Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Tuesday of the 5th Week of Easter

Gospel  John 14:27-31a Jesus said to his disciples: "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you, 'I am going away and I will come back to you.' If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe. I will no longer speak much with you, for the ruler of the world is coming. He has no power over me, but the world must know that I love the Father and that I do just as the Father has commanded me.” Reflection Jesus is preparing his disciples for his death and resurrection. They have no real understanding of what it is and what it will do for them. But he does make something clear that it's about a sense of well-being, about a sense of peace, knowing that things are the way they need to be, but not necessarily the way we think they should be. Jesus makes it clear that the peace that he offers is not the same kind of peace that we in the world want. The way we want it is no tension, no problems, everything working the way we think it should work. When he's saying, No if you surrender to all that God has planned for you, you will find peace. Just as he says, That my love for the father has enabled me to do whatever he has commanded me. And that's a reference to his death and resurrection. Closing Prayer Father, give us the faith to trust in the way our life unfolds. You love us so intensely that you know what we need more than we know that. And when you do not answer our prayers, give us the wisdom to seek the answer that is there, is promised the answer. Help us to believe in that promise. 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 5th Week of Easter

Gospel John 14:21-26 Jesus said to his disciples: "Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him." Judas, not the Iscariot, said to him, "Master, then what happened that you will reveal yourself to us and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. "I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name -- he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” Reflection The change that Jesus wanted to bring to the world is something that’s always been difficult for us to understand. What we can understand is that the rules and regulations have to be done, and if we do them, then we will receive something. But Jesus doesn't talk that way. He doesn't talk about doing something. He talks about being someone. And the being you have to be is the one who has responded perfectly to what God commands. And what he commands is that you love him. If you love him, you will have a gift, and the gift is the fullness of who he is, as revealed in Jesus. God the father is our creator. Jesus is the one that reveals who the father is. And then the Holy Spirit comes along and says, I am here to teach you, remind you, show you over and over and over again. Because the work of being in love, in a state of being that you know you are loved is a thing that we work on all the time. It's not, we get it and we've got it. We just evolve and evolve and evolve until we become the kingdom of God. Closing Prayer Let us pray. Father, we have a hard time dealing with things that we can't fully understand. But we do know what love is. We do know what it feels like to love someone or to have them love us. Help us to realize this is the major commandment that God has called us to be. Lovers, caretakers, people that support one another. That's the work. That's the goal of all faith and truth. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

HOMILY • The 5th Sunday of Easter

Original Airdate: May 7, 2023 Acts 6:1-7 | 1 Peter 2:4-9 | John 14:1-12 Almighty, everliving God, constantly accomplish the Pascal mystery within us that those you are pleased to make new in holy baptism may, under your protective care, bear much fruit and come to the joys of life eternal through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever, amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Saturday of the 4th Week of Easter

Gospel John 14:7-14 Jesus said to his disciples: “If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.” Philip said to Jesus, “Master, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father. And whatever you ask in my name, I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything of me in my name, I will do it.” Reflection It's a challenge to believe that we have a destiny like the Christ. Jesus a human being, as we are human beings, was touched by God, filled with the spirit of the Father. And out of that spirit and through that spirit, he was able to do all the marvelous things he was doing and to teach the truth in a way that had never been proclaimed before to the human race. And yet we are told we will participate in that same kind of life. To be an instrument of God's grace. That is what gives God the glory. That's all He wants our permission and for us to be the source of the things the world needs. It's a privilege, but it's also the will of God. So we know it will work. Closing Prayer Father, it's so natural for us when we see something that needs our help or needs our advice. We try to do the best that we can, and so often we're using just our own mind and our ego trying to figure out what's the right thing to do? What's the best thing to do? We have to do in place of that is make an intention that whatever is needed will be done not by us, but by the spirit flowing through us that we believe will do and accomplish whatever needs to be 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 | Friday of the 4th Week of Easter

Gospel John 14:1-6 Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way.” Thomas said to him, “Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Reflection Jesus has challenged his disciples to go out and to teach, to preach, to bring life to others. But they are often troubled. They don't know how to do it. And Thomas is the doubter. He's the one always wondering, What if I can't do it? What if it doesn't work? And what God is saying through Jesus so beautifully is, Look, you have to understand this mystery. I no longer just live in that holy of holies in the temple, I live in you. I am with you wherever you go. I am there to dwell within you, to give you the direction you need, to give you the abilities you need to do the work of establishing the kingdom. I am going to show you the way. I will reveal to you the truth and you will experience life. Closing Prayer Doubt is not necessarily a bad thing. Lord, when we doubt we have an option to remain in that doubt or to seek the confidence that you promised to share with us. Everything that you ask us to give to others is first given from you to us. Keep us always in that union and communion as we go about our work of loving and caring and healing. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]