Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth and a popular Catholic speaker and podcaster, celebrated Mass before the start of the procession at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of New York. He was joined by dozens of priests from around the country as well as Bishop Edmund Whalen, auxiliary bishop of New York.
“We have hearts that are a mess. And we need Jesus,” Schmitz said during the Mass, addressing the crowd of hundreds in the cathedral.
“We don’t have the kinds of hearts that can love him the way he deserves … every one of us is a sinner, and we need Jesus to rescue us.”
Reflecting on the Mass reading from the Book of Jonah, Schmitz boiled down God’s message to the reluctant and rebellious prophet: “Go to the people that I love and bring me with you.”
