Stories that change lives: Fr. Mike Schmitz talks parables at Dickies Arena
Father Mike Schmitz, youth and young adult ministry director for the Diocese of Duluth and host of the Bible in a Year podcast, brought his Parables Tour to Dickies Arena on Oct. 23, 2025. (NTC/JUAN GUAJARDO)
FORT WORTH — Parables, explained Deacon Mark Gannaway of Holy Family Parish, are an entry point to the Gospels. “People might not understand theology, but they can understand a story. A parable approaches it in a different way. It opens minds; it opens hearts; it brings down walls.”
About 6,400 local Catholics took a deeper look at four parables with Father Mike Schmitz, the renowned Catholic priest, podcaster, speaker, and author. The last stop on his national Parables Tour was Oct. 23 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth.
Fr. Schmitz described parables as stories that can move hearts and change lives.
Selecting four parables to highlight from the 40 parables Jesus shares in the Gospels was a challenge, he explained in July on an episode of the diocesan podcast, Lights, Catholic, Action!
“What are the important and urgent parables that moved my heart? These are four parables that have changed my life,” he said.
“There’s a point to every parable. The message [of the parables selected] needs to be both urgent and important — this is something people need to know, and they need to know this now,” said the priest, who added that parables reveal the heart of God.
Fr. Schmitz delved into four parables: the lost sheep, the sower, the dishonest steward, and the wise and foolish virgins.
Contemplating the scenario of a shepherd leaving 99 sheep to find the one lost sheep demonstrates the strength of God’s love for us: We are relentlessly pursued and ridiculously celebrated, he said.
The sower scatters seed over four types of soil, but we can choose to be good soil, hearing the Word and producing a good crop.
Fr. Schmitz explained that the dishonest steward went to great lengths to try to save his livelihood and asked whether we are doing our utmost to save our souls.
The parable of the wise and foolish virgins, he said, symbolizes that no one can have a relationship with Jesus for you.
Unlike his popular Bible-in-a-Year and Catechism-in-a-Year podcasts, the Parables Tour enabled the faithful community to ask questions after his hour-long discussion of the parables.
A local impact
When Bishop Olson introduced Fr. Schmitz to begin the evening, he pointed out that the Minnesota priest was in Fort Worth not as a celebrity, although he is well-known; not as an influencer, although he has reached millions on social media; but as a Catholic priest whose ministry is assigned by his bishop.
Proceeds from the tour help build a Catholic chapel and student center at University of Minnesota Duluth, where Fr. Schmitz has served as chaplain for more than 20 years.
Deacon Gannaway attended the parables tour with several deacons and their wives.
He often uses Fr. Schmitz YouTube videos in his instruction of OCIA to reinforce a point.
He and the OCIA students appreciate Fr. Schmitz’s honesty, energy, and humor. Fr. Schmitz is “so open about his faith. He gets emotional telling stories,” said the deacon.
Eternal topics
Monica Noriega, a parishioner at St. Joseph Church in Cleburne, attended with a friend. A young adult, she was pleased to see many familiar faces from diocesan young adult events.
The parable of the wise and foolish virgins made a big impact on her. “He said, ‘You have to be thirsty for heaven — you have to be desperate for heaven.’ It made me think about my life. Am I desperate enough for heaven? Nobody else is going to do it for me,” she said.
“It’s all in our hands, how we live our day to day and what we’re doing to get closer to heaven.”
“I was so happy to see the arena full,” said Jane Bosworth, a parishioner of St. Bartholomew Church in Fort Worth. “I didn’t know if there’d be a lot of people, if it would be half full, but I was just so impressed.”
Bosworth said Fr. Schmitz’s comments on reconciliation gave her food for thought. Instead of feeling shame and guilt in the confessional, Fr. Schmitz encouraged confessors to view the sacrament as an opportunity to give Jesus the victory.
Finally, Bosworth said, “It’s a new way for the faith to be heard. So many young people are learning from Fr. Mike; they are learning their faith more and exploring their faith more, as Steve [her husband] and I are too.”
Bosworth and an adult son are beginning Fr. Schmitz’s “Catechism in a Year” podcast. She said, “Faith gets deeper as you get older. I have more time to give to faith. I’m a convert of 40 years, but as I learn more and more and more, you fall more in love with it.”
An audience of 6400 came to Dickies Arena on Oct. 23 to see Father Mike Schmitz, youth and young adult ministry director for the Diocese of Duluth and host of the Bible in a Year podcast, and his Parables Tour. (NTC/JUAN GUAJARDO)