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Sermon Notes – February 4, 2024 – “Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic!”

“Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 3 – 4, 2024


Gospel: Mark 1:29-39

Today, I want to talk about “change.”  When I’m making my rounds at the VA hospital, I see veterans who have a problem with the bottle.  They are hooked to a banana bag which means they are being weaned off alcohol.  I ask them how they’re doing, they usually say “Good.”  Uh-Huh . . . you look it.  Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  “Yes sir.”  Okay, do you want to be happy?  “Yes sir.”  Well, there’s only one thing you have to change.  “What’s that sir?”   Everything.  “Oh.”  And that’s true.  “Well, maybe things would be better if I moved.”  No, because wherever you live, you’ll be there.  Things are not going to be better unless you change. 

That’s what our Lord asks of us.   “Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?  Do you want to experience the fullness of My love and joy in this world instead?”  Yeah!  I’m in.  “Then leave everything behind, forsake everything, and come follow Me.”  Now that’s hyperbole and doesn’t mean leaving your parents on their deathbed.   It means a full renunciation of the will and following Him.   We might think that some of the things our Lord asks us to do are stupid.  So being the bright people we think we are, we always try to renegotiate the contract.   “What do you mean I can be married only once?”  That’s what Christ said.  “Marriage is between a male and a female.  I wrote that down for you a long time ago.  Apparently, you skipped school that day.  You need to learn it.”  “What do you mean I have to eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Eucharist?”  “Yes, that’s what I said.”  “What do you mean I have to go to Confession?”  “That’s what I said.  The Apostles were given the power to forgive sins, and they can only forgive what they hear.”  “What do you mean I have to suffer?  Come down from the Cross, and we will believe You.  We don’t want any suffering.”  No, no, no.  We are always trying to renegotiate the deal.   Renounce yourself instead of trying to change everything.  “I’ve given you the means to change through the Sacraments.  I’ve given you my teachings to watch over and to reassure you that I am with you always.” 

When I had my physical last week, I sensed the presence of my guardian angel.  Know how that happened?  When I got on the scale [groan], I could see with my peripheral vision that his foot was on the scale.  Got a sense of humor that one!  Nothing personal; it’s just business with him.  So, we have to change, and it’s a long, prolonged process.  But He offers His grace through the Sacraments, prayer, and mortification so that we can change ourselves and not be disheartened by our failures.   In addition to giving us the power to change, the Sacraments also give us the power to bear the weight of the cross and to bear the damage done by our sins and the sins of others that have caused disillusionment and sadness.  He gives us that power that we may have the fullness of joy. 

There has been a lot of change in the Church.  However, we always try to change the wrong things.  If you’ve been around the Church as long as I have, you remember when the Mass was changed from Latin to English.   Instead of the Mass being said in one language, we have it in five or six languages every Sunday.  Well, that’s not working out.  We moved the confessionals to reconciliation rooms.  That also didn’t work out well.  It’s like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.  We’ll change things and make them better.  Remember the guitar Masses?  They were great, huh?   It was terrible music!   My goodness, I’m not Father Hippie!

We change the wrong things.  Do not change the Sacraments.  Instead, let the Sacraments change us.  Christ calls us to change, but He doesn’t need to.  When we begin the process of changing, is it always joyful?  No.  However, it is a progression in love.  Lasting joy will only come when we are in Heaven.  But He gives us joy and the power to change.  He also gives us the power to pick up our cross every day and to follow Him.  Change is not as frightening as you think.  The devil tries to scare us: “Oh, my goodness!  Change is terrible! You’re going to hate it!”  That’s just him trying to frighten us.  People who have addictions are afraid of change because misery is all they have known, but when they change and leave the misery behind, they praise God. 

When we begin to change, we want immediate results like turning on a light switch.  It’s like me when I got out of bed this morning and just stared at the coffee pot.  I was tempted to put my mouth under the coffee filter and drink it that way.  It would save me from having to wash a coffee cup.   Change is a slow process.   Doctors tell their patients that they didn’t get sick overnight, so they aren’t going to get better overnight.  But don’t be afraid of the process.  It always works.

Father’s Reflections . . . I worked at the VA hospital on Friday for a few hours, and it was very interesting.  Two veterans received their celestial discharge which I had expected.  Then we had another veteran who was there for rehab, and he also received his discharge . . . into the custody of the VA police.   He was arrested on three felony charges.   Bye-Bye!  After that, I looked at the roster and saw a good Catholic name.  So, I went to see him in the Memory Loss Unit.  As I was talking to him, he said he was 98 years old.  I asked him where he was from, and he said New Jersey.  I was pretty sure he was Italian because his name ended with an “i”.   Now I wasn’t racial profiling, but it was a good guess.  I asked him, “You know a guy?”  And he said, “Yeah, I know a guy.”  I know a guy too! 

I try to swing by the Emergency Room while I’m at the VA.  Sometimes I see people there whose faces are black and blue.  So, I’ll start talking to them and ask, “Didn’t the military teach you how to fight?  Which branch were you in?”  If they say the Navy or Air Force, I’ll say, “Well, that explains it!”  Sissy boys.  I swear, I have way too much fun there! 

How will you apply this message to your life?________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at ola.catholic.church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – June 26, 2022 – “Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”

“Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

Church has always been an instrument of change.  We like change.  And we want change.  But the trouble is that people keep changing the wrong things.  For the past 60 years, we have changed everything.  We have gutted the churches.  We have changed the architecture and the decorations.  We have changed the language.  We’ve changed this and we’ve changed that.  And you know what?  It hasn’t worked out so well.  It is like rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  They always seem to want to change the doctrine.  “Change this and I will be your follower.”  The Church wants to change.  But the Church is Christ as the Book of Acts tells us.   So, you cannot say, “I love God but not the Church.”  You cannot separate the two.  He wants us to change. 

What did our Lord say?   “If you wish to be My follower, deny your very self.  Take up your cross every day and follow Me.”  Deny your very self.  Renounce your whole self.  Unfortunately, we may hear at the end of the day, “God made me this way!”   Well, yes and no.  God has a directive will and a permissive will.  His directive will is what keeps the planets in orbit and maintains the Law of Physics and Aerodynamics.  If lift is not greater than drag, there will not be a happy outcome.  God also has a permissive will which allows people to have free will.   So, if you say, “God made me this way,” keep in mind that our first parents played a role when they committed the original sin.  They are the ones who screwed up the system.  We were never meant to live like this.  Granted, Oakboro is a paradise, but I have heard that Eden in the presence of God is just a little bit better than Oakboro and Aquadale too.  

But we don’t have to be like this.  God took our fallen human natures and made it a means for our salvation.  He gave us all our crosses.  You can see one of mine.  I am good looking, but my family has no money.  It’s terrible!  I have struggled with that all my life.  God gave us our crosses so that we will come to Him in love, for redemption, and as a means of salvation for others.  “God made me this way, so I want an excuse for doing whatever I want to do.”   They want what they want when they want it.  So that means we should give every diabetic chocolate cake every day?   It’s like giving alcohol to an alcoholic.  “Oh, I have alcoholism – it runs in the family – it’s genetic.”  Okay, Doctor House.  Thank you for the medical school lesson.  But that doesn’t give you permission to keep pouring drinks down your throat, does it?  You cannot blame God for that.  “God made me this way!”  He allowed it but what will you do with it?  Will you come to Him for peace? 

In the Gospel, people gave conditions to our Good Lord.  “I’ll follow You if You change certain things.”  Throughout the Gospel, people left Him.  They didn’t want marriage, sacrifice, or the Holy Eucharist.  “Nope.  I’m out of here.  If you change it, I’ll come back.”  Our Lord didn’t say, “Just kidding!  Come on back.  I’ll change.”  Salvation is not a democracy.  You don’t get to choose.   In the Catholic Church, some people believe they can pick one belief from Column A, one from Column B, and another from Column C.   Nope.   We must renounce our very self.  Put everything, even our crosses, at His disposal to use for a means of salvation.   People will witness the saving power of God in allowing the crosses that we have and show them how He has worked with us in forgiving our sins. 

I was thinking about my brother priests some of whom say, “Oh, I could do the job you do at the VA.”   In some small sense they could, but in other ways they couldn’t.  I had this one man come in who wanted to talk to a priest who was a veteran.  So, he comes in and he has all these graduate level books on prayer and spirituality.  I was impressed.  He said that he belonged to this prayer group and that prayer group and was doing this and that.  He wanted to know what else I would suggest he do.  I said, “They tell me your wife just died.  Did you love her?”  Yes.  “Do you miss her?”  Yes.  “What branch of service were you in?”  Army.  “So was I.  Were you in Vietnam?”   Yes, I was in Vietnam.   “What did you do – what was your MOS (Military Occupation Specialty)?”  I was a medic.   So, I said “Doc, how many soldiers did you save?”  I don’t know.  “I believe that – I really do.  How many did you lose?”  And he knew every one of those he lost and saw their faces every day.   This man was really suffering.  His wife had died, and she was the one who had helped him keep it together after Vietnam.  She had been his crutch and now that it was taken away from him, he had to face what happened in Vietnam as well as the loss of his wife.  No other priest in the diocese could talk to this man unless they had been where I had.  So, God has used my little trips overseas and all the fun I had while there so that I can talk to soldiers. 

God can use whatever crosses you have.  Renounce your very self to help others.  I don’t like my crosses all the time.  I really don’t.  I can be a little whiner at any time.  But that’s a wonderful thing because it makes me small, and I have to rely on God’s grace.  And in the words of Saint Therese of Liseux, “When I am small, I am safe.”  

How will you apply this message to your life?___________________________________

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You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic

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Sermon Notes – Deck Chairs on the Titanic

“Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 9-10, 2019

Scripture: Luke 4: 1-13

1) Filled with the holy Spirit, Jesus returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the desert 2) for forty days, to be tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when they were over he was hungry. 3) The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” 4) Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.” 5) Then he took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant. 6) The devil said to him, “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. 7)All this will be yours, if you worship me.” 8) Jesus said to him in reply, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’” 9) Then he led him to Jerusalem, made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10) for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ 11) and:‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 12) Jesus said to him in reply, “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’” 13) When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.

Many times we get so caught up in acquiring the material things in life that we neglect our spiritual lives. We spend way too much time on unimportant, trivial things and neglect what is most important…our spiritual lives and what’s on the inside. Christ has come to change us on the inside…the outside is not important. When we fix what’s on the inside, everything will work out. Doing anything else is just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

People are not evil because they don’t have enough stuff. But, wouldn’t giving them computers and cell phones help them be holy? No. If they just had a great place to live, could they then be holy? No. Is everyone who is rich, holy? No. In fact, there are rich people in prison right now who had all of the material possessions they could possibly desire. You see, it’s not about having stuff. It’s about what’s inside us. Christ gave us the Sacraments to help change what’s on the inside.

It is very difficult to watch a family member die; it is also hard watching people all around us die on the inside, because they’ve turned their backs on Jesus. Preach to others with your life….use words if necessary. Tell them the truth. But…be prepared for some to rebuff you. People don’t like the truth…especially, when the truth hurts.

I have a degree in Philosophy, but I have never understood the statement “We speak truth to power.” That statement has no meaning…it makes no sense. The truth is the truth regardless of who hears it. If we had the “right” people in office, would our country be in better shape? Do we really need more laws to govern our morality? Do we actually need a law that makes murder a sin?

Elijah was not a patient man, even more so when he was desperate and running for his life from his enemies. As he prayed to God for help, Elijah may have been expecting God to answer with thunder, lightning, or perhaps even an earthquake. Instead, He responded to Elijah with a whisper in the wind. Be careful that you aren’t missing His whispers while waiting for a lightning bolt.

The Church is not here for your entertainment. Am I required to put on a show? No. Do sermons need to be endless? No. I mean…even Moses told the Pharaoh “let my people go” (Exodus 7:16). Sometimes, after Mass, people will tell me that they enjoyed it. But, here’s the thing…we don’t participate in Mass to get pleasure…we participate so that we can give ourselves to Him. It’s not about a show….it’s about His death.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you stop rearranging the deck chairs and focus on what is most important?