Heart to Heart: Fr. Jim Willig - Gospel Teachings

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 thr...

Jesus came to fulfill the Law. Do we really know what that means? Listen to Fr. Jim to find out.

from Matthew 5:17-37

Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest part of a letter
will pass from the law,
u...

This little light of mine...

from Matthew 5:13-16
Jesus said to his disciples:
"You are the salt of the earth.
But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned?
It is no longer good for anything
but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.
You are the light of the world.
A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. ...

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

Tune in to Fr. Jim's teaching on one of the most recognizable Gospels: The Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew.

from Matthew 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. 
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comf...

Even John didn't know that Jesus was the Messiah until the Spirit of God revealed the truth to him. How can we learn from John the Baptist to recognize Christ?

John 1:29-34
John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.
He is the one of whom I said,
‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me
because he existed before me.’

from Matthew 1:18-24
This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a ...

John didn't have a cell phone, email address, Facebook, Twitter or any other technology or social media platform. While in prison he had to rely on his followers to seek out and gather information for him.  Do you think he was surprised at Jesus' answer to the question "Are you the one who is to come...?"

from Matthew 11:2-11
When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ,
he s...

Imagine going to a talk and hearing the keynote speaker introduced by someone who knew the content of the talk but not the identity of the speaker. This was John. He proclaimed the coming of the Messiah without knowing exactly who the Messiah was. Listen and learn his call to repentance.

from Matthew 3:1-12
John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea
and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heav...

A Gospel Study for the first week of Advent. Prepare! Christ is coming!

from Matthew 24:27-44
Jesus said to his disciples:
"As it was in the days of Noah,
so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.
In those days before the flood,
they were eating and drinking,
marrying and giving in marriage,
up to the day that Noah entered the ark.
They did not know until the flood came and carried...

With a dramatic reading by Fr. Michael of those who mocked Jesus' on the cross, Fr. Jim focuses on the thief hanging to Jesus' right side; the thief who recognized his own sinfulness and need for repentance.

from Luke 23:35-43
...Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
"Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us."
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,<...

This gospel passage gives a dire warning about what is to come, but Jesus ends with a message of hope. Listen in as Fr. Jim adds his own learned commentary.

from Luke 21:5-19
While some people were speaking about
how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings,
Jesus said, "All that you see here--
the days will come when there will not be left
a stone upon another stone that will...

Which life is your priority? This one or the next?

from Luke 20:27-38
Jesus said to them,
"The children of this age marry and remarry;
but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age
and to the resurrection of the dead
neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die,
for they are like angels;
and they are the children of God
because they are the ones who ...

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...

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 ...

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 an...

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...

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 repl...

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 wi...

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...