Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Friday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: June 21, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:19-23 Jesus said to his disciples: "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be. "The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light; but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness. And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be.” Reflection The treasures that Jesus is talking about is all those things that we have. They give us a sense of who we are. Our position, our title, or where we live. What we own, what we drive, our job. And he’s really saying that all those things do not explain or capture the fullness of who you are. Who you are is a person whose eyes are being opened to the love of a God who accepts this exactly as we are, and gives us the dignity and the worth that we long for by simply entering into us and teaching us that every day. The darkness is when we think we have to be something in order to be important or valuable. The light is we are all we need to be. Closing Prayer Father, there are so many things that we can become anxious and worried about in life, but it's clear that you're telling us over and over again that you are not without a deep care and interest in everything that happens to us, and there is no scarcity. Everything that's not there is because we don't need it to be there. Everything that is there from God is what we need. Give us this confidence. 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 | Thursday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: June 20, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:7-15 Jesus said to his disciples: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. “This is how you are to pray: ‘Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Reflection This prayer is a summary of the kingdom of God that Jesus came to establish here on this earth. It’s a kingdom where God is in charge. It's a kingdom where we are fed and nourished, cared for. And it’s a kingdom that gives us power over sin. And what's so clear that is being said, by especially the last part of this passage, is the most important truth in the Kingdom is you have to allow God to forgive you. If you don't allow God to forgive you, it is impossible for you to forgive others their sins. Closing Prayer Father, free us from constantly thinking about how we can earn your attention, your love, your affection. Give us the wisdom to know the value of your unmerited love pouring into us every single day, every hour of every day. We stand forgiven. And when we have that gift, we can 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 | Wednesday of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: June 19, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus said to his disciples: "Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father. When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, so that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. "When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to others to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.” Reflection We tend to judge ourselves and others by our actions, and certainly the temple was a place that had many, many rules and regulations demanded people do them. And when people did, then they witnessed their conviction, their faith in God. But the thing that is lacking in that is any kind of real intimacy with God. It's not our actions that he's worried about. It's about whether we know him and whether he's able to reveal who he really is to us. And I think that’s said so beautifully in this passage, when more important than the money you give away or more important than the fasting you do, what really you need to do is go into your heart, your inner room, where God lives and dwells, and there pray. And we forget that prayer is as much listening as it is talking. Closing Prayer Father, it's clear the more you read the scriptures, the more you understand that you are always looking for intimacy. Not our actions, but our heart, not our will in our mind, but our heart. What is it that you ask us most especially to do? It's to love. But what God is trying to say is, unless you know the love I have for you, you cannot be the lover the gospel calls you to be. 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 of the 11th Week of Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: June 18, 2024 === Gospel  Matthew 5:43-48 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what recompense will you have? Do not the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet your brothers only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Reflection Anyone that seeks to be perfect is up against something that's too much, too hard, too difficult. But Jesus isn't telling his disciples that they have to do this, but they have to allow God to do this through them. When you are loved as God loves you, when you are treated with great generosity by God, when you see him giving you every single thing you need. It's easy then to understand that that's what human beings need. That's what they long for. To be cared for, to be loved, to be seen as important. Closing Prayer When we face our human nature and it shows us reasons why we should not be as loving as God calls us to be. It's exactly then, when we don't look at ourselves and judge ourselves as unable to do it, but we look to God who is able to do it and invite him to dwell within us. It's only then that we can achieve the perfection of a community of love, 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 of the 11th Week in Ordinary Time

Original Post Date: June 17, 2024 === Gospel Matthew 5:38-42 Jesus said to his disciples: "You have heard that it was said, An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. But I say to you, offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to him as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand him your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.” Reflection The transition between the Old and New Testament is very clear here. In the Old Testament, because of the condition of human beings, the most that they were asked to do was to be fair. If someone hurt you, you could hurt them back. If someone took something from you, you could take something back from them. But here Jesus begins to reveal the new kingdom, the kingdom of God. It is based not in justice, but in service. In love. And what he's simply asking you to do is consider first the needs of someone else before you consider your own. Closing Prayer Father, when we seek to be more generous, we need to realize how you have promised your spirit dwelling within us. We cannot be who God wants us to be without God living within us, loving through us, those that are in need. Bless us with this conviction and this understanding of the Kingdom. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]