The Only Way to Lose Your Soul Is to Forfeit It

"Be careful who you allow to tell you your worth." That's the line from a folk parable Father Mike Schmitz retells in this homily, and it becomes the thread that ties together the Gospel reading, the nature of the cross, and the quiet danger of small compromises. The Gospel passage is Matthew 16:21–27, where Jesus tells his disciples he must suffer and die, Peter rebukes him, and Jesus responds with the hard teaching: whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Then comes the line Father Mike centers the whole homily on: "What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?"

You Cannot Be Beaten Out of Your Soul

Father Mike opens with something relatable—he hates losing. He describes the "never celebrate too early" videos: the boxer showboating before getting knocked out, the cyclist raising his hands before the finish line only to be passed, the football player flipping the ball before crossing the goal line. But the worst way to lose, he argues, is not being outplayed or outpaced. It's forfeiting. A team that has too many players on the field forfeits. A chess player who concedes while ahead forfeits. They didn't get beaten. They simply stopped playing.