Advent starts this weekend, and Father Dave welcomes Father Mike Schmitz to discuss preparing our hearts this season. Father Mike is the host of Ascension’s “The Bible in a Year” and “The Catechism in a Year” podcasts, as well as the new series “Waiting Well: Advent with Fr. Mike Schmitz.”
“Advent is not only a season of preparation; it’s a season of waiting,” Father Mike reflects. “So much of our lives are spent waiting, but we don’t do it well. So I thought, how about during this Advent, we learn how to wait well.” The series includes a physical book, weekly free reflections on YouTube and podcast platforms, and daily reflection videos from Father Mike on Ascension’s premium app.
They discuss how delayed gratification is often good for our mental and spiritual well-being when something is worth the wait. “Waiting is not passive. I think a lot of times, that’s how we do it; We do it wrong. We wait and think, ‘Well, I’m just sitting here as the clock is ticking,’” Father Mike says. “Waiting is to be engaged with the moment right now, because God is doing something. That’s the crazy thing. Sometimes we think once I get to the destination, that’s when I’ll be happy. God is doing something [now]; If I don’t enter into this moment, I will actually not be ready to enter into the thing I’m waiting for.”
Father Mike notes how often we use technology to distract ourselves from waiting in everyday life. “How many times do we pull out our phones? What we’re saying is, I no longer want to be in this world; I’m going to go to this other world. I want to be somewhere else, and so that’s what I’m going to do,” he says. “When we distract ourselves from this moment, we escape this moment. But this is the only moment that God can be found in. So we realize that we’re not just escaping boredom, we’re escaping God. We need boredom in order to find God the father.”
Father Dave asks Father Mike how he slows down in Advent despite his busy schedule. Father Mike responds, “I think [it’s about] living with intention…there’s an aspect of when one knows their priorities. We all have things we have to do over the course of Advent, whether that’s visiting relatives, making sure the house is decorated, or going to Christmas parties or the Christmas pageant.”
“For us as priests, we have many different reconciliation services and all these kinds of things. Those are all great, but I have to distinguish what is essential and what is optional. I have to realize that no one else will choose for me; no one else is going to slow down my life for me,” he continues. “Advent really is a season where we’re preparing ourselves and our hearts to be able to focus on the priority and be ready for it.”
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Father Dave reflects, “We can think of Advent as a necessary preparation time, like a recipe for a well-prepared meal. We know there’s a difference between ‘I got busy, I didn’t have time, I ran in the house five minutes before we have to eat, and now I have to take some out of the freezer and pop it in the microwave.’ It’ll feed us, but it’s not going to be as good as that Thanksgiving turkey that’s been basting…I think the thing that fights against us [in Advent] is that this preparation is a little less concrete.”
“I love that you pointed that out, because that’s one of the reasons why an Advent or Lenten devotional can be so helpful,” Father Mike responds. “[Many people say] ‘I want to prepare. I want to enter into this season, but I don’t know how. Someone give me a guide.’ That’s what we tried to do with this Waiting Well series.”
