“Don’t Send a Boy to Do a Man’s Job”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 27 – 28, 2024

Gospel: Mark 1:21-28

As a priest, I have been asked to bless many things.  I have blessed homes, boats, and cars.  I have blessed women before childbirth and after childbirth.  There is a whole list of things that priests can bless.  And that’s a good thing.  Sometimes people tell me, “Father, I need an exorcism of my house.”  So, I go bless the house after which I tell them to get rid of the Buddhist statues, and if they hear anything else, let me know.  Also, if you start spitting up pea soup and your head starts spinning around, call me.  Occasionally nurses will ask me to bless hospital rooms, and I always ask why.  The reasons can be interesting.  “Well, the call light has been going off a lot recently.”  So, that means somebody needs a nurse.  I realize our veterans can be real pains in the butt sometimes but come on!  “But Father, there’s no patient in that room, and some weird stuff has been happening.”  So I go into the room, bless it, say a prayer, and sprinkle holy water.  A couple of weeks later, I asked the nurses if they were having any more problems in that room.  They said, “Oh, no problems at all.  Thank you, Father, for what you did.”  No problem.  I was happy to do it.    One of the nurses had a sheepish look on her face and said, “Father, we asked a Protestant chaplain to bless that room.  He went into the room and said some prayers, but it didn’t work.”   I said, “Don’t send a boy to do a man’s job.” 

The Church has power over satan through the grace of Jesus Christ.  He gave bishops and priests the power over satan to expel demons.  It’s called the Rite of Exorcism which is not as uncommon as you might think.  I cannot confirm or deny that I’ve done any of that.  If I told you, I would have to kill you.  Remember the movie “The Exorcist” where the girl spits up pea soup and her head spins around?  I met that exorcist, and it’s all true.   Satan is very real and can take possession of people.  If you have to go somewhere that is sketchy and you are concerned, arm yourself with prayer.  When I visit very sick people, I go in with gloves and a mask like Darth Vader.  “I am your father, Luke.”   It’s not as if after the first century satan said, “Okay I’m done.”  He is just as active now as he was then.  But so is Christ.  And that’s the good news.  Stay away from things like Ouija Boards, horoscopes, and all that stuff.   “But I want to see what my future is.”   Well, your long-term future is at Hartsell’s Funeral Home.  What happens to your soul after that is up to you. 

People aren’t bad because they don’t have stuff.  My parents and grandparents were poor, and they weren’t felons.  They didn’t steal, and they didn’t hurt anybody.  People choose to be evil.  Those people who are certifiable and do not have the free will choice to be evil or not should be locked up in a nice state institution where they can’t hurt themselves or anyone else.   People choose to be evil.  They choose satan who promises temporary happiness but never delivers it.   Saint Peter said, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” (1 Peter 5:8-9).   So, unless Peter is a liar, satan is very active and looking for people.  Satan can appear under a nice cloud resembling something good like New Age Spirituality.  I read this in an article, “Father was so busy he barely had time to light the prayer candle and go to prayer.”   Really?  Father needs to get his head out of his “bleep.”  Jesus is here in the church in the Most Blessed Sacrament.   Hey Father, throw the candle out and see the Lord.  “I’ve got my prayer shawl.  I’m so spiritual.”  No, you’re not.   None of that adds to spiritual development.   Stay away from New Age stuff and anything else that appears to be evil because it is a portal for satan.  Jesus laid out very specific ways in which to return His love. 

I love shows about ghost hunting because they always ask the wrong questions.  I know a psychic back home who does this.  She once went into this house that was built before the Revolutionary War.  She went into a room that was very cold.  The homeowner asked her why it was so cold in the room, and she said, “That’s when you know ghosts are here.  They don’t know they are dead.”   Then they heard a voice say, “I’m dead?”  Nobody got the word to you, huh?   On some of the shows when they are cleansing the house of spirits, they put burnt sage all over the house.  So, the devil is powerless over burnt plant matter?  I don’t think so, otherwise he would stay out of everyone’s kitchen because something is always getting burned there.  “My house had a bad feeling about it, so I took some sage, burned it, and spread it around.”  Really?  Why didn’t you light up a toke too?  What the heck!  You might as well have some fun while you’re at it.  Burning sage to exorcise a house is sinful because it denies the power of Christ.   Instead, ask a priest to come bless the house.  Christ did not give His power to a plant; He gave it to His Church.   

Satan can come in by all sorts of less obvious means such as our entertainment, what we hear, what we see, and what we wear.  Hey, sweetheart, cover-up.  I’ve been a hospital chaplain for 40 years.  I’ve seen more body parts than you’ll ever have.  Okay?  It’s not a thrill.   The latest craze is Stanley tumblers.  You’ve got to get a certain drink cup because that’s cool.  Is your ego so fragile that your whole life will be much better because you have one particular cup?  Really?  I know a doctor who will give you some help.  I’ve got a summer camp you can go to that will give you some help, and they will even pay you to go.   You probably wouldn’t like it, but it would be good for you.  But think about that kind of thinking.  “I’m better if I have this or I have that.”   Really?  You are trying to fill an infinite hole with finite objects.  The hole in our soul can only be filled up with Christ.  

Remember, our Lord’s plan for us is peace and not affliction.  He loves you so much that He sent His only Son.  He loves you so much that He allows this sinful priest to act in the person of Christ so that you might have life and have it to the fullest; so that you may receive the Most Precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion; and so that your soul can be washed clean by His Most Precious Blood in the Sacrament of Penance.   Even if a priest who, God forbid, is in a state of mortal sin, the Sacrament is still efficacious.  Even if a priest has been chucked out of the priesthood, what we call defrocked, he is still able to give Last Rites if someone is in danger of death.  So much is God’s great love for us.  Hopefully, my time for getting Last Rites is a bit further down the road.   

Satan tempts us just as he did Adam and Eve.  We have the power over ourselves and our world.  “But if I had just one more thing, I would be perfect.”  That’s true.  You need one more thing to be perfect and that is Jesus.  Satan is always active in the world.  “Oh, women who have abortions have psychological problems.”  Really?  One of the doctors I served with was a combat infantryman, a Ranger, and a West Point graduate . . . a pretty hard-core guy and not exactly milk toast.  He said, “A baby is not a tumor.  A baby is not Pancreatic Cancer.  A baby is life.”   So, be very careful.  Stay sober and alert because the devil is roaming the world seeking the ruin of souls. 

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.”