Faith
Everyone has someone who has made a big impact in their life. A relative, a friend, a teacher. Usually, it’s someone we know personally. In my case, however, it’s someone I’ve never met.
Let me back up a second, with a little background. I’m a cradle Catholic and went to Catholic school from first through eighth grades. As students, we attended Mass with our class every Wednesday, and with our family on Sundays. My parents sacrificed a lot to pay my monthly tuition at St. Michael’s Academy so I could receive a strong scholastic education alongside substantial religious instruction. However, like a lot of Catholic kids, when I reached my teen years and started at public high school, my faith took a backseat. Life happened, many years went by, and I had become a lapsed Catholic.
However, after some pretty dreadful national and global events - some involving religious figures - I began to feel a hunger for the faith I had long taken for granted. I remembered that sacrifice my parents made for me, and slowly began my journey back to the Church.
Living in the digital age of information at our fingertips, I did a lot of searches on “how to return to faith.” And that’s how I eventually stumbled across Father Mike Schmitz.
Now, you gotta remember that when I was a kid in the 60s and 70s, priests were old, stodgy, tiresome figures, sacrosanct and utterly unapproachable - they (and the nuns) seriously scared the crap out of me! I hadn’t had any contact with priests since then, so I just assumed they were all still that way.
The first time I saw Father Mike in a YouTube video, I was floored - who IS this priest who’s hilarious, easygoing, young, and - most importantly - explains things in a way I can understand???
I was hooked, and my journey back to the faith began in earnest.
Produced and sponsored in conjunction with Ascension Press, Father Mike hosts and narrates the free podcast, “The Bible In A Year,” 365 episodes of bible reading in a logical order followed by his invaluable commentary. It truly makes the Bible come alive for me, as well as incredibly interesting. I’ve already gone through the entire 365 episodes, and have recently started over for a second round, taking notes and finding inspiration along the way.
You can find The Bible In A Year podcast wherever you get your podcasts, or through Ascension Press at:
https://app.ascensionpress.com/podcasts/bible
Father Mike is the Chaplain at the University of Minnesota Duluth’s (UMD) Newman Center, as well as Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry in the Diocese of Duluth. When I am unable to attend Mass in person, I catch his Sunday Mass on YouTube. Did you know that these streamed services are actually held in a very small garage that has been converted into a very small chapel for Mass? And that sometimes, the faithful have to be turned away because of lack of space? And that the videos of Mass are streamed AROUND THE GLOBE? All from a tiny makeshift chapel in a converted garage. In addition, Father Mike and his team also produce a ton of faith content that reaches hundreds of MILLIONS of people all over the world, created and produced in modest “studios” (that is, his home or campus buildings or offices).
This is where UMD’s Seeds of Faith campaign comes in. They are raising money to fund construction of an amazing new Newman Center which will include a stunning church (so the faithful won’t have to be turned away for lack of space), gathering spaces for events and meetings (so Father Mike doesn’t have to meet with students at his dining table!), and an actual recording studio to better produce ministry content for national and global audiences.
Read more about the Seeds of Faith campaign here:
Discovering Father Mike made that type of big impact in my life that I spoke about in the first paragraph. And I want to do what I can to give back, because I believe that this project is vital to both UMD and to furthering Father Mike’s ministry on a national and global scale.
If you’ve landed on my website, you know that I’m an artist that paints original freehand mandalas on upcycled wood bowls. But I’ve also loved noodling around in graphic arts for as long as I can remember. I recently created a new project where I've designed the initial pieces of a product line of faith-based t-shirts and stickers that are available in my Etsy shop. I’ve created all the designs myself from scratch and they are all based on Bible verses and faith. Most importantly, 100% of profits after production costs will be donated to the Seeds of Faith campaign.
I would be ever-grateful if you would hop on over to my Etsy shop and take a look. Know that, with your purchases, you will be helping to continue bringing Father Mike’s ministry to a world hungry for a return to faith.
