Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

PRI Reflections on Scripture | Wednesday of the 2nd Week in Lent

Gospel Matthew 20:17-28 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My chalice you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Reflection It's clear that when the disciples heard the proclamation that Jesus made about what was to happen to Him at the end of his life, they didn't grasp it. They were confused. And I think it's fascinating to see James and John with their mommy coming to Jesus and asking for a special favor that they be put in positions of greatest authority and respect and honor. And Jesus is just shaking his head and saying, you know, they don't yet get it. They don't understand. And all he does is say, you know what you're asking? You really don't even know what you're asking. First of all, things like that are in my father's hands. I'm not the one determining what the future will be like. My father is the one in charge. But please know this, he keeps saying, please know that what I'm asking you to become is not people of great honor and prestige and importance. But you've all got to be servants. Keep service in mind. It's essential. Closing Prayer Father, our nature thrives in positions of authority and power. We like to have things that make us seem successful, and that's nothing unusual for a human being. The ego is sort of set in a way that that's what they want, but we have to always counter those desires with such a simple and beautiful teaching that comes up over and over again. We're not here to be served. We're here to serve. And we asked 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 2nd Week of Lent

Gospel  Matthew 23:1-12 Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.' As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Reflection It's interesting that in our culture, we tend to feel that we should give more honor to people who have positions of power. Or, we pay more attention to people who have some kind of public celebrity status. So interesting that we do that when we are told over and over again by our one teacher that we are all one. We are all equal. Yes, someone may have a position of responsibility that's greater than ours, but it doesn't mean that they're more valuable. So help us to recognize everyone as your child, as the one you have asked to be a servant to the people around them. That's the heart of this message of Jesus, to be servants to one another as equals, as brothers and sisters, united. Closing Prayer Father, the oneness that we have is something that slips through our fingers. We tend to be caught up in a cultural expectation of the importance and what makes people important. So bless us with an open heart to see the beauty and the dignity of everyone and to offer ourselves in service to all. 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 2nd Week in Lent

Gospel Luke 6:36-38 Jesus said to his disciples: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. "Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.” Reflection I often wonder what the disciples thought because in this conversation with Jesus, he’s saying you have to be just like your father. You have to be like God. I can't imagine what that would have sounded like when they knew that God was so distant from them. And their sins always separated them from God. But the beautiful message of Jesus is there's intimacy with ourselves in God. And when we can feel Him doing the things he longs to do, not judging, but rather forgiving and calling us into places of abundance, we will in turn be that way to each other. But it's interesting. First it happens to us, a gift to us, and then we understand the beauty of what that might mean to someone else is we're called to give them a gift. Closing Prayer Father, we are to become like you. And we have to remember that when we are asked to do the things that you do, we can only do them through your power, through your presence within us. It's such a privilege to be an instrument of giving to others when the source is you. It gives us a sense of importance, a sense of meaning in our life. And we thank you for this work that you've given to us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

HOMILY • The 2nd Sunday of Lent

Original Airdate: March 8, 2020 Genesis 12:1-4a | 2 Timothy 1:8b-10 | Matthew 17:1-9 Oh God, who commanded us to listen to your Beloved Son, be pleased, we pray, to nourish us inwardly by your word that, with spiritual sight made pure, we may rejoice to behold your glory 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 1st Week of Lent

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 and sisters only, what is unusual about that? Do not the pagans do the same? So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Reflection Whenever Jesus teaches His disciples, that they need to become a person that they, in their hearts do not believe they could ever be, you know you're at the heart of his teaching. When he asks us to love our enemies, to never want retaliation or punishment. He’s revealing something that he is, and at the heart of his message he's saying, Everything I'm asking you to do is not something you are called to develop or to do, but you do it with me. He enters into us. He is the source of our ability not to judge, not to condemn, not to separate ourselves from others, but to always rely upon his wisdom, his love, his understanding to flow through us. That's the mystery of the Kingdom. God in us, and we in God. Closing Prayer Father, when we think about perfection, we often think about our doing everything perfectly. That is not the perfection that God is asking us to have. The one perfect thing we can do is rely more on God than on ourselves to be the people He's calling us to be. To be perfectly attuned to the father is what is the desire of the father’s heart. So bless us with union and communion with the source that is perfectly attuned to the needs and wants of our brothers and sisters and ourselves. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]