Blog

“We Have No Idea”

 Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 August 19 – 20, 2023

Gospel:  Matthew 15:21-28

I was visiting a soldier in the ER the other day.  I introduced myself as Chaplain Fitzgibbons and one of the chaplains at the VA Medical Center.  We were talking and getting along really well.  The soldier asked, “What religion are you?”  I told him I am a Roman Catholic and the Catholic priest for the Medical Center.  “Oh.”   Then we talked about the military branches we served in.  A little later, he asked me again, “What religion are you?”   “I’m a Roman Catholic.”  He was in pain and perhaps not the sharpest knife in the drawer.  His wife spoke up and said, “Well, we are Christian.”   Apparently, since I am not their brand of acceptable Christianity, I will not be going to Heaven when the Rapture takes place.  Okay.  Now, if they had not been civilians, I would have gone back to my old days in the military and put them both into a leaning rest because I was tired of looking at their faces.  I would have made it a one-way conversation.  Believe it or not, I do not care to be insulted.   Anyway, I said, “Well, don’t you think our good Lord considers the Crosses other people carry that we don’t see?  Don’t you think He takes that into account at Judgement?”   They said, “No.  You must be a member of this one particular sect.”   Okay. 

We just got a new admission to Hospice.  He is 56 years old, and he had a brain tumor that was removed.  Unfortunately, it has spread everywhere, and he is now in his end-days.  I don’t think I will see him again in this life.   This man was a police officer for 20 years, but when he couldn’t take it anymore, he retired.  Tom Adams will tell you that people can be devious and lie.  Think about all the sorrow and distress that man had to absorb within himself.  I was talking to his sister who is his caretaker.  After he left law enforcement, he moved to Florida to take care of his aging mother who is still alive.  So, this guy had a lot of things going on.  His sister told me that he had never been baptized.  Later, I motioned for his sister to come over to the doorway so that nobody could hear us.  I said, “When the doctor comes by and adjusts his pain meds, he will be bombed and won’t feel any pain as he leaves us.  I will be happy to baptize him then.”  God understands. 

We had this one lady who had Lewy Body Dementia.  Is she in Heaven?  I think she has a pretty good shot at it . . .  probably a lot better chance than me.  She was an Army nurse for 30 years in a field hospital in Vietnam.  Not fun!   She was also physically and sexually abused by her husband who mercifully died.  I met him once, and he seemed like a super nice guy.  However, I got the back story from the nurses and, apparently, he was not a nice guy.  But we were fortunate that we had a nurse who was trained and could help her deal with some of what she had endured.

So, we have no idea of who goes where.  We are called to respond to people of different faiths.  Our Lord calls us higher to the Catholic Church.   But we have no idea of the Crosses that other people carry.  Our Crosses are not comparative.  God wants us all to enter Heaven.  Did He go to this woman in the Gospel and say, “You are Samaritan and a dog.”  “Dog” was not a good term back then.  “Do you tithe?”  “Did you give to the DSA?”   DSA is the priest retirement collection.  He asked her none of those questions.  Instead, He gave the woman the gift of faith and love for Him.  God is looking for an excuse to give us the gifts of His love.   He gives them to us all the time and more often if we ask for them.  Sometimes His gifts are not the ones we want.  We cannot see the beauty in them, especially the gift of our Crosses.  They are beautiful things and are what will get us into Heaven.  Sometimes we really don’t appreciate the beauty of our Crosses, but God gives us these gifts because of His love.  Some of these gifts are meant to keep us humble so that we don’t wander off the reservation.  So, we do not judge.  God loves us all.  He asks us all to come up higher and that is a struggle for each and every one of us.  Some days are more difficult than others. 

But we do not judge who gets into Heaven and who doesn’t.  We don’t know.  Only God sees everything.   People in these minor sects say, “Well if you don’t know Jesus Christ, you are not going to Heaven.”  That staggers the imagination.  So let me understand this.  Is God all loving?  Scripture says He is.  He created the world out of love and sustains it out of love.  So, He created the people in Mongolia who have no idea who Jesus Christ is or what a DSA is.  Did God create them out of love just to send them to Hell?   God does not do that.  He wants us all to come to Him.  And remember, we have no idea what Crosses other people are carrying. 

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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