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. We appreciate your listenership and if you find this program valuable, please subscribe and share with your friends. Share this program is funded with kind donations by listeners just like you. Make your donation@pastoralreflectionsinstitute.com we’re celebrating the sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The opening Prayer O God, who teach us that you abide in hearts that are just and true, grant that we may be so fashioned by your grace as to become a dwelling place pleasing to you through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God forever and ever.

Amen. A reading from the Old Testament the book of Sirach, 15th chapter 15, 20th verse if you choose, you can keep the commandments they will save you. If you trust in God, you too shall live. He has set before you fire and water to whichever you choose. Stretch forth your hand. Before men are life and death, good and evil Whichever he chooses shall be given him.

Immense is the wisdom of the Lord. He is mighty in power, and all seeing the eyes of God are on those who fear him. He understands our every deed. No one does he command to act unjustly to none does he give license to sin the word of the Lord. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord. Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord.

Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart. Blessed are they who follow the law of the lord. You have commanded that your precepts be diligently kept. Oh, that I might be firm in the ways of keeping your statutes. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord. Be good to your servant that I may live and keep your words.

Open my eyes that I may consider the wonders of your law. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord. Instruct me, O Lord, in the ways of your statutes, that I may exactly observe them. Give me discernment that I may observe your laws and keep it with all my heart. Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord. A reading from the New Testament St.

Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, Second Chapter 6:10 Brothers and sisters we speak a wisdom to those who are mature. Not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away. Rather we speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for your glory, and which none of the rulers of this age knew. For if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written, what eye has not seen, ear has not heard, and what has not entered the human heart, what God has prepared for those who love him. This God is revealed to us through the Spirit.

For the Spirit scrutinize everything, even the depths of God. The word of the Lord. Hallelujah. Verse. Blessed are you, Father. Lord of heaven and earth.

We have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia. The gospel for this Sunday is taken from St. Matthew, 5th chapter, the 20th to the 22nd verse, the 27th and 28th verse, and the 33rd to the 37th verse. Jesus said to his disciples, I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You’ve heard that it was said to your ancestors, you shall not kill.

Whoever kills will be liable to judgment. But I say to you, whoever is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. You’ve heard it said that you shall not commit adultery. But I say to you, everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Again, you have heard that it is said to your ancestors, do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow. But I say to you, do not swear at all.

Let your yes mean yes, your no mean no. Anything more is from the evil one, the Gospel of the Lord. You can probably separate people by one very different thing that they do, and that is whether they read the instructions that comes with any new appliance or new thing that they buy. And there are those like me who never read the instructions and just figure they’ll figure out how to do it. And maybe that’s a good image of most of us when it comes to Scripture. Scripture is, in a way, an instruction book of how to live in this life.

And what it’s promising is that this thing called life will work. It will function, it will produce what it’s intended to produce. And what it is intended to do is to continue to evolve the human race so that we grow more and more like our Creator, and we become more and more conscious of who that is and who we are in Him. I love the opening prayer because it would say, as an instruction manual might say, the heart of this whole machine that you’ve now got the heart of what might go wrong. Is the heart. So be sure that you make sure that the heart is running.

And what it is clearly in the opening prayer is that God has intended to dwell within our hearts. Our hearts have the most amazing qualities they can think of, think they can make decisions. They are not just simply pumps. And the Egyptians always cremated the heart along with the rest of the body because it really believed that was the person, the heart. And so what we’re told is that it’s the dwelling place, the dwelling place of God. And so it needs to be fashioned in such a way that we welcome that presence of God into us.

And it’s not just saying yes to it, but it’s understanding the role that this God has when he dwells within us. It’s about choice. It’s about choosing what you want in this world, how you want to live in this world. And the most amazing clarity comes in this first reading when it says, you know, you have a choice. You can keep the commandments or not, but you need to choose and you need to trust. And what that means is that the choice you make for the commandments is not that you want to give up your freedom.

You want to be a servant. You don’t want to make any decisions on your own. No, it’s not that you’re going to use it as a crutch so that you don’t have to figure out who you are and what you’re here for. No, it’s a commandment to be in touch with, in union with, connected to this God dwelling in your heart. And then if you trust that he’s there and he’s going to share with you. Wisdom.

I love the image of you are set, something set before you. Fire and water. And that fire is the fire of transformation. The baptism of fire. Water is when you sort of clean up the outside and make yourself look a little better. It’s the baptism of John versus the baptism of Jesus.

But choose one. Choose to be transformed or choose just to be a nice person. And when you choose, have an intention, a strong intention, which is to stretch forth everything in you so that you can have this thing. And you’ll be engaged in something that is life giving, not death giving, good, not evil. And there’s a key to having this gift within you. And the key is wisdom.

Wisdom. You have to understand that there is something about the wisdom that you need to have in your heart if you’re going to allow God to come and freely dwell there. And you go there to find him and to listen to Him. And it’s all about this wonderful process of opening your eyes to the wonders of his plan. Be instructed in what that’s about, and always having discernment to find whether you’re really in that place or not. Those are all gifts that come through that responsorial psalm.

So let’s look at wisdom for a moment. The wisdom is something that only comes with living to those who are mature. It’s seldom that it’s given to a young, young person. And it’s a wisdom not of the way the world is working. It doesn’t mean the world is bad. But the way the world works is generally not the way that God intends.

It tends to be somewhat self centered. It’s people using other people for their benefit, whether they buy something or act in a certain way or whatever. It’s something radically different. And the only thing I think is cool about the way this reading from Paul talks about it is saying it’s just something that is not known by the culture, but what it is, it’s written in your heart. And when you see it and you hear it and when you allow it to enter there, you’re in touch with what God has prepared for you and how you want to live your life. And it’s so beautifully clear.

It’s about love over fear. It’s about somehow being there with the intention of enlightening and not using, of wanting someone to become everything they are meant to be and not to use that person. Notice the gospel has two images. The law says don’t kill. Your heart says forgive. Forgive.

Don’t stay in anger. It doesn’t work. It causes problems. It creates a need for revenge. It creates a need for being the one who meets out justice. It’s dangerous, so be careful.

If you go to your heart in anger, you’ll find forgiveness. If you are lustful for whether it’s a sexual partner, whether it’s some possession you have, whether it’s a position or whatever, when you have that lust and you’re thinking about it all the time, if I just had this, I’d be okay. If I just had that, I’d be much better. But he’s really saying, when you’re unhappy with what you are, who you are, or what you have, you’re already in trouble. You can’t want something intensely without going after it. And so what he’s inviting you to do along with living in the heart, forgiveness in the heart, acceptance, surrender to who you are and where you are right now.

And then he closes with this most wonderful statement. Don’t say it unless you mean it. Don’t promise it based on something that you’re going to be punished if you don’t keep the promise. Don’t do that. You don’t need to do that. What you need to do is to mean what you say.

Say yes when you mean yes, say no when you mean no and it’s more healthy for you or it’s healthier for you to be honest and say no. I’m not going to follow any of this. I’m going to do my own thing. And God will let you do that. Not because he wants you to wallow in pain, but that he can use that to change you, to transform you, to make you more aware of what’s essential. The heart is a wonderful place.

I love thinking about it as a room I can go to. I once imagined the room was red and had these wonderful white sofas and had a beautiful view and I could see the world as it really is. It was kind of cool, but all I know is it’s there and God is there. And he has this intention. And that intention is just asking. Connect.

Connect the wire of you to the wire of God. Fix it. It’s in the troubleshooting part of the manual that I talked about. When you’re not feeling full and alive, you’re going through something dark. It’s a transition, not a place you’re going to be. If you open your heart, open your mind, open your spirit to the presence of this loving, wise, transforming God who wants nothing more than for you to grow and evolve and change and bring your brothers and sisters with you.

Amen. The Closing Prayer Father, open our eyes so that we can see what your love is. Experience it. Open our ears so that we can hear your wisdom and your voice guiding us. Enter into our heart and prepare us to be the ones that you call us to be, lovers, givers, forgivers and a life force for the world. 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 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.