Finding God In Our Hearts with Msgr. Don Fischer

Gospel Matthew 10:24-33 Jesus said to his Apostles: “No disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, for the slave that he become like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more those of his household! “Therefore do not be afraid of them. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna. Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. Even all the hairs of your head are counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father. But whoever denies me before others, I will deny before my heavenly Father.” Reflection Jesus is warning his apostles about the encounters they will have. And if there is a house that has been run by an evil master, the people in that place will be evil. But he reminds them, don't be afraid of evil, because it always breeds itself in the hidden part of a place in darkness. And so Jesus is reminding his disciples that he will always help them proclaim the truth, and that the disciples should not be afraid of those who can't kill the soul, even though they can kill the body. And why would he give them that advice, unless you would also follow up with what he says? I am in love with you. You are valuable to me. Every hair on your head is counted. Don't be afraid. Just acknowledge me. Even though it is risky and it exposes evil. Closing Prayer There's always been evil in the world. And it's important not to be afraid of it. Because that gives it all the power it needs to rob us of the peace and the well being, that is a sign that we know we are loved and we are cared for. Convince us of this love of God for us, and never let us be afraid. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 10:16-23 Jesus said to his Apostles: "Behold, I am sending you like sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and simple as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts and scourge you in their synagogues, and you will be led before governors and kings for my sake as a witness before them and the pagans. When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say. You will be given at that moment what you are to say. For it will not be you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will hand over brother to death, and the father his child; children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to another. Amen, I say to you, you will not finish the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.” Reflection The advice that Matthew has given to his disciples is wisdom. Knowing that they are going to go into situation after a situation where the conversion to the teaching of Jesus is going to divide people, and it will be a rip in the basic fabric of family and community. And he's just warning his disciple, be careful, because this is what normally will happen when you put something out there that's so new and so radical. But he's saying the most important thing is don't lose hope. Don't lose faith in what you're saying or what you're teaching. And if the persecution gets really bad, then go to the next town. Just do both what I ask you to do, but don't let yourself be harmed. Closing Prayer When one brings the message of Christ to someone. We pray and hope that they will receive it with an open, generous heart. That they'll believe in the promises that God has made through Jesus to them about the kingdom coming. But he's also saying, recognize that people are going to hate you for this, and they're going to persecute you, and you'll endure everything because I'll be there with you to speak for you. And when it's too tight, too harsh, I will guide you to a place of safety. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 10:7-15 Jesus said to his Apostles: "As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give. Do not take gold or silver or copper for your belts; no sack for the journey, or a second tunic, or sandals, or walking stick. The laborer deserves his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, look for a worthy person in it, and stay there until you leave. As you enter a house, wish it peace. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; if not, let your peace return to you. Whoever will not receive you or listen to your words— go outside that house or town and shake the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” Reflection In this gospel we again see Saint Matthew describing the early church, his ministry. It is to be a gift that is given to those who will proclaim it to others, but in an interesting way, they are not to go out and convert pagans to the reality of who God really is but they were to go to the house of Israel. And what they were asked to do was to awaken them, to build on the goodness that is there, the grace, the peace that is in their homes. It's fascinating to me that this was not about conversions, but about fulfillment. And it expresses once again the love that God the Father had and Jesus had for the Jewish people. Closing Prayer Father, there is something about you that is so consistent and so beautiful. You are a lover, and you never give up on those you love. You consistently work with them, help them to see things through experiences they've had. So bless us with an awareness of the confidence that gives us as we too participate in the coming of the Kingdom of God. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 10:1-7 Jesus summoned his Twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out and to cure every disease and every illness. The names of the Twelve Apostles are these: first, Simon called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew, Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus. Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus, "Do not go into pagan territory or enter a Samaritan town. Go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, make this proclamation: 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’" Reflection The Old Testament, it’s a long story of God working with a group of people, the Jews. And wanted so much for them to understand the fullness of the kingdom of God that was to come through the work of Jesus. What we see in this passage is Jesus giving authority to his disciples to go and to preach and teach his message. And it's fascinating, in Matthew's Gospel that he doesn't send his disciples to the Gentiles, but to the house of Israel. And he's hoping maybe in a last ditch effort, hoping that he can convert the Jews to understanding that Jesus is the fullness of God the Father. Closing Prayer Father, you have never truly left the Israelite people. You continue to long for them to understand fully who you are. And when you send your disciples first to them, we see clearly a sign in you that you long for things, even though it may take centuries for them to change. Ultimately, when the kingdom comes, they will change. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 9:32-38 A demoniac who could not speak was brought to Jesus, and when the demon was driven out the mute man spoke. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the prince of demons.” Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.” Reflection There was a tradition in the time of Jesus that those who were evil were considered to have the power to do strange things to other people. And so it seems, the Pharisees were just claiming some kind of hope that some people might believe them when they said, Jesus is the demon. That's how he can handle demons. But it makes no sense to Jesus or to the others. Why would the devil try to drive out the devil from another person? But what I love in this passage is the way in which the compassion of Jesus is so clear. Looking at his human beings, he sees them troubled, abandoned, without direction, and he calls for a prayer of all of us, that there will be people who will guide those who are longing for the kingdom. We underestimate each of our ability to be an instrument of touching the troubled and abandoned soul, with love and with hope. Closing Prayer God, we don't always have the confidence that we should. That you can use us to give direction that you long for other people to have. You will use us, empower us, give us wisdom so that through us you will be able to touch those abandoned and those who are afraid. Bless us with this conviction. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 9:18-26 While Jesus was speaking, an official came forward, knelt down before him, and said, ""My daughter has just died. But come, lay your hand on her, and she will live."" Jesus rose and followed him, and so did his disciples. A woman suffering hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. She said to herself, ""If only I can touch his cloak, I shall be cured."" Jesus turned around and saw her, and said, ""Courage, daughter! Your faith has saved you."" And from that hour the woman was cured. When Jesus arrived at the official's house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion, he said, ""Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping."" And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose. And news of this spread throughout all that land. Reflection It's fascinating to me when you encounter someone and ask them if they believe in God. They often say yes, and you say, well, can he raise people from the dead? Can he heal diseases? And they kind of get confused and oh, not for me. But seriously, we don't understand what it means to believe in Jesus. It means we're actually establishing a new kingdom where there is less and less pain and suffering and disease and death until we reach the final goal. The Kingdom of God is here. But the mysterious thing is, it's here now, we're experiencing it. But the key to experiencing anything that God can do for you is believing it can be done and will be done. Closing Prayer Father, the gift of Faith is more than something that we just work on ourselves. It's a gift that comes from your Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Give us the new eyes of faith. Help us to know how powerful God's healing power is in everything we're doing. Never let us lose hope. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Gospel Matthew 9:14-17 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth, for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse. People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.” Reflection The response that Jesus has to the disciples of John the Baptist is that things are changing, and the change is coming in the form of something new, something so new that one has to be reborn. The image of baptism, the entrance into a new kingdom is all about a birth that is created by God. We are made new. We are made capable of embracing and holding the teaching of Jesus. Closing Prayer Father, the work of grace that you promise to share with each of us, is the work of a transformation, always being remade into the newness of the kingdom of God that is coming. Bless us with patience as we work toward that goal. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 9:9-13 As Jesus passed by, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post. He said to him, ""Follow me."" And he got up and followed him. While he was at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat with Jesus and his disciples. The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples, ""Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"" He heard this and said, ""Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. Go and learn the meaning of the words, I desire mercy, not sacrifice. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners."" Reflection If one looks for a description of the ministry of Jesus, this is a perfect passage. Certainly he came to give us an example, he wants us to follow his ways. And what he shocks the institution at the time of the temple is that instead of seeking only righteous people, spending time with him, he went to those that they were told to avoid. He went to sinners. And the beauty of that is that he has in that action described a key element to his ministry. Mercy, unmerited love. To have that gift, to be in that kind of relationship with others is the key to the Kingdom. Closing Prayer Father, it's so easy for us to become negative about those around us who aren't fully what we think they should be. Never let us fall into the trap of criticism and judgment and condemnation. But always, always place within us a longing, a desire for people to change, to grow, to become what their destiny truly is. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel John 20:24-29 Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, "We have seen the Lord." But Thomas said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” Reflection Faith is not something that is based in proof, but in trust. We trust the words of Scripture, we trust the words of Jesus, we recognize in them a wisdom that goes beyond our understanding. And it leads us to realize that the real thing that brings faith is the gift of grace, the ability to trust in something beyond our imagining. Without it, we can't truly be a follower of Jesus. Closing Prayer Father, every gift that you offer us needs to be welcomed. Accepted. Digested in a sense. Bless us with the trust that is necessary for us to let go of logic and enter into the world of spirit, wisdom, mysticism. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 8:28-34 When Jesus came to the territory of the Gadarenes, two demoniacs who were coming from the tombs met him. They were so savage that no one could travel by that road. They cried out, "What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the appointed time?" Some distance away a herd of many swine was feeding. The demons pleaded with him, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, "Go then!" They came out and entered the swine, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea where they drowned. The swineherds ran away, and when they came to the town they reported everything, including what had happened to the demoniacs. Thereupon the whole town came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him they begged him to leave their district. Reflection At the end of time, when the kingdom has come, evil will be destroyed. It's called the Kingdom of heaven. But in this reading, you see a statement by the demoniacs, that this is not yet the time for them to be destroyed. So they need to live, and the only way evil lives is when it enters into someone or something, and its essence is to destroy. When evil goes into the swine, they immediately destroy themselves. This frightening image of evil may be the reason why the people from the town wanted Jesus to leave. It's a frightening thing to deal with the reality of evil, but it's real. Closing Prayer Father, redemption means that you have freed us from the power of evil. Help us to have confidence in dealing with this power. Most especially though, give us the assurance that we will never be destroyed by this power. If we turn to you. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 8:23-27 As Jesus got into a boat, his disciples followed him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by waves; but he was asleep. They came and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We are perishing!" He said to them, "Why are you terrified, O you of little faith?" Then he got up, rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was great calm. The men were amazed and said, "What sort of man is this, whom even the winds and the sea obey?” Reflection It's hard to believe in the impossible. But the thing about Jesus and his experience on this earth with other human beings is that they had such a hard time grasping the power that he had, the wisdom, the goodness. And that same gift is our gift. We are asked to be like Jesus in this world. Help us to get past the doubts. Help us to believe in all that we can do, filled with His Spirit. Closing Prayer Father, awaken in us an awareness of the beauty of your strength flowing through us. Your Holy Spirit in us, affecting the same things that you effected in this world. Bless us with this gift. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 8:18-22 When Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other shore. A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of his disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” Reflection Jesus is always asking us to go further, to think more radically. He's going to cross to the other shore. And yet he makes clear that when someone wants to follow him, it's not about a place, it's about a mystery. The mystery of God in Jesus, God in us. Closing Prayer Father, the mystery of the Trinity, the fullness of who God is, his essence of what Jesus was drawing people into. He wanted them to experience the fullness of the father that he himself experienced. Bless us with an ability to see all that God truly is. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Gospel Matthew 8:5-17 When Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion approached him and appealed to him, saying, "Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, suffering dreadfully." He said to him, "I will come and cure him." The centurion said in reply, "Lord, I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof; only say the word and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, 'Go,' and he goes; and to another, 'Come here,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, "Amen, I say to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. I say to you, many will come from the east and the west, and will recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the banquet in the Kingdom of heaven, but the children of the Kingdom will be driven out into the outer darkness, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." And Jesus said to the centurion, "You may go; as you have believed, let it be done for you." And at that very hour his servant was healed. Jesus entered the house of Peter, and saw his mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, the fever left her, and she rose and waited on him. When it was evening, they brought him many who were possessed by demons, and he drove out the spirits by a word and cured all the sick, to fulfill what had been said by Isaiah the prophet: He took away our infirmities and bore our diseases. Reflection Jesus encountered over and over again rejection, rejection and rejection from those engaged in the temple and in the system that the temple taught people to be a part of. But here we see the beauty of what Jesus is really about. He's here to give life to those who care. And we have in the centurion a man who comes forward, a general of the Roman army, and he’s worried about his servant, not himself, and he asks for healing for someone else. And he knows that Jesus can do it. And Jesus is so struck by his faith. He's never found any faith like that in all of Israel. It's a beautiful image of how miracles work, how healing works when we care deeply for one another and long for one another to grow and change, and invite God to bless those that we care about and bring them into fullness. That's the Kingdom of God. That's the work we have before us. Closing Prayer Father, relationship with you is not just about us. It is about those you have shared with us, our family, our friends, our circle. Help us always to invite you into the role of using us to be healers of those that we love. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 15:3-7 Jesus addressed this parable to the Pharisees and scribes: "What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, 'Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.” Reflection The Kingdom of God is more about finding something lost than perfection. What is lost is an awareness, an experience of God inside of us. God living in us, his Holy Spirit resonating life and love and goodness to the world. The one person to see that is more important than 99 who are just doing things that they're told to do, is much more than doing what you're told, it is about receiving what you need, and even more frightening, what you may have lost. Closing Prayer The image of Jesus carrying the sheep on his shoulders is a beautiful image of the care that God wants to give to each of us. When we wander, when we're in danger, he's there. And he's there to care for us, carry us, show us the way. Help us to trust in this good shepherd. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 7:21-29 Jesus said to his disciples: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? Did we not drive out demons in your name? Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?' Then I will declare to them solemnly, 'I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.' "Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined." When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Reflection Jesus is pointing out something very important about what we do. You can do actions that are according to what God wants, but your heart can be far, far from him. What he's saying is that the only way that we can do the work of God is by connecting with God, about God being within us, God being the source of what we do. It's why he says to those that say, we're doing everything for you, everything in your name. And he looks at them and simply says, you don't know me. You haven't contacted me. You haven't asked for me to be the source of the work that you do. It creates a house built on sand. Closing Prayer Father, you are the source of all good that flows from us. And you simply give us the generous gift of your authority, your strength. All you ask is that we allow you to come and be a part of our life. Allowing you to be the source, the foundation of everything that we do. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus said to his disciples: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will know them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Just so, every good tree bears good fruit, and a rotten tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a rotten tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. So by their fruits you will know them.” Reflection One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is discernment. And the image of a tree that produces good fruit or bad fruit is a beautiful image for us to understand that what we look at when we look at someone and discern who they are, we are perceiving things about them that we either like and feel comfortable with or don't like. But the one that seems most potent is whether or not you feel the person is connecting with you. There is a connection of spirit. That's the sign that we look for. The spirit in someone else, like the spirit in us, gives us the authority to discern whether we're dealing with someone who is helpful or harmful. Closing Prayer Father, give us the strength and the wisdom to know who we are, ourselves and who the people around us truly are. Help us always to be with people that are fruitful, with gifts of the Holy Spirit. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Luke 1:5-17 In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. John will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn their hearts toward their children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” Reflection God makes promises to all of us. He made a promise to Zechariah and Elizabeth that they would have a son one day, and when the time pass for it to happen in this ordinary way, he lost sight of the promise, and gave up on it. And yet, when an angel appeared to him to tell him that this was going to happen, but it was going to happen in a way that was beyond anything that would have been normal, it was an extraordinary event, a woman far into her old age having a baby. But what the lesson seems to me to be that no matter how long it takes, no matter what form it takes, the promises that God makes to us will take place. We have to believe. We have to trust, or we are not going to be open to when it does happen. Closing Prayer Father, bless us with an ability to trust beyond what is logical. What is practical. You've made a promise to all of us that we will know you, we will live with you, you will dwell in us, and we will do things that are your work in others. Bless us with the faith that we need that never do we lose the hope that that will happen. Then we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gospel Matthew 7:1-5 Jesus said to his disciples: "Stop judging, that you may not be judged. For as you judge, so will you be judged, and the measure with which you measure will be measured out to you. Why do you notice the splinter in your brother's eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove that splinter from your eye,' while the wooden beam is in your eye? You hypocrite, remove the wooden beam from your eye first; then you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye.” Reflection Why do we judge each other? One thing I know is that when we do judge someone, we tend to feel a little bit better about our own self, as if we don't have those problems. But everyone has problems. Everyone has something they need to work on to improve. So we put someone down for having a problem, we're doing something so unfair, but at the same time something so unhealthy for us, it tends to give us a false sense of being better. And the ego likes nothing better than that. Closing Prayer Father, in the prayer that you taught us, you remind us that you are always ready to forgive us, as we forgive one another. Fill us with this gift of understanding, of patience, of acceptance, so we might free ourselves from that negativity that we often spread about people around us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices