Heart to Heart: Fr. Jim Willig - Gospel Teachings

Zaccaeus went out on a limb for Jesus. Would we?

from Luke 19:1-10
At that time, Jesus came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town.
Now a man there named Zacchaeus,
who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man,
was seeking to see who Jesus was;
but he could not see him because of the crowd,
for he was short in stature.
So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus,
who was about to pass that way.
When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said,
"Zacchaeus, come down quickly,
for today I must stay at your house."

Read the full scripture passage:
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/103022.cfm

Homily read by Fr. J. Michael Sparough, SJ
Gospel Study by Fr. Jim Willig

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from Luke 18:9-14
Jesus addressed this parable
to those who were convinced of their own righteousness
and despised everyone else.
"Two people went up to the temple area to pray;
one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.
The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself,
'O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity --
greedy, dishonest, adulterous -- or even like this tax collector...

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102322.cfm

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What does it mean to pray always? Does it mean to pray without ceasing? As Fr. Jim notes, St. Luke is giving us a little hint. The goal isn't to pray without end, but to be consistent and to persevere in prayer, regardless of the outcome.

from Luke 18:1-8
...The Lord said, "Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says.
Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones
who call out to him day and night?
Will he be slow to answer them?
I tell you, he will see to it that justice is done for them speedily.
But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?"

Read the full scripture: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/101622.cfm

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What are you thankful for? 

Imagine you wake up tomorrow and all you have left are the things you were thankful for today. 

Now what are you thankful for?

from Luke 17:11-19
As Jesus continued his journey to Jerusalem,
he traveled through Samaria and Galilee.
As he was entering a village, ten lepers met him.
They stood at a distance from him and raised their voices, saying,
"Jesus, Master!  Have pity on us!"
And when he saw them, he said,
"Go show yourselves to the priests."
As they were going they were cleansed.
And one of them, realizing he had been healed,
returned, glorifying God in a loud voice;
and he fell at the feet of Jesus and thanked him.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100922.cfm

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Fr. Jim asks: "If you could ask God for one gift or blessing, what would it be?" The apostles said, "Increase our faith." and Jesus compares their faith to a tiny mustard seed and the power even that tiny bit would bring. Can we even wrap our heads around the enormity of God and the true gift of faith?

from Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith."
The Lord replied,
"If you have faith the size of a mustard seed,
you would say to this mulberry tree,
'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you...

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/100222.cfm 

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Lazarus, a poor sick man covered in sores is ignored by the rich man living near him. They both die. Who gets the royal treatment in heaven? Listen to Fr. Jim's gospel teaching to find out.

from Luke 16:19-31
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen
and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,
who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps
that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.
When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried,
and from the netherworld, where he was in torment,
he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me.
Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue,
for I am suffering torment in these flames.'

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/092522.cfm

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With one of his more dramatic readings on the podcast, Fr. Michael proclaims this story that most of us know by heart and that Fr. Jim calls "probably the greatest short story of all time." 

From Luke 15:1-32
...Then he said,
“A man had two sons, and the younger son said to his father,
‘Father give me the share of your estate that should come to me.’
So the father divided the property between them.
After a few days, the younger son collected all his belongings
and set off to a distant country
where he squandered his inheritance on a life of dissipation.
When he had freely spent everything,
a severe famine struck that country,
and he found himself in dire need.
So he hired himself out to one of the local citizens
who sent him to his farm to tend the swine.
And he longed to eat his fill of the pods on which the swine fed,
but nobody gave him any.
Coming to his senses he thought,
‘How many of my father’s hired workers
have more than enough food to eat,
but here am I, dying from hunger.
I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.
I no longer deserve to be called your son;
treat me as you would treat one of your hired workers.”’
So he got up and went back to his father...

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091122.cfm

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Fr. Jim muses that in the animal world, the sheep are not the most wise of creatures and so for us to be compared to the sheep is not a great compliment. The sheep are often weak and foolish, a comparison that we must admit often fits us as well. Listen for Fr. Jim's redeeming lesson on our role as God's flock with Jesus as our shepherd.

From John 10:27-30
Jesus said:
“My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish... 

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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: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/051020.cfm

Gospel Study: Fr. Jim Willig
Gospel Narration: Fr. J Michael Sparough, SJ
Primary Music: Michael Kramer
Additional Music: Gettin Through It by Brent Wood licensed to Nathaniel Stubblefield via Soundstripe
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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Fr. Jim reflects on the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ with dramatic Gospel reading by Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ.

John 20:1-9
On the first day of the week,
Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.”
So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter
and arrived at the tomb first;
he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in.
When Simon Peter arrived after him,
he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there,
and the cloth that had covered his head,
not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place.
Then the other disciple also went in,
the one who had arrived at the tomb first,
and he saw and believed.
For they did not yet understand the Scripture
that he had to rise from the dead.

Gospel Study: Fr. Jim Willig
Gospel Narration: Fr. J Michael Sparough, SJ
Narration: Lili Fuller 
Narration Producers: Lili Fuller and Joe Sofranko
Primary Music: Michael Kramer
Additional Music: Gettin Through It by Brent Wood licensed to Nathaniel Stubblefield via Soundstripe
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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