Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

Gospel Mark 9:41-50 Jesus said to his disciples: "Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, amen, I say to you, will surely not lose his reward. "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. "Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.” Reflection What Jesus is pointing out in this passage, is that there's nothing more despicable, in a sense, in his mind, than leading the innocent into sin. And he wants us to be committed to not doing that. So he gives us this long list of what are you willing to give up in order not to do that? And he's saying, You have to be willing to give up half of everything you are. The half of you that is negative has to give in to the part of you that is so powerful and strong and loving. And so it's an invitation to go through a purification process where fire and salt that preserve and transform, are going to be part of your evolution of consciousness into the person you want to be, in sensitivity to the needs of others. It's about being committed to never leading another into sin. Closing Prayer Father, make us more aware. Purify our sight and our ability to see what we're really doing. So that if we are doing anything that harms anyone, you will show it to us. You will purify us of it, so we can live in unity and peace with one another. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel Mark 9:38-40 John said to Jesus, "Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us." Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.” Reflection What this passage says to me is that there is a truth that God is revealing through Jesus. When you're in that truth, that truth is then producing the abundance of goodness that is promised. So what we see here is that anyone who seeks to love, to seek to serve, to seek to give life to others. They are in the Kingdom, whether they are followers of a particular religion or not. It's where their heart is that counts. And if you live in the truth, you will be fruitfully abundant. Closing Prayer Father, love is what you call us all to live in. To be loved to others. It is the mysterious power that changes the world and opens people to the light. Whenever we are loving, or whoever is loving is doing the work of the kingdom. Bless us with understanding as we witness love's transforming power. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel Mark 9:30-37 Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.” But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him. They came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, he began to ask them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they remained silent. For they had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest. Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” Taking a child, he placed it in their midst, and putting his arms around it, he said to them, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” Reflection Jesus is describing to his disciples that he's going to have to give up his life, give it away in order to save the world. They have no idea what that means. Therefore, they ask no questions. And we see why in what follows, because they, like the rest of us, like culture, creates in us a spirit of competition and wanting to be the best. Life hasn't changed much since then. And yet, what Jesus wants to say is, Look, you have to let go of understanding how this is all going to work. Look at children. Children can be filled with awe and wonder over a story that promises something. And they never ask exactly how do I do that? Or how does that happen? We need that childlike trust and faith in images that Christ gives us over and over again of the way the world should be, and we need to ponder them without trying to figure out how they can happen. Closing Prayer Father, give us a childlike spirit and enthusiasm and excitement for all that you are teaching us and showing us each day. Help us to be docile to the things that we don't understand fully, and fill us with expectations of promises fulfilled that you have made to us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 21:20-25 Peter turned and saw the disciple following whom Jesus loved, the one who had also reclined upon his chest during the supper and had said, "Master, who is the one who will betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours? You follow me." So the word spread among the brothers that that disciple would not die. But Jesus had not told him that he would not die, just "What if I want him to remain until I come? What concern is it of yours?" It is this disciple who testifies to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written. Reflection The relationship that God has with us, is one of intimacy. And it’s something that grows slowly and develops more in some than others. And what Jesus is saying in this passage is that, Why compare where someone is in their spiritual life with God, with where you are? Why are you doing that? Just follow God, follow Jesus, follow your destiny. That's your responsibility, not to compare to somebody else. Closing Prayer Father, competition is something that doesn't fit in the spiritual world, but we get caught up in it. And we can be envious, and we can be thinking that we're better than someone else. So take those things away from us, let each individual be honored for where they are with their God. Long for their faith to deepen. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 21:15-19 After Jesus had revealed himself to his disciples and eaten breakfast with them, he said to Simon Peter, "Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." He then said to Simon Peter a second time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Simon Peter answered him, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." He said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" Peter was distressed that he had said to him a third time, "Do you love me?" and he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Amen, amen, I say to you, when you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." He said this signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him, "Follow me.” Reflection This is one of the first appearances of Jesus to his disciples after he is risen. And what we see in it is a way that Jesus is preparing Peter for his role as the leader of the community, that he is founding. And when he says, I want you to do something, I want you to take care of people. But he uses two images that I think are really interesting. I want you to feed them and tend them. What's the difference? One is making sure of everything that they need that they have. Give them the truth. Give them what they need. But tending is like a bending over and a caring for how they're doing on their journey. It's a thing that we often don't find enough in the religious world that I live in. It's more about feeding them, sending them out. But the tending is at the heart of what I think Jesus is asking all of us to do. Closing Prayer Father, to tell someone what they should believe, or what they should do is one thing, but to give them what they need to be able to do it, is another. And then to stay with them as they struggle is even another very important part. Keep us in that mode of feeding and tending and being there for each other. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 17:20-26 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: "I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” Reflection This passage in John makes one of the most important teachings of Jesus more real for us. The incarnation is Jesus coming into the world, and we know that he came in as a human being, but he also came as a God. He was both human and divine. The model that he is giving us is a model of friendship, of relationships, of love. Just as a father is in Jesus, Jesus is in the Father. So Jesus is in his disciples and disciples are in Jesus, and just as friends are in each other, they become one. It's a great mystery, and it makes clear that the work that we have is to surrender to reality, not to try to create something, but to allow a mystery to be real, to be lived, to be understood. Closing Prayer Father, we have a hard time in relationships. Often we find them difficult because we are trying to make them into what we think they should be, or we're trying to control the other person. Help us to enter into this mystery of oneness. Fill us with compassion, understanding, and a desire that all of us grow together in unity. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 17:11b-19 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “Holy Father, keep them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely. I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the Evil One. They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.” Reflection There are many ways to understand the message of Jesus, but the one that is expressed here is really important. It is Jesus came into the world to reveal the truth, reality, what life is really for and what it's about and how we're supposed to live in it and change it. We have been set apart, consecrated with the power to hold and to teach and to be in the truth. That's our destiny, and that's the work of God within us. Closing Prayer Father, so much of what you teach, we first have to believe in before we understand it. Give us the wisdom to stay with you, even though we're not sure what you're asking of us. Give us perseverance, curiosity, imagination so we can find and live in the truth. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 15:9-17 Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father loves me, so I also love you. Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. “I have told you this so that my joy might be in you and your joy might be complete. This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I no longer call you slaves, because a slave does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you. This I command you: love one another.” Reflection When Jesus tells his disciples that he loves them, he uses as an example. He says, My love for you is the same love that God has for me. And what I want you to understand is that unless we believe that we are loved unconditionally, not based on anything that we say or do, if we think anything we can do diminishes the love that God has for us, we've missed the mystery and the power of this teaching. You can't love if you're not loved, and you can't feel love if it's based on performance. So the challenge is to let go of our ego and our personality and surrender to simply a God who is nothing but love. Closing Prayer Father, open our minds and most especially our hearts to the fullness of what it means that you are so deeply in love with us, just as we are. Not because we improve. Not because we're doing better. Simply because of who we are. We ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 16:29-33 The disciples said to Jesus, “Now you are talking plainly, and not in any figure of speech. Now we realize that you know everything and that you do not need to have anyone question you. Because of this we believe that you came from God.” Jesus answered them, “Do you believe now? Behold, the hour is coming and has arrived when each of you will be scattered to his own home and you will leave me alone. But I am not alone, because the Father is with me. I have told you this so that you might have peace in me. In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.” Reflection The disciples were students. And it's interesting that as a teacher begins to open the mind of someone to a new world, it's really hard for them to grasp. But here we see that they're beginning to really grasp it, they see the truth in it. But they're not finished in their evolution of understanding it. So Jesus reminds them, you will deny me. You will leave me, but know that I am with the father. Don't worry about me, I have the father with me, and you will have the father with you. Trust, even though you don't fully yet understand. Closing Prayer Father, we've never fully grasped the mystery of who we are in you and who you are in us. And how we are to live our life. It's always a process of learning more and more. Bless us with an eager heart and an open mind that we might fill ourselves with more and more of the truth, as we fulfill our obligation to follow you. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 16:23b-28 Jesus said to his disciples: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. Until now you have not asked anything in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. “I have told you this in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures but I will tell you clearly about the Father. On that day you will ask in my name, and I do not tell you that I will ask the Father for you. For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have come to believe that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world. Now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Reflection This proclamation on the part of Jesus to his disciples is very profound. There must have been many times when the disciples asked Jesus, please pray to God for us. And when he says, Here, I no longer am going to ask the father for you. You could ask the father directly. And the image is so clear that there has been a bonding with human race and God the Father that has been revealed in the ministry of Jesus. No one ever dreamt that the father loves us as much as Jesus proved that he loved us through giving us his only begotten son, the highest form of love. So we need to take from this passage, and from everything that Jesus is really working on, is repairing and deepening and enriching our relationship with God who lives in our hearts, resonates his love. We no longer have to ask someone else to ask God for us. We talk directly to him. Closing Prayer Father, it's hard for us to imagine that what you're really, really asking of us is that we allow you to love us. Meaning, we open our heart, or mind, our will to the awesome belief that you are deeply, deeply in love with us and want nothing, nothing more than us to be ultimately with you forever. Keep us in touch with this great gift. and we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 16:20-23 Jesus said to his disciples: "Amen, amen, I say to you, you will weep and mourn, while the world rejoices; you will grieve, but your grief will become joy. When a woman is in labor, she is in anguish because her hour has arrived; but when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a child has been born into the world. So you also are now in anguish. But I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you. On that day you will not question me about anything. Amen, amen, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you.” Reflection When you think of the expectations that the disciples had, and how the story of Jesus working with them on this earth, they had to go through a sense of great confusion and loss. And somehow, when the truth that you believed most of your life is challenged, it's like a kind of death. It's kind of like an experience of pain. What do I believe? Where do I go? What do I know? That's the most important thing for all of us as we evolve and grow and change into the person God has created us to be. It's a dying and a rising, dying to error and lies, rising to truth in love. Closing Prayer Jesus, you surrendered to the father's will and let go of any human desire to be successful in the ways of the world. And we see Jesus accepting something that had to be so difficult. Every time we're presented with a new way of seeing that radically changes where we were, we are desperately in need of your support. Bless us with a conviction that we do not grow on our own, but only do it through your grace. Through the work of your Holy Spirit. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel Mark 16:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. These signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will drive out demons, they will speak new languages. They will pick up serpents with their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” So then the Lord Jesus, after he spoke to them, was taken up into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of God. But they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the word through accompanying signs. Reflection In this passage, we see the disciples experiencing the fullness of what has been promised. Jesus spent 40 days again speaking to them before he ascended into heaven. And what we see in this story is very clearly that the gift that he gave the world was light and life. It overcomes all the darkness. It has the power to heal. And we see the fruit of the Holy Spirit in these men as they go about preaching everywhere. And Jesus continually showing them, through signs that they are living the gospel. Closing Prayer Father, we are called to also preach, but not necessarily to always use words. We can resonate a life filled with love, a light to people in darkness. All of that is within our capacity as those who have been gifted with redemption. Help us to believe in that. Help us to be attached to it so that we resonate this life giving spirit to all we encounter. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 16:12-15 Jesus said to his disciples: "I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now. But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything that the Father has is mine; for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.” Reflection This passage, in a way, underscores the need for something like the Holy Spirit, because we cannot understand and accept the fullness of reality when we simply aren't ready. And the readiness is something that comes about slowly. It is a growth in understanding in consciousness of how the world works, who God is and who we are in him. And the more that evolves, the more open we become to the depth of the mysteries that have to become a part of us. The Holy Spirit's work is to guide us on that journey. Closing Prayer Father, we continue to evolve. To change. To be open to more things than we ever thought we could ever understand. So bless us with patience and understanding of how this all works. So that we can be truly receptive to each new insight that the Holy Spirit sends to us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 16:5-11 Jesus said to his disciples: "Now I am going to the one who sent me, and not one of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' But because I told you this, grief has filled your hearts. But I tell you the truth, it is better for you that I go. For if I do not go, the Advocate will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes he will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and condemnation: sin, because they do not believe in me; righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; condemnation, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.” Reflection We see in this passage something that’s very human. The disciples have been told that Jesus is leaving, they didn't expect that to happen, and they were completely filled with grief. And I'm sure they were thinking primarily about what's going to happen to us? What's going to happen to this message? And what he's again reminding them is that there is a truth that the world will not see and has not seen yet, and they are the ones to bring that into the world. And he's not telling them, They have to figure it all out. They have to know it now. No, he's saying, That this will be something you will grow into. And as you understand, you will bring those into greater understanding. Closing Prayer Father, there will always be voices that will contradict everything that you're teaching us. We pray always for the wisdom to see clearly what you are to us, and how you have done so much for us. Help us never to waver in our appreciation, our thankfulness for your message. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 15:26—16:4a Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Advocate comes whom I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify to me. And you also testify, because you have been with me from the beginning. "I have told you this so that you may not fall away. They will expel you from the synagogues; in fact, the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God. They will do this because they have not known either the Father or me. I have told you this so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you.” Reflection We're coming to the end of Jesus ministry with his disciples. And what he's promising them is something really important. He's saying, I'm not really leaving you. My father and I are one, and we are there for you. And the form that we take is this mysterious thing called the advocate. The Holy Spirit. And it's the power of God continually to work with each individual, and open their eyes to the mystery that we are faced with. Understand fully the redemption that Jesus won for us. We need that teacher. Closing Prayer Father, as we ponder the mystery of who you are in our life, we know that we long to understand this mystery more and more. So help us to be open to the ways in which you will guide us. Let us surrender to the insights that you share with us as we continue to live the word of God. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 15:18-21 Jesus said to his disciples: "If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, 'No slave is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. And they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know the one who sent me.” Reflection There's something hopeful in realizing that as we have continued to preach and teach this beautiful message of God flowing to us through Jesus and explained through the Holy Spirit that what we're really receiving is an understanding of who we really are. God is asking us to be nothing other than who he created us to be. And when we bring that truth to someone who is caught in the lies that they have created, there's always going to be hatred and a desire to destroy the one who speaks the truth. Closing Prayer Father, help us never to be discouraged. The world is changing. Is moving more and more into being what God intends it to be. Help us to see that and to take courage in simply being the truth. Being a person who is able to understand that they are vehicles of God's grace, changing the world we live in. Making it into the Kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Gospel John 14:6-14 Jesus said to Thomas, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 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 him, "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 clear from the way this story unfolds that the disciples had a hard time believing, trusting, and they really had a hard time believing that they were being called to act in the world, just as Jesus acted in the world and became a healer. And one of the things that’s clear in this work that Jesus is describing is he's not asking each of us to go out there and do this work to help people. He's asking us to believe that he is in us, and we need to allow him, through us to do his work. It's so important that you see that you are not the source of the goodness that God has intended you to be able to give to others. It is his presence in you that is the healing force. Closing Prayer Father, we wonder what is it that we should be asking you that pleases you? And nothing seems clearer to me then if we say to you, use me. Work through me. Let me be an instrument that is the vehicle through which you do the work of salvation. It keeps us humble, thankful, and radically excited about what we see being done for those that we love. Your work through us, in them. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.