Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz
Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

07/26/25 Fruitful and Faithful

July 25, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1931, the Church told Padre Pio to stop saying Mass in public, stop hearing confessions, and stop appearing in public. For two years, the man who spent ten to fifteen hours a day in the confessional, who could read souls and bilocate and heal the sick, simply obeyed. He had every reason to argue that his extraordinary fruitfulness justified ignoring an ordinary command. He did not argue. He stopped.

That story frames Father Mike Schmitz’s homily on the Gospel parables of the hidden treasure and the pearl of great price. The central question is not what gifts you want, but what you will do with them—and more pointedly, whether you can be fruitful without being faithful.

Solomon’s tragedy: fruitful but unfaithful

Father Mike contrasts two figures: Solomon and Padre Pio. Solomon is the cautionary tale. When God offered him any gift, he asked for wisdom, and God gave him that plus wealth, honor, and every other blessing. Solomon was spectacularly fruitful. He built the Temple, expanded Jerusalem, established Israel as a world power, and wrote a significant portion of the Old Testament—Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Wisdom literature. He was not just privileged; he was productive.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (00:30) **Gospel Reading: The Parables of the Kingdom** - Jesus tells the parables of the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, and the dragnet, concluding with the scribe who brings out the new and the old.
  • 2 (01:44) **Introducing St. Padre Pio's Gifts** - Fr. Mike begins a discussion with high schoolers about the remarkable spiritual gifts of St. Padre Pio, including bilocation, reading souls, and the gift of flight.
  • 3 (05:17) **The Stigmata and the Question of Gifts** - Fr. Mike describes the stigmata of Padre Pio, which lasted 50 years and vanished at his death, then asks the high schoolers which gift they would choose.
  • 4 (07:15) **Solomon's Request for Wisdom** - Fr. Mike connects the question of gifts to the first reading, where God asks Solomon what he wants, and Solomon chooses a wise and understanding heart.
  • 5 (09:40) **The Danger of Fruitfulness Without Faithfulness** - Fr. Mike warns that Solomon, despite his great gifts and productivity, ended his life as a tragic figure because he was fruitful but not faithful.
  • 6 (12:24) **How Solomon Lost His Heart** - Fr. Mike explains that Solomon gradually gave his heart away by neglecting the basics, such as daily scripture study, which was commanded for every king.
  • 7 (15:39) **The Basics God Asks of Us** - Fr. Mike applies the lesson to listeners, emphasizing that God calls us to be faithful in the ordinary things, not just fruitful in extraordinary ones.

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Show Notes

Homily from the Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

It is possible to use the gifts, use the opportunities...and lose your heart.

King Solomon asked God for an understanding heart, and he was blessed with incredible wisdom. So how did he end so poorly? He did remarkable things, but he failed to do the ordinary things.

Mass Readings from July 26, 2026: 1 Kings 3:5, 7-12 Psalm 119:57, 72, 76-77, 127-130)Romans 8:28-30

Matthew 13:44-52

Sunday Homilies with Fr. Mike Schmitz

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