created for that intimacy. He went on to say the Eucharist is God giving Himself to His people as a gift to come closer to Him and know that each person is loved.
His presentation ended with a reflection and the priest asking those in attendance if the Lord had their permission to draw close to them and invite Him to enter their vulnerable space.
The second half of the evening was a question-and-answer session. Sharing humorous family stories ranging from when he first understood the meaning of the Real Presence to helping to comfort parents who worried that their children were pulling away from God, Father Schmitz made all in attendance feel touched by his thoughtful responses.
To learn more about the capital campaign “Seeds of Faith” at the University of Minnesota-Duluth or to donate, visit BulldogCatholic.org/donate.
The project will help Father Schmitz continue his global outreach of evangelization while also providing worship space to accommodate the 500-600 students attending Mass, which is currently held in a converted two-car garage and livestreamed on a tripod that the priest set up.