Welcome to Finding God in Our Hearts. The following production Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is a weekly program of deep spiritual insight on Scripture, revealing the indwelling presence of God. Monsignor Fisher is a Catholic priest, a member of the Diocese of Dallas, and founder of the Pastoral Reflections Institute, a nonprofit in Dallas, Texas, dedicated to to enriching your spiritual journey. We appreciate your listenership and if you find this program valuable, please subscribe and share with your friends. This program is funded with kind donations by listeners just like you make your donation@pastoralreflectionsinstitute.com. We celebrate the first Sunday of Lent.

The Opening Prayer Grant Almighty God. Through the yearly observances of Holy Lent, we may grow in understanding of the riches hidden in Christ and by worthy conduct pursue their effects through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen. A Reading from the Old Testament from the Book of Genesis, second chapter seven through the ninth verse, and third chapter first through the seventh verse, the Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then Lord God planted a garden in Eden and in the east, and placed there the man who whom he had formed out of the ground. The Lord God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the Tree of Life in the middle of the garden and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all animals that the Lord God had made. The serpent asked the woman, did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden? The woman answered, the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. It is only about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, you shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, you certainly will not die. No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it, your eyes will be open and you’ll be like God’s who know what is good and what is evil.

The woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. And the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves. The Word of the Lord Responsorial Psalm Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness, in the greatness of your compassion, wipe out my offense thoroughly. Wash me from my guilt, and of my sin cleanse me. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. Acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me Cast me not out from your presence and your Holy Spirit take not from me. Be merciful, Lord, for we have sinned. Give me back the joy of your salvation, and a willing spirit sustain in me, O Lord. Open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. A reading from the New Testament St.

Paul’s letter to the Romans, 5th chapter, 12th verse and the 17th through 19th verse Brothers and sisters, through one man sin entered the world, and through sin death and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned. For if by the transgression of one death came to reign through that one, how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of justification come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ? In conclusion, just as through one transgression condemnation came upon all, so through one righteous act, acquittal and life came to all. For just as through the disobedience of one man, the many were made sinners, so through the obedience of the one, the many will be made righteous. The Word of the Lord Alleluia, Verse one does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. The Gospel is taken from St.

Matthew 4:11. At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for 40 days and 40 nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, if you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread. He said in reply, it is written, one does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, if you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, he will command his angels concerning you, and with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Jesus answered him again it is written, you shall not put the Lord your God to the test. Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence. And he said to him, all these I shall give to you if you will prostrate yourself and worship me. At this Jesus said to him, get away, Satan. It is written, the Lord your God, shall you worship him alone shall you serve. And the devil left him.

And behold, angels came and ministered to him. The Gospel of the Lord. Take the next few moments as we listen to this music to ponder the images and the thoughts that come to you as you listen to these readings. We have begun a very, very important season called Lent. The word means springtime. And in the opening prayer, we ask God to bless us with the benefits that anything we do during Lent, the observances of holy Lent, might have an impact on us.

And it’s so clear in that opening prayer, we’re saying the observances that we choose in Lent are there to help us grow in understanding of who you are and what is hidden in you. So even though there’s a long tradition of choosing things that are difficult or painful, being without certain comforts during Lent is beneficial. Well, it is if it means that we’re creating more space, more time for reflection. Who is this Christ? What is he trying to teach me about my life and about the way I live that would engage me in a more deep, intimate relationship with God the Father. So let’s look at this first set of readings and see if it doesn’t set a tone for something that we could hold onto through the whole season.

And that is the difference between life and death. We have a choice to live the life that God has called us to or to reject it and pick something else, something that is more tuned to our lower nature, and to live that which is a kind of death. So let’s go back to the beginning. I love that this is the beginning. First Sunday of this particular season. And we go back to the very beginning of God’s relationship with human beings, the Garden of Eden.

In it, we have a story. We all know that story very well. But it’s funny. This story has a lot of things added to it that aren’t really there. For example, there’s nothing about an apple in this story. It’s about fruit.

But we’ve made it an apple. And most people will talk about Satan in the form of a snake that is tempting Adam and Eve, but it’s not a snake at all. It’s the most cunning of human beings, but not even a human being, an animal. So let’s say it’s the most cunning part of our lower nature. And the serpent comes to the woman and questions what command that God had given to Adam and Eve. Not to eat of the tree in the middle of the garden, though that’s just implied.

And not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and evil. What is the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil? Well, the more I reflect upon it, the more I think about it is a kind of desire to become like gods. At least that’s what is told to them by this cunning animal spirit. In all of us. It’s saying, if you really want to, you can use God and you can use everything in you to make you into this strong, autonomous being that has power over people.

Wouldn’t you like to be like God? That kind of God? I’m sure that was the most primitive sense of who God was. And so the woman thought, well, maybe this would be good for wisdom. Maybe. It certainly looks beautiful.

It’s good for nourishment, logic working its way in. But just think for a minute. She’s choosing to eat the apple because she. She thinks it will bring the wisdom of God inside of her. And you’ll notice that when God talked about the tree in the center of the garden, he said, don’t even think about eating that. Don’t even touch it, because if you do, you’ll die.

And what is the tree of life? It’s wisdom, the hidden knowledge of who God really is and who you really are. And you can’t take that in now because you’re not evolved enough to deal with it. So we have this very strong image that in the first story we have about God’s relationship with us, we see this warning about death. Be careful what you choose. And notice that the cunning animal instinct says, you know what?

You break the rules and your eyes will be open and you’ll be like God, and it’ll be wonderful. And then just a few lines later, they broke with the commandment of God. Their eyes were opened and they were ashamed. They were naked. They covered themselves. Could this story be the story about the choice to evolve as God intends us to, or to just simply bypass the whole process and demand that we become almost omniscient and able to do anything we want?

Hubris, pride, that’s part of it. But it’s also a wonderful story about the evolution of the human nature into a being that has some kind of Inner moral code that when you break it, your body reacts. It’s interesting. Guilt, you feel bad about something you did. Shame, your whole body feels it somehow. You’re the sin.

So maybe we can see very much in this story that the most important thing we learn from this first encounter of God with his people is he wants them to grow slowly, naturally, and to evolve into being not like God, being a God, but being in God and being with God. So now if we look at the beginning of. We look at this story as the beginning of the Old Testament. Let’s look at the beginning of the New Testament. In the beginning of the New Testament is similar, a temptation takes place. And so we find ourselves, after many centuries of struggling to become who God calls us to be.

God enters into the world to fulfill his promises in the Old Testament and to reveal fully who he is, to give his true wisdom. We’re ready now to enter a new stage of existence. No longer are we dependent solely on ourselves and our struggle to do what we’re told, but now we’re entering into a world where we’re going to become someone. Not by being like God, being like him in the sense of doing what he does, but being with him and becoming something brand new. So look at Jesus. He’s tempted by now, not the highest form of our animal nature, but no, he is directly confronting evil.

So it’s the devil that’s there. And he asks him three things. Command these loaves to become bread, or jump off this tower. Prove that God is there to help you. Or again he says, why don’t you look at the world as it is and know that you could run the whole thing. You are so wise and so talented and so creative.

Think about that. Every one of them is a call to truth. It’s like a temptation not to be in tune with the way things really are. Jesus says, the only thing I ever long for is the truth, the bread of God. God’s presence in me is my bread. It’s not something outside of me that makes me strong.

It is my interior presence of God offers me the insight into what the world is really like and who God is and who I am. And then if you look at very much the second one, it’s so easy that he’s saying, look, I don’t doubt in any way, shape or form that this is taking place. I have absolute trust that this process that I’m engaged in, no matter what it turns into or how it works, I’m going to believe that it’s the unfolding of what must be. What an incredible decision for Jesus to make at the beginning of his ministry. I want nothing but the truth. I want to live through whatever is happening to me and accept it, knowing it’s bringing me to truth.

And then at last, with that truth so much coursing through his veins and as God’s spirit courses through his whole body, he’s saying, and then I am dedicated to a life not of being served the world. I’m dedicated to a life of service. I want the truth. I want to trust, I want to be in service. I want human beings to be awakened to what you’ve awakened in me. And I’m living it and I want to teach it.

And you know, the most amazing thing about Jesus is he spoke less in words and more in who he was. That’s our challenge during Lent to be one, to resonate out of your heart that you are longing for truth. You’re longing for things to be understood in your heart. Heart that they must be. And you are open and growing in your ability to serve. That’s our season and that’s our work.

Amen. Foreign. Father Bless this season with rich experiences that awaken in us the truth of who you are and what you’ve come to teach. Lead us away from places that create an emptiness, a darkness, a kind of death, and lead us into the light of your truth. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

The music in our program was composed and produced by Ryan Harner for this show. Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher, a listener supported program is archived and available on our website pastoralrefleflectionsinsinsinsinsinstitute.com and available anytime, anywhere and for free on our podcast Finding God in Our Hearts. You can search and subscribe to Finding God in Our Hearts anywhere you download your podcasts. Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is funded with kind donations by listeners just like you. You can make a one time or recurring tax deductible donation on our website pastoralreflectionsinstitute.com we thank you for your listenership and your continued support. Without it, this program would not be possible.

Pastoral Reflections with Monsignor Don Fisher is a production of the Pastoral Reflections Institute, a NonProfit in Dallas, Texas dedicated to enriching your spiritual journey. Executive Producer Monsignor Don Fisher produced by Kyle Cross and recorded in Pastoral Reflections Institute Studios. Copyright 2020.