A gospel teaching by Fr. Jim Willig for Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 27, 2026 — Matthew 21:28-32.

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

A gospel teaching by Fr. Jim Willig for Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 20, 2026 — Matthew 20:1-16.

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

A gospel teaching by Fr. Jim Willig for Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 13, 2026 — Matthew 18:21-35.

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

Pentecost. The descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles to enliven them and send them out to proclaim Christ crucified and raised. Pray today to receive that same spirit and spread the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus.

from John 20:19-23
...Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.”

Read the full scripture: bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/pentecost-sunday-mass-during-day

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

Fr. Jim reflects on Jesus’ priestly prayer in John’s Gospel, revealing how Jesus prayed with deep intimacy to the Father and great love for His disciples. He reminds us that true prayer is not rote words, but a heartfelt relationship with God and loving concern for those entrusted to our care.

John 17:1-11a
When Jesus had said this, he raised his eyes to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you, just as you gave him authority over all people, so that he may give eternal life to all you gave him.

Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.

I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.

I revealed your name to those whom you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.

Now they know that everything you gave me is from you, because the words you gave to me I have given to them, and they accepted them and truly understood that I came from you, and they have believed that you sent me.

I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for the ones you have given me, because they are yours, and everything of mine is yours and everything of yours is mine, and I have been glorified in them.

And now I will no longer be in the world, but they are in the world, while I am coming to you."

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

John 14:15-21
Jesus said to his disciples:
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always,
the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows it. But you know it, because it remains with you, and will be in you.

I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.

In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me, because I live and you will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.
Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him.”

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

Fr. Jim wants us to notice the importance of the opening line in today's Gospel passage. "Do not let your hearts be troubled." Or put another way Jesus says, "Do not be afraid" that I will be leaving because I will return to you.

Excerpt from John 14:1-12
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.”

Read the full Gospel passage: bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/050326.cfm

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

A Gospel Study on Doubting Thomas by Fr. Jim Willig that combines stories of doubt with stories of love and hope.

from John 20:19-31
On the evening of that first day of the week,
when the doors were locked, where the disciples were,
for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst
and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you.
As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them,
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them,
and whose sins you retain are retained.” ...

Read the full scripture: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041226.cfm

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

His friends believe him dead. Jesus challenges their faith and performs one of His greatest miracles in raising Lazarus from the dead.

John 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33B-45
The sisters of Lazarus sent word to Jesus, saying,
"Master, the one you love is ill."
When Jesus heard this he said,
"This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it."
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
+Let us go back to Judea."

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
"Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you."
Jesus said to her,

"Your brother will rise."
Martha said,
"I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day."
Jesus told her,
"I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?"
She said to him, "Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world."

He became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
"Where have you laid him?"
They said to him, "Sir, come and see."
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, "See how he loved him."
But some of them said,
"Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?"

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, "Take away the stone."
Martha, the dead man's sister, said to him,
"Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days."
Jesus said to her,
"Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?"
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
"Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me."
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
"Lazarus, come out!"
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
"Untie him and let him go."

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

The Gospel of the Lord

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate

from Matthew 17:-1-9
Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
"This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him." ...

Read the full scripture: bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030126.cfm

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
Evangelize Seekers. Inspire Believers. Foster Disciples.
--
Join Heart to Heart: htoh.us/subscribe
Support Heart to Heart: htoh.us/donate