Heart to Heart: Fr. Jim Willig - Gospel Teachings

Today's Gospel Study concludes: "Remember saints are not perfect, they just try harder to do what the Lord asks." As you reflect on the gospel story of the widow who gave all of what she had to the Temple, ask yourself, "How can I try harder to do what the Lord is asking of me?"

Read the full transcript: https://www.heartoheart.org/fr-jim/gospel-studies/cycle-b/gospel-study-whom-do-you-admire#transcript

Mark 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds,
"Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes
and accept greetings in the marketplaces,
seats of honor in synagogues, 
and places of honor at banquets.
They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext
recite lengthy prayers. 
They will receive a very severe condemnation."

He sat down opposite the treasury
and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. 
Many rich people put in large sums.
A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. 
Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them,
"Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury. 
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood."

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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In Fr. Jim's words: "I believe that there is nothing more important for us to hear in our entire life than the Gospel we just heard. Nothing." Listen to the full Gospel Study for the rest of his inspiring message.

Mark 12:28B-38
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him,
"Which is the first of all the commandments?"
Jesus replied, "The first is this:
Hear, O Israel!
The Lord our God is Lord alone!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul,
with all your mind,
and with all your strength.
The second is this:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other commandment greater than these." 
The scribe said to him, "Well said, teacher.
You are right in saying,
'He is One and there is no other than he.'
And 'to love him with all your heart,
with all your understanding,
with all your strength,
and to love your neighbor as yourself'
is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."
And when Jesus saw that he answered with understanding,
he said to him,
"You are not far from the kingdom of God." 
And no one dared to ask him any more questions.

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me...Son of David, have pity on me." This is what Bartimeaus calls out to Jesus. Fr. Jim reminds us that Bartimeaus is one of the most important figures in the Gospel because he recognizes Jesus as the one who saves, even before the disciples do.

Mark 10:46-52
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd,
Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus,
sat by the roadside begging.
On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to cry out and say,
"Jesus, son of David, have pity on me."
And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. 
But he kept calling out all the more,
"Son of David, have pity on me."
Jesus stopped and said, "Call him."
So they called the blind man, saying to him,
"Take courage; get up, Jesus is calling you."
He threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. 
Jesus said to him in reply, "What do you want me to do for you?" 
The blind man replied to him, "Master, I want to see." 
Jesus told him, "Go your way; your faith has saved you." 
Immediately he received his sight
and followed him on the way.

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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James and John ask Jesus to sit at his right and at his left. Little do they know what Jesus will soon go through and who will be on his left and right as he enters his glory. Fr. Jim reminds us that so often we too make long term commitments without knowing the full reality or consequences.

Mark 10:35-45
James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and said to him,
"Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." 
He replied, "What do you wish me to do for you?" 
They answered him, "Grant that in your glory
we may sit one at your right and the other at your left." 
Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking. 
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?" 
They said to him, "We can." 
Jesus said to them, "The cup that I drink, you will drink,
and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized;
but to sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give
but is for those for whom it has been prepared." 
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at James and John. 
Jesus summoned them and said to them,
"You know that those who are recognized as rulers over the Gentiles
lord it over them,
and their great ones make their authority over them felt. 
But it shall not be so among you.
Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant;
whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all. 
For the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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A rich man comes to Jesus and kneeling before him, asks "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" The rich man asks the right question but doesn't like Jesus' answer. Fr. Jim challenges us: What is God asking us to tithe that is holding us back from Him?

Mark 10:17-30
As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up,
knelt down before him, and asked him,
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone.
You know the commandments: You shall not kill;
you shall not commit adultery;
you shall not steal;
you shall not bear false witness;
you shall not defraud;
honor your father and your mother." 
He replied and said to him,
"Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth."
Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,
"You are lacking in one thing.
Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor
and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 
At that statement his face fell,
and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples,
"How hard it is for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God!" 
The disciples were amazed at his words.
So Jesus again said to them in reply,
"Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle
than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God." 
They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves,
"Then who can be saved?"
Jesus looked at them and said,
"For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. 
All things are possible for God." 
Peter began to say to him,
"We have given up everything and followed you." 
Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come."

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

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Mark 10:2-16 addresses the difficult topic of marriage, divorce and re-marriage. In Jesus' time, divorce was very different than it is today. A man could divorce his wife for any reason and with no warning. Jesus is tested with this reality and responds that cavalierly ending a marriage is a sin. Listen as Fr. Jim teaches about the history behind this Gospel and the pastoral realities we face today.

Mark 10:2-16
The Pharisees approached Jesus and asked,
"Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?"
They were testing him.
He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?"
They replied,
"Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce
and dismiss her."
But Jesus told them,
"Because of the hardness of your hearts
he wrote you this commandment.
But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female.
For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
So they are no longer two but one flesh. 
Therefore what God has joined together,
no human being must separate." 
In the house the disciples again questioned Jesus about this. 
He said to them,
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another
commits adultery against her;
and if she divorces her husband and marries another,
she commits adultery."

And people were bringing children to him that he might touch them,
but the disciples rebuked them.
When Jesus saw this he became indignant and said to them,
"Let the children come to me;
do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. 
Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it."
Then he embraced them and blessed them,
placing his hands on them.

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
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St. John continues to bring concerns to Jesus, this time about someone performing exorcisms in Jesus' name but without being a true follower. Again Jesus has to remind John of the true mission.

Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48
At that time, 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.
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.'"

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
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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.
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 the 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.”

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
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Fr. Jim teaches that when we know who Jesus is we know who God is, but more than that, we must ask who Jesus is so that we know who we must be.

Mark 8:27-35
Jesus and his disciples set out
for the villages of Caesarea Philippi. 
Along the way he asked his disciples,
“Who do people say that I am?” 
They said in reply,
“John the Baptist, others Elijah,
still others one of the prophets.” 
And he asked them,
“But who do you say that I am?” 
Peter said to him in reply,
“You are the Christ.” 
Then he warned them not to tell anyone about him.

He began to teach them
that the Son of Man must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed, and rise after three days. 
He spoke this openly. 
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 
At this he turned around and, looking at his disciples,
rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan. 
You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.”

He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them,
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me. 
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake
and that of the gospel will save it.”

The Gospel of the Lord

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
Producer: Nathaniel Stubblefield

Heart to Heart Catholic Media Ministry
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In this Gospel where Jesus heals the deaf and mute man, Fr. Jim reminds us that our hearing problems may actually be listening problems. Listen to Fr. Jim's inspiring message for more insight.

from Mark 7:31-37
...And people brought to him a deaf man who had a speech impediment
and begged him to lay his hand on him.
He took him off by himself away from the crowd.
He put his finger into the man’s ears
and, spitting, touched his tongue;
then he looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him,
“Ephphatha!”— that is, “Be opened!” —
And immediately the man’s ears were opened,
his speech impediment was removed,
and he spoke plainly...

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