Heart to Heart, A Catholic Media Ministry
“Go into all the world and proclaim the
Good News to all creation.” Mark 16:15
We are the salt of the earth and a light to the world, Jesus says. Fr. Jim echos that statement in his Gospel Study and encourages us to share the light of our faith in our daily lives. Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt…
Given at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House during a Day of Prayer focused on making decisions through discernment, Fr. Michael contrasts the unifying nature of God with the divisive nature of sin. Mark 3:22-30 The scribes who had come from Jerusalem said of Jesus, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “By the prince of demons he…
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. This Feast has its own readings and Gospel, separate from the current cycle. If this Sunday were Ordinary Time we would hear Matthew 5:1-12, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, also known as the Beatitudes which Fr. Jim explores in today’s…
Jesus shows in the Gospel that the Law and human compassion are not always in sync with each other. Weaving this story into our modern times, Fr. Michael preaches that even though abortion is legal and giving basic human aid to illegal immigrants illegal, as Christians we must speak truth to power when our faith…
God called to Samuel in the night and after three times, Samuel said, “Speak Lord, your servant is listening.” Fr. Michael urges us to seek the grace to listen for God’s call. 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…
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.’ I did not know him, but…
Jesus did miraculous things; signs that his power was from God and greater than our own. Fear and worry are not from God but in the midst of storms, famine or sickness it is all too easy to get lost in our worries and fears. Fr. Michael reminds us that God’s love for us is…
Fr. Jim did not record a Gospel Study to match this weeks reading from Matthew detailing Jesus’ baptism by John. This passage from Luke gives a greater account of John. Listen as Fr. Jim teaches us a little more about who John was and the mission he undertook. Luke 3:1-6 In the fifteenth year of…
Luke 2:1-14 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that the whole world should be enrolled. This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria. So all went to be enrolled, each to his own town. And Joseph too went up from Galilee from the town of Nazareth to Judea,…
Joseph’s mind was made up but then an angel came to him in a dream and the course of his life and ours changed forever. Matthew 1:18-25 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…
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.…
Fr. Michael reminds us that Jesus wants to share our burdens but only if we humbly seek his help and hitch our yoke to him. Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said to the crowds: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn…
Matthew 11:2-11 When John the Baptist heard in prison of the works of the Christ, he sent his disciples to Jesus with this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind…
Advent is a time of preparation and purgation. We must purge those things from our lives that are distractions and impediments to our relationship with Christ. As this first week of Advent concludes, Fr. Michael offers some real world examples to help prepare our hearts to receive the love of Jesus. Matthew 15:29-37 At that…
Matthew 3:1-12 John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said: A voice of one crying out in the desert, Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.…
The parable of the talents is not new to us. A nobleman gives 10 coins to his servants and then expects them to invest them in his absence. When he returns he holds them accountable…How are we accountable to God? What return are we making for God’s investment in us? Bonus homily details: Given last…
Matthew 24:37-44 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…
We usually think of fire as destructive, and indeed Fr. Michael begins his homily with a story of fiery destruction. But God’s fiery love is something else; it doesn’t consume but transforms and nourishes, if we choose to accept it. But if we reject God, then that same fiery love will consume and torment us.…
If you haven’t ordered your copy of Ornaments of Grace 2019, there is still time to get it before Advent begins. Order now. Luke 23:35-43 The rulers sneered at Jesus and said, “He saved others, let him save himself if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.” Even the soldiers jeered at him.…
Given this past week at Bellarmine Jesuit Retreat House during a day retreat on caring for our planet, Fr. Michael calls us to a new level of conversion and environmental awareness. Luke 17:1-6 Jesus said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It…