Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and this is Ascension Presents.
So a number of years ago, I was reading about the life of St. John Paul the Great, St. John Paul II
and not just about his—later in life, which is incredible
and just obviously, I think for almost anybody who knows of John Paul,
they know that this man was a great saint, a great saint.
But if you read his early life, you realize the influence that his father had on his life.
This is really remarkable. The influence that parents have on their kids,
the influence that siblings have on each other, the influence that bosses have on their employees
or coworkers have on each other.
We all know about peer pressure. We all know that every single person, everyone watching this,
you have influence over someone. You have some kind of influence.
And I remember reading a book a couple years ago that said, essentially, leadership is influence.
Leadership isn't a title. Leadership isn't like some honorary whatever.
Leadership is influence and if you have influence, that means, in many ways, you're leading.
You're leading.
So whether you're a parent, whether you are again, a sister or brother,
whether you are a priest in a parish, a DRE, a catechist, whatever you do,
someone who just walks through life, you have influence on somebody.
The question is this: How are you influencing them?
You're a leader. You're leading people.
If you're influencing them, you're leading them.
How are you leading them? Where are you leading them?
The reason I bring up St. John Paul the Great and his dad
is that when some people had asked him about his father,
Was your father really hard on you?
He was a former military man and here's John Paul II,
who was very disciplined and had a lot of character became a great saint.
Was your father really hard on you? Because his dad was really religious,
was really a spiritual, deeply spiritual man of prayer.
John Paul, was your dad really hard on you? And John Paul II looked back and said,
"My father was not hard on me,"
he said, "my father was so hard on himself that he found no need to be hard on me."
I thought that's a really interesting thing.
Here is this man who knew that he was leading his son.
He knew he was influencing his son
but rather than exerting that control of his son, what he did was he modeled to his son.
He modeled to his son— this is what a man looks like. This is what a man of God looks like.
Imagine if John Paul's mom had been alive,
she would have modeled to her son— here's what a woman of God looks like.
Here's how a woman of God lives.
The reality, of course, everyone has influence.
You're modeling something.
I want my parishioners, I want my students to become great saints.
I imagine if you're a parent, you want your children to become great saints.
You don't just want them to be nice people.
You don't just want them to pay their taxes on time and stay out of trouble.
You want them to be great saints.
And here's the question we have to ask
If you're the leader, if you're the one who has influence, you're the prototype,
like you're the model for them.
The question is, as the prototype, as the leader, as the one with influence, as the model,
if your sons, your daughters,
if your siblings,
if my parishioners,
if they lived like you, if they lived like me,
would they become great saints?
Or would they become just moderately nicer people?
Would they become great saints in the Church who did incredible things for the Lord?
Or would they just become kind of mediocre Christians?
You're the prototype.
In fact, this is not anything new.
In fact, in St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians chapter 11, the very first line in chapter 11 is this.
He says, "Be imitators of me as I am of Christ."
Because St. Paul is pursuing Jesus who is THE capital T— "P" capital Prototype
Prototype—(laughs) you know what I'm saying.
He's THE Prototype. Jesus is The Prototype.
So Paul's like, Listen, I'm going to imitate Christ
and I'm imitating Christ so passionately, so powerfully, so focused
that I'm the prototype for you.
If you imitate me, if you live how I live, listen, you will be nothing short of great saints.
Here's a little mini-examination of conscience.
For all the people that you love, all the people that you lead,
all the people you have influence over, you are the prototype.
If they lived like you, would they become great saints?
If not, what's one way that you can kind of elevate yourself?
What's one way that you can strive after The Prototype, Jesus Christ
that if others imitated you in your prayer,
others imitated you in how you speak,
if others imitated you in your love for the poor or your love for the people around you,
that they would become great saints.
What's one way in your life that you realize,
Man, if people prayed the amount of prayer I did, they might know God a little bit better
but they wouldn't become great saints.
Well, I guess if people love the poor the way I do, there'd be some nice charity around
but they wouldn't become great saints.
Yeah, if people were willing to serve their spouses the way I do,
I mean, it'd be nice, they'd have some nicer relationships but they won't become great saints.
Jesus is The Model
and today, you are the prototype.
Live like it.
From all of us here at Ascension Presents, my name is Father Mike.
God bless.