(dramatic announcer voice) Here we go. In a world where ... no, in a world ... wait, nevermind.
Hi my name's Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
It's fall right now here in Minnesota. I imagine it's fall other places as well.
It has to do with the tilt of the earth ... rotation. I love the fall.
I love the fall, but I sometimes I have found myself in the past of having this kind of
attitude of like, "Oh it's this season. I wish it was this season."
You know, it's some other season. It's winter, I wish it was summer. It was summer—so hot—I wish it was fall.
That kind of idea and sometimes we can be so dissatisfied with the season that we are in,
that we wish it was another time
so this happens in our lives as well. Not just with like weather and whatnot but
happens all of the time when people are saying, OK I'm in this stage of my life,
I'm in this season in my life and, I just wish, all I'm doing is looking forward to
the next season or the next stage of my life and I'm wondering why am I not there.
Short answer is you're not there because you're right here, right?
You're not in summer because right now, it's the fall. Can we apply this to our lives as well?
People say like well I just I just wish I was married or I just wish I was
I was out of college and I had a job. I just wished that I was on my own.
You know as a high schooler, maybe, I just wish that I was out of my parents house.
As someone out of their parents house, it's I wish I was back in my parents house.
You could say I wish I had kids, I wish I was retired. We can be so so impatient
with where we are right now as far as God's plan for our lives.
As far as His call on our lives, in his vocation in our lives,
we can say I just want to know what God wants me to do.
Like I want to be in that season where I'm just
doing the vocation and I am living it out and just am able to just move forward.
If you find yourself dissatisfied with your season in life,
I'm gonna invite you to do three things. Number one—I may invite you to do four things in fact.
Number one is identify the season. Identify the season that you actually are in as opposed to the season you WANT to be in.
For years, I would pray, God please just let me know what you want me to do for my life.
Just tell me my vocation. I'm ready, just, I will do it right now if you let me know right now.
And for years, I think I prayed every day for at least nine years,
God, just, if you want me to be a priest, just let me know right now
and so I would go to various retreats
I would go to pray and go to Mass and with this one goal. The one goal was I want to
leave this retreat or leave this prayer time or leave this Mass knowing what you want me to do, Lord.
And so when he didn't let me know in that retreat or in that Mass or in that prayer time,
I walked away thinking like, well that was a waste of time, like that was pointless
and I basically snubbed all of the gifts
that God was actually giving to me because it wasn't the season for him to
tell me what he wanted me to do in my life and so because of that,
what I ended up doing is missing all the blessings I was receiving from the Lord.
You know, I was not being grateful for any of the things that he was actually doing in that season in my life,
because I had my eyes set on like, but the next season, the time when you actually are telling me.
So number one: I have to identify what season we actually are in as opposed to the season you want to be in.
Number two: Be patient.
If you've ever tried starting to be like an endurance athlete, ever started running,
one of the things that can happen is you could be so frustrated,
like, Oh man, I could only go three miles, I could only go one mile without, you know, stopping and walking
and saying like, I'm so angry about this and I'm so frustrated. Why? I'm impatient
because I think I should be somewhere that I'm not yet ready to be.
Like, this is how the process goes, right? You have to start somewhere
and then you start moving forward. You may not be at the place where you want to be.
You're in a particular season of, when it comes to prayer, be patient with the fact that you're growing.
Number three, the third thing.
First thing: Identify the season you're in and the one you want to go to.
Number two: Be patient with yourself, patient with the process.
Number three: Be active. Like actually start moving.
Do the work of the day, not the work of tomorrow.
I know I'm called to marriage, I know I'm called to be a father or mother and
someone in my family my own family. I'm not, I'm a priest but you know what I'm saying.
That means that right now, what are the things I should be working on in my life
so I can be that kind of dad, so I can be that kind of husband, so I can be that kind of parent or spouse.
if I might be called to be a priest or I might be called to be a religious
I don't know yet, but what are the things that I can do right now that will help me
to become that person then?
so I can be patient but I must take action.
And the third ... fourth thing I think it's saint, not saint, but Charles de Caussade
Is it Charles de Caussade?
At the end of his name is de Caussade, what he says in the book ... the ...
Do I have to look it up? I think have to look it up. I'll be right back.
Jean Pierre de Caussade! Good thing I didn't say CHARLES de Caussade ...man.
OK here we go.
The fourth thing: Jean Pierre de Caussade says in his book Abandonment to Divine Providence.
This is great book. I recommend you please, you should read this book; it will change your life
de Caussade talks about this thing he calls the "sacrament of the present moment."
You know, we don't live in the future,
we don't live in the past—can't do that. We can only have right now
and at this moment, it's right now, it's the present moment that God communicates himself to us ALWAYS,
ALL of the time, but we often miss it, why?
Because I'm looking forward to the next season.
So the four things is identify the season you're in and the season you want to be in at some point, that's great
you can identify that because then you can be patient with yourself and to be patient with the process
be patient with the reality that
like, OK, Is what's supposed to be happening right now, happening right now?
That's why we need to be active, and the fourth thing is to be aware of God's
presence, the practice of the present moment, the sacrament of the present moment,
recognizing God is communicating his life and his grace and his holiness to us now.
You don't have to wait to be in your vocation to become a saint.
You don't have to wait to know your vocation to start being holy, why?
Because at this moment what is it what is it to be holy? To be holy is to say yes to God's will
Whatever season it is, whatever day it is, whatever that will is in this moment,
to simply say yes to that, that's to be a saint. It's all gonna take care of itself
You'll become a saint.
From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name is Father Mike
(English accent) God bless and God bless you. God bless you. God bless you all
innit? Right?
I don't know ... dang it ... stupid stupid.