Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

Gospel John 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Reflection Faith is not something that is based in proof, but in trust. We trust the words of Scripture, we trust the words of Jesus, we recognize in them a wisdom that goes beyond our understanding. And it leads us to realize that the real thing that brings faith is the gift of grace, the ability to trust in something beyond our imagining. Without it, we can't truly be a follower of Jesus. Closing Prayer Father, every gift that you offer us needs to be welcomed. Accepted. Digested in a sense. Bless us with the trust that is necessary for us to let go of logic and enter into the world of spirit, wisdom, mysticism. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Gospel Matthew 8:28-34 When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go then!" They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. Reflection At the end of time, when the kingdom has come, evil will be destroyed. It's called the Kingdom of heaven. But in this reading, you see a statement by the demoniacs, that this is not yet the time for them to be destroyed. So they need to live, and the only way evil lives is when it enters into someone or something, and its essence is to destroy. When evil goes into the swine, they immediately destroy themselves. This frightening image of evil may be the reason why the people from the town wanted Jesus to leave. It's a frightening thing to deal with the reality of evil, but it's real. Closing Prayer Father, redemption means that you have freed us from the power of evil. Help us to have confidence in dealing with this power. Most especially though, give us the assurance that we will never be destroyed by this power. If we turn to you. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Gospel  Matthew 8:23-27 As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us!  We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” Reflection It's hard to believe in the impossible. But the thing about Jesus and his experience on this earth with other human beings is that they had such a hard time grasping the power that he had, the wisdom, the goodness. And that same gift is our gift. We are asked to be like Jesus in this world. Help us to get past the doubts. Help us to believe in all that we can do, filled with His Spirit. Closing Prayer Father, awaken in us an awareness of the beauty of your strength flowing through us. Your Holy Spirit in us, affecting the same things that you effected in this world. Bless us with this gift. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Gospel Matthew 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” Reflection Jesus is always asking us to go further, to think more radically. He's going to cross to the other shore. And yet he makes clear that when someone wants to follow him, it's not about a place, it's about a mystery. The mystery of God in Jesus, God in us. Closing Prayer Father, the mystery of the Trinity, the fullness of who God is, his essence of what Jesus was drawing people into. He wanted them to experience the fullness of the father that he himself experienced. Bless us with an ability to see all that God truly is. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

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