Heart to Heart: Fr. Jim Willig - Gospel Teachings

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; ...

Read the full Easter scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/033124.cfm

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Fr. Jim reflects on the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to St. Luke with dramatic Gospel reading by Fr. Michael Sparough, SJ.

from Luke 22:14-23:56
When the hour came,
Jesus took his place at table with the apostles.
He said to them,
“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again
until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said,
“Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I tell you that from this time on
I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes.”
Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is my body, which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me.”
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which will be shed for you. ...

Read the full Gospel and homily: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/041022.cfm

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Fervent prayer can often lead to unexpected results and a vision of Jesus that we weren't looking for. Are you ready for what the Lord might grant?

from John 12:20-33
Some Greeks who had come to worship at the Passover Feast
came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, 
and asked him, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went and told Andrew; 
then Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.
Jesus answered them, 
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you, 
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, 
it remains just a grain of wheat; 
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me, 
and where I am, there also will my servant be.
The Father will honor whoever serves me.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031724-YearB.cfm

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Lazarus' friends thought him to be dead. They went so far as to bind his body and entomb it. Jesus challenges their faith and performs one of His greatest miracles in raising Lazarus from the dead; bringing him back to life.

from John 11:1-45
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."

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Where does change need to begin? Out there in the world or in here, in your heart and mine? Fr. Jim shares a lesson in personal humility as he unpacks the story of Jesus cleansing the Temple.

John 2:13-25
Since the Passover of the Jews was near,
Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
He found in the temple area those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, 
as well as the money changers seated there.
He made a whip out of cords
and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, 
and spilled the coins of the money changers
and overturned their tables, 
and to those who sold doves he said,
“Take these out of here, 
and stop making my Father’s house a marketplace.”
His disciples recalled the words of Scripture, 
Zeal for your house will consume me.
At this the Jews answered and said to him,
“What sign can you show us for doing this?”
Jesus answered and said to them, 
“Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.”
The Jews said, 
“This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, 
and you will raise it up in three days?”
But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
Therefore, when he was raised from the dead, 
his disciples remembered that he had said this, 
and they came to believe the Scripture 
and the word Jesus had spoken.

While he was in Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 
many began to believe in his name 
when they saw the signs he was doing.
But Jesus would not trust himself to them because he knew them all, 
and did not need anyone to testify about human nature.
He himself understood it well.

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Most of us know the story of the Transfiguration. Jesus takes Peter, James and John up to a mountain top and gives them a glimpse of His glory. Fr. Jim takes this well known passage and asks us to find our own mission and our own vision to embrace the glory of God in simple and humble ways.

from Mark 9:2-10
Jesus took Peter, James, and John
and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them,
and his clothes became dazzling white,
such as no fuller on earth could bleach them.
Then Elijah appeared to them along with Moses,
and they were conversing with Jesus.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
"Rabbi, it is good that we are here!
Let us make three tents:
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah."
He hardly knew what to say, they were so terrified.
Then a cloud came, casting a shadow over them;
from the cloud came a voice,
"This is my beloved Son. Listen to him."
Suddenly, looking around, they no longer saw anyone
but Jesus alone with them.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022524.cfm

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Is Lent a time to give up dessert or a time to enter the desert along with Jesus? Fr. Jim suggests the latter. Listen for his profound insight into the healing struggle of this Lenten time.

The full transcript is available here.

Mark 1:12-15
The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, 
and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan.
He was among wild beasts,
and the angels ministered to him.

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021824.cfm

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Father Jim is challenged by a woman: "Why don't you priests really heal anyone?" This gave him pause and inspiration for today's Gospel Study:

A man with leprosy breaks societal convention and approaches Jesus. He kneels down and reaches out to Jesus physically and through faith: "If you wish, you can make me clean." Jesus responds, "I do will it. Be made clean."

Mark 1:40-45
A leper came to Jesus and kneeling down begged him and said,
“If you wish, you can make me clean.”
Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand, 
touched him, and said to him, 
“I do will it. Be made clean.”
The leprosy left him immediately, and he was made clean.
Then, warning him sternly, he dismissed him at once. 

Read the full scripture passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/021124.cfm

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Jesus had his priorities straight. In this Gospel he heals Peter's mother-in-law and then the whole town comes out to be healed. But afterward, what does Jesus do? He goes away to a place of quiet and solitude and prays. We can learn great things from this lesson.

from Mark 1:29-39
On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon’s mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them. ...

Read the full Gospel passage: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/020424.cfm

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In this Gospel Jesus teaches in the Synagogue in Capernaum and when confronted by a person with an unclean spirit He drives out the demon. In exorcisms, in order to drive out the demons, they must be confronted and they must name themselves. 

Fr. Jim reminds us that we too must confront and name our own demons in order to move beyond them. No sin is too big for God to forgive.

from Mark 1:21-28
Then they came to Capernaum,
and on the sabbath Jesus entered the synagogue and taught.
The people were astonished at his teaching,
for he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
In their synagogue was a man with an unclean spirit;
he cried out, "What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?
Have you come to destroy us?
I know who you are—the Holy One of God!"
Jesus rebuked him and said,
"Quiet! Come out of him!"

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