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Today, we arrive, with Fr. Mike, at the In Brief section for Article III. Together, we revisit eight of the main ideas or “nuggets” from the readings of the past six days. Fr. Mike concludes this section by reminding us of the importance of the unity between and veneration of the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 of the New. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 134-141.
Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/f58uLVkEh7o
“Peace is a Who”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
January 14-15, 2023
29 The next day, he saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, there is the lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. 30 It was of Him that I said, “Behind me comes one who has passed ahead of me because He existed before me.” 31 I did not know Him myself, and yet my purpose in coming to baptise with water was so that He might be revealed to Israel.’ 32 And John declared, ‘I saw the Spirit come down on Him like a dove from heaven and rest on Him. 33 I did not know Him myself, but He who sent me to baptise with water had said to me, “The Man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is to baptise with the Holy Spirit.” 34 I have seen and I testify that He is the Chosen One of God.’
This happened to me several times while I was overseas. The Army had some “guests” we were keeping. Apparently, they didn’t like our hospitality and began to riot. So, we sent in the Quick Reaction Force (QRF), and the riot ended rather quickly. That’s all I can tell you about that. But peace reigned again. I like that. But that’s not the peace our good Lord was talking about. He didn’t mean sending angels down to do a quick and brutal beat down on people. He was talking about the peace in our soul. Peace is not a “what”. Peace is a “Who.” Jesus is our peace, and He is a “Who.” If we want peace, we must have that “Who” inside of us. This gift of peace is one that the world cannot take away. “We want peace on Earth!” Great. I’m all for that. I was in an organization that enforced peace, but I’d much rather see people convert to Christ than receive an American bullet.
If you want peace, let Christ into your souls. Then you will have peace and a lot of happiness. That happiness will be deep and abiding. It will change over time and become deeper. It will be different, but different is not always bad. The true way to peace is Christ. It is not a negotiation. Negotiations involve conflict and don’t get to the root cause. The root cause of evil in the world is sin. “Nobody ever says that!” Shocking! The way to peace is Christ.
In every 12-Step Program, what is the basis for maintaining sobriety or abstinence? Do participants just “white knuckle” it? In these programs, there is a phase in which people have a spiritual awakening. They have something far better. They have God in their souls, and they no longer want the booze or drugs. It’s in the literature…check it. The same is true for us. Having Christ in our souls is how we get peace.
Recently, we had a Spanish quinceañera for a 15-year-old girl, and I gave her the secret to happiness. You all know what the secret to happiness is don’t you? It is to be holy. I haven’t done my job in over 18 years if you don’t know that by now. It is to be holy – that’s what Jesus said, and I tend to remember my boss’ words. You will have a peace that nobody can take from you. Look it up. It’s in the black part of the Book. He said, “You will have a peace that no one can take from you.” Our happiness lies in a Person and not in things. Even rich people get upset – did you know that? I was the curate at the richest parish in the diocese, and we had people who would get upset even though they had boo-koo cha-ching. The secret to happiness is having peace in your soul. And that peace comes with Christ.
That inner peace – that place where Christ resides in our souls – cannot be removed by any outward occurrence, be it spiritual or temporal. It can only be removed by us through neglect or unrepentant venial sin and directly by committing mortal sin and throwing Christ out of our souls. The only thing that can take our peace away is us. People may challenge our peace, and bad things may happen to us. We may get Covid. We may have our cars scratched. We may get cut off in traffic. People may give us the one finger salute. I’ve been here for 18 years, and I haven’t been made a Monsignor yet. And I’m very hurt. Saint Teresa of Avila said, “If this is how you treat your friends, Lord, no wonder you have so few.” Granted, sometimes our peace may be threatened, and we’ll be upset. But that is just normal.
Two by-products of having Christ in our souls is that it gets better and better the closer you grow to Christ. Your situations will be different that’s true. You’ll be older, maybe not as good looking, and you may not have as much hair. Nowadays at the barber shop, I try to convince myself that “I’m too sexy for my hair.” But whether it’s by scissor or by time, I’m losing mine. Your happiness will increase as your love for Christ and His presence in your soul increases. You will find that you will have more energy because you won’t be distracted by fighting all those other things.
The second by-product of having Christ in your soul is that you will have more friends. You’ll have more people who want to be around you and not because of the things you bake or cook although I appreciate that as your pastor. People will like being around you. They may not be able to define it, but there is something about you that they like being around. They feel wonderful while they are with you and as they leave. You will bring Christ to them. Look at Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Saint John Paul II. People wanted to be around them – not to ask questions or ask for favors – but just to be with them. Why? Because of He who was inside their souls. And He who was inside them can also be inside us. This is the peace our Lord has come to offer us. Whether we take it or not is up to us.
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” then “Menu” and then “Categories.” Sermon Notes are also available on the church Facebook page at facebook.com/ola.catholic.church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
Fr. Mike unpacks the vital unity between the Old and New Testaments. Together, we examine prefigurements and types from the Old Testament being fulfilled in the New. We also examine the importance of the study of Scripture for each and every Catholic. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 128-133.
Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/R00NkT22aa4
Fr. Mike explores the formation of the canon of Scripture. He emphasizes the importance of contemplating and venerating all 73 books of both the New and Old Testaments given to us through Sacred Tradition. Together, with Fr. Mike, we further examine the definition of the canon of Scripture throughout history, spanning from the late 4th to the mid-15th century. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 120-127.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/MnACjqii5iw
Saint Margaret’s story:
Margaret was born in Klis Fortress in the Kingdom of Croatia, the eighth and last daughter (9th of 10 children) of King Bela IV. Her aunt was St. Elizabeth of Hungary. The royal family had moved to this region of their kingdom during the Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241. Her parents vowed that if Hungary was freed from the Mongols, they would give Margaret up to the religious life, and when she was four years old, her parents sent Margaret to the Dominican monastery at Veszprém. When she was 10 years old, she was sent to the Monastery of the Blessed Virgin, which her parents had founded on Nyulak Szigete near Buda. Today, this is called Margaret Island in her honor and is a part of Budapest.
This is where she spent the rest of her life. At the age of 12, she became a novice. Even though she was of royal blood, she refused any special treatment, and made efforts to do the work no one else wanted to do. Many attempts were made by her father to arrange a political marriage for her with King Ottokar II of Bohemia. Margaret resisted all of these attempts and took solemn vows when she was eighteen years old. She also received the Consecration of Virgins along with some other royals to prevent her father from forcing her into marriage and having her vows dispensed by the Pope.
Margaret practiced many forms of penance, including wearing an iron girdle, hairshirts, and shoes spiked with nails. She prayed continually and fasted extensively. She also performed the most menial and repulsive tasks in the monastery, and on behalf of the poor and sick. These severe mortifications ultimately brought about her early death on January 18, 1271. She was venerated as a saint shortly after her death, and her brother, King Stephen V championed the cause for her canonization. Between 1271 and 1276, investigations were conducted as part of the cause. Seventy-four miracles were attributed to her intercession; many of them involved curing illnesses. One person was even raised from the dead. Despite these reports and even first-hand testimony of those cured, her cause did not advance. Subsequent attempts to canonize her were again made in 1640 and 1770, but she was not officially canonized until Pope Pius XII proclaimed her a saint on November 19, 1943, which was the feast day of her aunt, St. Elizabeth of Hungary.
Saint Anthony of Egypt’s Story (251 – 356)
The life of Anthony will remind many people of Saint Francis of Assisi. At 20, Anthony was so moved by the Gospel message, “Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor” (Mark 10:21b), that he actually did just that with his large inheritance. He is different from Francis in that most of Anthony’s life was spent in solitude. He saw the world completely covered with snares, and gave the Church and the world the witness of solitary asceticism, great personal mortification and prayer. But no saint is antisocial, and Anthony drew many people to himself for spiritual healing and guidance.
At 54, he responded to many requests and founded a sort of monastery of scattered cells. Again, like Francis, he had great fear of “stately buildings and well-laden tables.”
At 60, he hoped to be a martyr in the renewed Roman persecution of 311, fearlessly exposing himself to danger while giving moral and material support to those in prison. At 88, he was fighting the Arian heresy, that massive trauma from which it took the Church centuries to recover. “The mule kicking over the altar” denied the divinity of Christ.
Anthony is associated in art with a T-shaped cross, a pig and a book. The pig and the cross are symbols of his valiant warfare with the devil—the cross his constant means of power over evil spirits, the pig a symbol of the devil himself. The book recalls his preference for “the book of nature” over the printed word. Anthony died in solitude at age 105.
Reflection
In an age that smiles at the notion of devils and angels, a person known for having power over evil spirits must at least make us pause. And in a day when people speak of life as a “rat race,” one who devotes a whole life to solitude and prayer points to an essential of the Christian life in all ages. Anthony’s hermit life reminds us of the absoluteness of our break with sin and the totality of our commitment to Christ. Even in God’s good world, there is another world whose false values constantly tempt us.
Saint Anthony of Egypt is the Patron Saint of:
Butchers
Gravediggers
Skin Diseases
Saint Berard and Companions’ Story (d. January 16, 1220)
Preaching the gospel is often dangerous work. Leaving one’s homeland and adjusting to new cultures, governments and languages is difficult enough; but martyrdom caps all the other sacrifices.
In 1219, with the blessing of Saint Francis, Berard left Italy with Peter, Adjute, Accurs, Odo and Vitalis to preach in Morocco. En route in Spain, Vitalis became sick and commanded the other friars to continue their mission without him.
They tried preaching in Seville, then in Muslim hands, but made no converts. They went on to Morocco where they preached in the marketplace. The friars were immediately apprehended and ordered to leave the country; they refused. When they began preaching again, an exasperated sultan ordered them executed. After enduring severe beatings and declining various bribes to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ, the friars were beheaded by the sultan himself on January 16, 1220.
These were the first Franciscan martyrs. When Francis heard of their deaths, he exclaimed, “Now I can truly say that I have five Friars Minor!” Their relics were brought to Portugal where they prompted a young Augustinian canon to join the Franciscans and set off for Morocco the next year. That young man was Anthony of Padua. These five martyrs were canonized in 1481.
Reflection
The deaths of Berard and his companions sparked a missionary vocation in Anthony of Padua and others. There have been many, many Franciscans who have responded to Francis’ challenge. Proclaiming the gospel can be fatal, but that has not stopped the Franciscan men and women who even today risk their lives in many countries throughout the world.
Fr. Mike examines the two senses of Scripture: the literal sense and the spiritual sense. Together, we further unpack the meaning of the literal sense of Scripture and the three subdivisions of the spiritual sense: the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical senses. Fr. Mike provides us with scriptural examples of each of the four senses for us to fully comprehend the richness of God’s Word. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 115-119.
Click on the link to play video: https://youtu.be/KlEbSJZLXH0
Saint Paul the Hermit’s Story (c. 233 – c. 345)
It is unclear what we really know of Paul’s life, how much is fable, how much is fact.
Paul was reportedly born in Egypt, where he was orphaned by age 15. He was also a learned and devout young man. During the persecution of Decius in Egypt in the year 250, Paul was forced to hide in the home of a friend. Fearing a brother-in-law would betray him, he fled in a cave in the desert. His plan was to return once the persecution ended, but the sweetness of solitude and heavenly contemplation convinced him to stay.
He went on to live in that cave for the next 90 years. A nearby spring gave him drink, a palm tree furnished him clothing and nourishment. After 21 years of solitude, a bird began bringing him half of a loaf of bread each day. Without knowing what was happening in the world, Paul prayed that the world would become a better place.
Saint Anthony of Egypt attests to his holy life and death. Tempted by the thought that no one had served God in the wilderness longer than he, Anthony was led by God to find Paul and acknowledge him as a man more perfect than himself. The raven that day brought a whole loaf of bread instead of the usual half. As Paul predicted, Anthony would return to bury his new friend.
Thought to have been about 112 when he died, Paul is known as the “First Hermit.” His feast day is celebrated in the East; he is also commemorated in the Coptic and Armenian rites of the Mass.
Reflection
The will and direction of God are seen in the circumstances of our lives. Led by the grace of God, we are free to respond with choices that bring us closer to and make us more dependent upon the God who created us. Those choices might at times seem to lead us away from our neighbor. But ultimately they lead us back both in prayer and in fellowship to one another.
How do Catholics interpret Scripture? Fr. Mike breaks down the three basic principles for interpreting Scripture: attentiveness to the content and unity of the whole Bible, reading Scripture within the living Tradition of the Church, and attentiveness to the analogy of Faith. These criteria allow the Church to interpret Scripture accurately and prevent us from taking Scripture out of context. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs are 109-114.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/gS4ndVFUaWU