Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Thursday after Epiphany

Gospel Luke 4:14-22 Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news of him spread throughout the whole region.  He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all. He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.  He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:             The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,                         because he has anointed me                                     to bring glad tidings to the poor.             He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives                         and recovery of sight to the blind,                                     to let the oppressed go free,             and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord. Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.  He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”  And all spoke highly of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth.  Reflection There was something about Jesus. When people saw him or heard him, there was something that felt right. There was an authority in him that seemed so different than the scribes and Pharisees. And he would describe something that was so beautiful, and they would just in a sense, bask in his gifts until they thought about it. And in this particular case, what happened was as soon as they were pleased with what he was saying, they thought about it, and they said this is absolutely impossible. This man is crazy, and we need to destroy him. Instead of receiving the message, they turned to their fears and their destructive nature. Closing Prayer How easy it is, in a sense, to be moved by so many things that you have said, Jesus, and what you've done. And yet there's some hard issue that we have to face. Do we believe this? Is our inheritance as well as your gifts shown to us in this beautiful time when the Kingdom is being described for the first time? Bless us with an awareness of this gift. Take away fear. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Wednesday after Epiphany

Gospel Mark 6:45-52 After the five thousand had eaten and were satisfied, Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And when he had taken leave of them, he went off to the mountain to pray. When it was evening, the boat was far out on the sea and he was alone on shore. Then he saw that they were tossed about while rowing, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them. But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out. They had all seen him and were terrified. But at once he spoke with them, “Take courage, it is I, do not be afraid!” He got into the boat with them and the wind died down. They were completely astounded. They had not understood the incident of the loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened. Reflection When Jesus came into the world, he was beyond anyone's expectation. What he could do was incredulous, they couldn't believe. In this simple story, it's interesting that we see the disciples encountering Jesus in a way that seems almost strange, because it seemed that it wasn't really intended. But Jesus was able to walk on water, and he was walking home, and the disciples were in a boat, and the wind was really strong, and there was a lot of anxiety on their part. And then they see Jesus walking on the water, and they are terrified, which anybody would be in a sense. They were completely astounded. They didn't understand who this  man is. They didn't understand what had just happened with the loaves and fishes, which means there must be something about the way Jesus is revealing himself. That It is, in a sense, a real turnoff. It's too much, too soon. And that's why often we stay on the fringes of what it means to understand God working through us as he did through Jesus. Closing Prayer Father, how do we believe in the impossible? How do we surrender to something so extraordinarily out of our control and beyond our paygrade, being able to happen through us because of this gift? Bless us with the kind of acceptance of something beyond our imagining. We have to trust in what you say and what you have done. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Tuesday after Epiphany

Gospel  Mark 6:34-44 When Jesus saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things. By now it was already late and his disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already very late. Dismiss them so that they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” He said to them in reply, “Give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Are we to buy two hundred days’ wages worth of food and give it to them to eat?” He asked them, “How many loaves do you have?  Go and see.” And when they had found out they said, “Five loaves and two fish.” So he gave orders to have them sit down in groups on the green grass. The people took their places in rows by hundreds and by fifties. Then, taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; he also divided the two fish among them all. They all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve wicker baskets full of fragments and what was left of the fish. Those who ate of the loaves were five thousand men. Reflection This is the only miracle found in all four of the Gospels, and I think it's because it is such a beautiful image of what the kingdom of God is really like. God comes into our life in the form of a spirit. Jesus is the model. And when we are filled with this Holy Spirit, we are able to do things beyond our imagining. And the most important thing I think it's saying about the Kingdom of God is it's about abundance, not just a little nourishment, but more nourishment than anyone could imagine. It's the Holy Spirit that is described as that thing that is the blessing that we receive. And having received it our work, our being with one another, becomes abundantly nurturing and life giving. What a great gift God has given us. The model is Jesus. The Holy Spirit is the power. Closing Prayer Father, we look at situations in our life and we see them as almost impossible to handle. And yet you're telling us if we allow the Blessed Spirit to enter into our life, we are able to do so much more than we could ever imagine, because it's not just us doing it. It's your love, your healing, your wisdom flowing through us, enabling us to establish the Kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Monday after Epiphany

Gospel Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25 When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.  He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali, that what had been said through Isaiah the prophet  might be fulfilled: Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the way to the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people who sit in darkness have seen a great light, on those dwelling in a land overshadowed by death light has arisen. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” He went around all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness among the people.  His fame spread to all of Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick with various diseases and racked with pain, those who were possessed, lunatics, and paralytics, and he cured them.  And great crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him. Reflection This entire week is focused on the coming of Jesus, the major transformation that's happening. John the Baptist is setting himself out of the picture, and into the picture comes this incredible figure of Jesus. And it's interesting that he goes to a Gentile town, not to Jerusalem. And there he starts his ministry, which is so impossible to believe that everyone he encountered, he would heal them. And it was just this beautiful image of a great light comes into the world so bright that it destroys pain and suffering and darkness and evil. It was almost too much for people to grasp, and that's exactly what happened. The beginning of his ministry was difficult because people had no idea what the kingdom of God was really about. Closing Prayer When Jesus came to initiate the kingdom of God, he changed everything. And the most important thing for us, and we pray for it always, is that we’ll grasp fully what this new light and life really means. It's not just that we become the receiver of healing, but we also become the partner with God in the work of healing. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

HOMILY • The Epiphany of the Lord

THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORD Original Airdate: January 8, 2023 Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6 | Matthew 2:1-12 Oh God, who on this day revealed your Only Begotten Son to the nations by the guidance of a star, grant in your mercy that we, who know you already by faith, may be brought to behold the beauty of your sublime glory through  our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]