Speaking from the heart...
If there is a Catholic priest that could give a Protestant Megachurch Pastor a run for his money, albeit with a different kind of altar call and sans the accompanying rock band, it may be Fr. Mike Schmitz.

He's funny.  He's charismatic.  He's passionate, entertaining and his extensive biblical insight and communication skills are unquestionable.   And they shouldn't be.

The dynamic priest specializes in reaching young people in universities throughout the United States, as head of the Newman Center at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, speaking engagements and his work on social media.

He creates short videos, about five to ten minutes long, on topics ranging from the Meaning of Suffering, Aren't All Churches the Same and Why do Bad Things Happen to Can I get a Tattoo, Batman v. Superman and Will My Pet Be in Heaven and anything in between.  He has over 200 videos (You can check them out here).  

Yet, he's more than just a teacher.  He captivates, provokes and inspires.  To top it off, he's blessed with Hollywood good-looks and a Midwestern humility.

This particular talk below, which he delivered at the SEEK Conference in Nashville, Tennessee to college students in 2015, is a bit on the long side.  I discovered it after listening to Fr. Mike mention it on a recent radio show he was on.  The title peaked my interest: "The Hour That Will Change Your Life."

It's hard to find the time in today's whirlwind life we live to listen to a priest talk on a video.  Let's face it, when a priest surpasses the fifteen minute mark in his homily at Mass, some parishioners start getting restless and twenty minutes might draw arguing and grumbling like the Jews in the sixth chapter of John's Gospel. But, let me tell you, after listening to this 45-minute talk, I was glad I did. By the end of it, I had tears in my eyes.  It's that powerful.

The thing is that if we can understand what a true personal relationship with Christ is meant to be, then we can start to understand what our relationship with others is meant to be, especially our spouse, whose one flesh relationship between husband and wife, St. Paul compares to that of Christ and His Church in his Letter to the Ephesians (Chapter 5).

I won't spoil it.  I just want you to take the time to watch and listen, as I did last Friday and have two more times since.

I know, I know.  We don't have time.  Yet, we take the time to fill our heads with so much mundane and mind-numbing nonsense on social media and TV every day.  I know because I spend way too many hours in front of the boob tube watching Mets games, binge-watching Vikings episodes or trying to watch Deadpool for the umpteenth time, which I'm forced to turn off whenever the kids get home (I guess the lesson that's not filtering is that if it's morally objectionable for my kids to watch, it might be less than appropriate for me to watch as well)!

So, why not take the time to fill our hearts and spirits with something that may change your life?

And please, share your thoughts with me in the comments box when you do.  Was it as powerful for you as it was for me?  I sure hope so...





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It was 1965. The family set off on an intercontinental cruise aboard the SS United States from New York to Madrid, filled with anticipation and excitement.

Several days into their voyage, the ship hit turbulent weather. The storm descended upon the ocean liner with ferocity, rattling the ship and its seasoned crew. Waves towered over both sides of the vessel, lifting the ship up and plunging it into the sea.

The passengers were confined indoors—all except a curious 10-year-old boy, who wandered away from his parents and three brothers and somehow made it onto the deck.

As he opened the door and stepped outside, a large wave pummeled the ship. The boy lost his footing on the wet floor and started sliding as the waves continued their relentless assault.

“In this monument. there is a soul. A soul. And we feel that when we enter now. We feel that,” said Philippe Jost, President of the public establishment for the conservation and restoration of the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, in an interview with 60 Minutes’ Bill Whitaker.

Jost's observation was very astute. A soul is what gives a person life, animating our humanity.

It started with my daughter’s Mini Cooper. She said the brakes failed while driving in heavy traffic after leaving work in Miami Beach, and she rear-ended another car. Nothing happened to her, thank God! Nothing really happened to the car, or at least, nothing I could see. But I drove it home after going to the scene of the “crash” to make sure the brakes were alright, and I took it to the shop to be checked out. Sure enough, the mechanic said the car needed new brake pads and rotors.

Aristotle once said, "nature abhors a vacuum," which came to mind recently as I reflect on how politics has become a religion for far too many, particularly during the heat of a presidential campaign. 

In the absence of God, human nature tends to turn to what St. Thomas Aquinas identifies as the four substitutes for God—wealth, pleasure, power, and honor.

"Carlos, if I had eight more like you, I'd be a happy man."

Those were the words my high school baseball coach said to me one day during my senior year in 1982. Now, more than forty years later, I still remember them.  

That's the impact that kind words can have on a young man and it's a reflection of the character that my coach embodied throughout his life.  

Coach Dunk, as he was known by his ballplayers and assistants, was a players' coach. A man's man, who was genuine through and through.

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.  But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."  -- Mark Twain

My son and I have always had a great relationship. They say boys tend to be closer to their moms and girls closer to their dads. That may be true on a spiritual level in our household, but on a more practical and tangible sense, that doesn't seem to fit reality.

I wasn't looking for a relationship.

I was at point in my life where I was getting over a failed relationship, and I was enjoying spending time on my own without any attachments.

I had returned to my parents' house. What can I say? I'm Cuban! A man in his early 30's moving back home doesn't have the same negative connotations among Hispanics as it does in American culture.

Silence.

The only noise was the humming of an air conditioning unit in the background and the thoughts that formed quietly in my head.

Uncomfortable? It can be, especially at first.

Revealing?  Without a doubt.

"Strange, isn't it?  Each man's life touches so many other lives.  And when he isn't around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?"  -- Clarence, It's a Wonderful Life. 

It was a lesson George Bailey had to learn the hard way.  

Unfortunately, it's a lesson, we often have to learn as well.   

This week, I was rattled by the news that an old high school friend, Tony, died unexpectedly.    

The news came about a week after another high school friend, Ana, also passed away.

My wife and I are about four years away from being empty nesters but after almost a decade of limiting our travels to family trips, we finally took our first vacation sans the kiddies a few weeks ago, and I must say, it was a pleasant look at what our life may be in the not-too-distant future.
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Born in Oriente, Cuba, raised in Hialeah, Fl and graduated from The U. I’m a husband, father, son and older brother. I was a lapsed Catholic for most of my life until attending a men’s spiritual retreat in April 2006, which totally changed my perspective on life. That weekend, the emptiness I had always tried to fill with the things our culture promises will make us happy (wealth, pleasure, power and honor; St. Thomas Aquinas’ 4 substitutes for God), was filled with the love of God. I have been passionately studying my faith and, hopefully, drawing closer to God ever since. Now, I see my purpose in life is to become a saint and to lead my wife and kids to heaven. It’s not easy! I am no expert by any means. I'm just learning and trying to live my faith to the best of my abilities.
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