Accepting Who God Made You to Be (Fr. Mike Schmitz) | Ep. 549

In this interview, Matt sits down with the one and only Fr. Mike Schmitz. The conversation focuses on accepting who God made you to be — as it relates to getting older, detachment (even from good things), anxiety, fatherhood, the spiritual life and more. Also discussed is fitness, the rising interest in Catholicism among young people today, Gen Z vs. Millennials, why Fr. Mike loves being a priest, the impact of Bible in a Year, God's love, grief, Fr. Mike's podcast, and the beauty or religious orders. 📚 Get my newest book, Jesus Our Refuge, here: https://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Our-Refuge-Matt-Fradd/dp/1968630023/ 🍺 Want to Support Pints With Aquinas? 🍺 Get episodes a week early and join exclusive live streams with me! Become an annual supporter at 👉 https://mattfradd.locals.com/support 💵 Show Sponsors: 👉 College of St. Joseph the Worker: https://www.collegeofstjoseph.com/mattfradd 👉 Truthly – The Catholic faith at your fingertips: https://www.truthly.ai/ 👉 Hallow – The #1 Catholic prayer app: https://hallow.com/mattfradd  💻 Follow Me on Social Media: 📌 Facebook: https://facebook.com/mattfradd 📸 Instagram: https://instagram.com/mattfradd 𝕏 Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Pints_W_Aquinas 🎵 TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@pintswithaquinas 👕 PWA Merch – Wear the Faith! Grab your favorite PWA gear here: https://shop.pintswithaquinas.com 00:00:00 – Introduction and Matt's book 00:03:01 – The challenges and spiritual value of getting older 00:15:16 – Why are Gen Z and Gen Alpha different? 00:23:00 – Are young men becoming more interested in Catholicism? 00:32:52 – Wokeism 00:38:10 – Fr. Mike's early struggles with Catholicism 00:44:52 – How to talk to people the right way 00:50:32 – How Fr. Mike embraced the Church's sexual teachings 01:01:02 – Priestly celibacy and the challenges of being a priest 01:10:18 – Being introverted and dealing with fame 01:25:59 – Fr. Mike's most popular video and Bible in a Year 01:37:16 – Ministering to new Catholics and dealing with discouragement 01:51:05 – Fr. Mike's dating and marriage advice 02:01:28 – Matt loves 2025 02:05:53 – The danger of comparing yourself to others 02:09:13 – Confession and developing a stronger prayer life 02:21:40 – Spiritual reading recommendations 02:28:43 – Questions from viewers and closing remarks Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices