Be of Good Cheer
Sermon Notes – September 18, 2022 – “You are Rich Beyond Measure”
“You are Rich Beyond Measure”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
September 17 – 18, 2022
Gospel: Luke 16:10-13
Jesus said to His disciples: “The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.”
In all 12 step programs, the same steps are used from the original 12 Step Program for how to get sober. The fourth step is to take a fearless, moral inventory of ourselves. That is the fourth step in every 12 Step Program, and you must do it to get sober, clean, or recover from whatever the addiction. When people take a moral inventory, it’s usually an immoral inventory. The next step is to tell someone, and I’ve heard a number of them recount all the bad things they’ve done. And that’s good so they don’t have to use whatever they are addicted to kill their conscience.
So, where did this idea originate? They got it from the Catholic Church. We make an examination of conscience before going to Confession. I was taught in Catholic school to make an examination of conscience at the end of each day. In our nightly prayers, we said the Act of Contrition. And that’s so important to do. Also, make a moral inventory. Why are you are saying that you are sorry? Because of the great gift that you have, the gift of Catholic Faith that was given to you by God. Perhaps because of the auspices of your parents, family, others who came later, or free will, you have the gift of God. You have the beautiful gift of the Catholic Faith that brings hope and joy to this life. This is the reason for rejoicing. He gives you joy, and no matter how much you have in your bank account, you are rich beyond all imagination.
The gifts offered to you can bring happiness and peace. It’s not found in a bottle. It’s not
found in a big bank account. It’s found in a Person. If I had a big bank account, I would know where to shop. I know where the Bentley dealer is. . .it’s over in High Point. I know a good real estate agent and if I were rich, I could buy a house in Martha’s Vineyard for about $4.5 million. But that doesn’t buy happiness. Once you have a Bentley, you worry about keeping people away from your car. If you have a house at the beach, you’ve got to take care of it and pay taxes on it. Then there are the relatives who want to come stay with you. It ain’t worth it! The happiness you have is the hope in following the precise steps for how to get to Heaven. You come here to participate and to offer yourselves in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And if you are able, to receive the Most Precious Body of our Lord Jesus Christ in Holy Communion by the hand of Christ which is the priest.
What did we do to deserve that? When we fall from the weight of our crosses, due to our imprecision in following the steps of Christ, what do we have? We have the Sacrament of Penance in which He forgives and forgets all our sins. We have the Sacrament of Confirmation which strengthens us in carrying our cross and fulfilling our primary vocation which is to become saints. Did you know that? I have given the Last Rites twice in the last two days. When we are raised up onto our final cross to endure our own Passion and death with Christ – during the last three hours or so of our lives – Christ’s consoling love, strength, and forgiveness is granted to us. The Apostolic Pardon is a full pardon for all of your sins and a plenary indulgence that wipes it all away and gives you a totally clean slate. I hope you get it. There are things in my 201 file that may be a little sketchy. But we have hope. Plus, we have the gift of faith, and we are never alone.
People ask me to pray for them, and I do. But you have to realize that the whole Catholic Church is praying for you 24/7. That’s over one billion people. Listen to the words of the Mass. They are always in the plural. The whole Church is praying for you during the Sacrifice of the Mass. Not only the entire Church on Earth, but the entire Church in Heaven, which is countless, is always praying for you. You belong to the Body of Christ which is present throughout the world. This is not just some little church or faith community. You belong to the Body of Christ present throughout the world. If you wanted to get married at the Vatican in Rome, and you have the money and the time, I could give you the paperwork to do that. That is your church. It belongs to you. Italians in white robes are just caretakers of it for you. You are not alone. By the gift of Catholic Faith, you are united with all God’s people who are praying for you.
Such are the great treasures we have, and too often we forget to say, “thank you.” We reduce them to something almost like play-acting in church. This is not playacting. We have lost the sense of wonder and awe. This great prayer you have come to offer is one in which you come to offer yourselves in the sacrifice of Christ. How wonderful is our Faith. That is the greatest gift. People ask for forgiveness of their sins, and that’s what we should do. But we should also say, “thank you.” Thanksgiving is one of the ends of the Mass. So, realize how rich you are. You are rich beyond your wildest dreams. Embrace that richness, as clear as your bank account, and everything else will find its proper place.
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 – September 11, 2022 – “God Loves Them More Than You Do”
“God Loves Them More Than You Do”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
September 10 – 11, 2022
Gospel: Luke 15: 1-32
The other day I was making my rounds at the VA hospital, and one of the nurses told me that there was a new addition to Hospice. I said “Okay” and I went in to the patient’s room. He didn’t look good at all and won’t make it through the weekend Although they gave him two years in the original diagnosis, his doctors helped him get six years beyond that. He got eight years when he was supposed to have two. That shows you how well medicine works. But now he was on his way to see the Savior. I was talking to his wife and his sister-in-law was also there. Very nice and sweet people. I told them that I needed to ask them some questions because I have to do a Chaplain’s Spiritual Assessment for every patient who comes in. Mostly, it’s creative writing on my part. One of the questions is “Do you have any end-of-life issues?” So how long have you had this chaplain gig? End-of-life issue means end of life. Yeah, I’ve got a real issue with that! Are you crazy? But they want something in the file, so I create a narrative of what’s happening with the patient to make the hospital happy. If they don’t see it, they get a little antsy. So, I asked his wife if he had any particular religion. She said no. Did he go to church when he was able?” No. He was a very interesting man, and I wish I had met him before he became so ill. I may have crossed paths with him in the first Gulf War. His job was explosive ordinance disposal and he disassembled mines and bombs. He wasn’t exactly the nervous type before that – maybe afterward – but not before. He was pretty good at his job because he survived it. And he was blessed because he got a disease – none of us know when we will contract one – and he lived well beyond the original diagnosis. You never know. I told him and his family that I would come back to visit on my afternoon rounds. So, I continued my rounds, visiting other patients. I ran into the nurse practitioner for Hospice, and she asked me if I had seen the new Hospice patient and given him Last Rites. I said, “No, he’s not Catholic. His wife said he is Christian.” She said, “Well, according to our records, he’s Catholic.” Okay. So, after lunch I went on my afternoon rounds, and the wife and sister-in-law were not in the room. I looked around to make sure the coast was clear and gave the man the Last Rites. And just as I was finishing, his wife and sister-in-law walked in. Whew! I snuck that one in! I accomplished the mission. . .by any means necessary. I told the nurse manager what I did, but it was never written down because we didn’t want to cause any more problems. I’m a real certified weasel, but I’m a weasel for Christ.
This is how much God loves us. I have people come up to me all the time, and rightly so, asking for prayers for family members, loved one, needs, worries, fears, and all sorts of troubles we are prone to. I’m happy to pray for them, but I try to tell them, if I remember, that no matter how much you love this person, God loves him or her much more. That’s why God created them in His image and likeness. That’s why He suffered and died for them. That’s why He is constantly running after them to beg them to embrace Him and His love. God never gives up. Read the “Hounds of Heaven,” a poem by Francis Thompson. God is always running after us, so much is His great love, that even at the moment of death if we say we are sorry for our sins just because we are afraid of dying and the eternal fires of hell and not because we are particularly sorry for them, God forgives us. That is sufficient and God will forgive us. Remember the 6th prayer from the Cross: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” One of the greatest experiences of God’s love is His mercy.
Saint John Vianney, known as the Curé d’Ars, is the patron saint for parish priests. God’s gift to him was that he could read souls. One day, he was walking along a road in France in an area where his parish was located. A woman approached him and said, “Curé, you know my husband died.” Father Vianney said, “Yes.” The woman said, “He fell off a bridge and drowned. He’s in hell, isn’t he?” Saint Vianney said, “I don’t know.” The woman yelled, “You can read souls! Why don’t you know? He beat me, he drank, he gambled. . .“ She had a whole laundry list of how bad her husband had been. “So, he’s in hell, isn’t he?” Saint Vianney replied, “I don’t know. There’s a long time from when he left the bridge and when he hit the water.”
Even in that short span of time, he could have said, “I’m sorry,” and that would have been sufficient. Perfect contrition is if you say “I’m sorry” because you love God. Imperfect contrition is if you said it because you don’t want to go to hell. Even so, that is sufficient to receive God’s forgiveness. So much does He love us. He sees all our trials, worries, and concerns about those who are near and dear to us. But remember, God loves them more than you do, and He will never, ever give up on them as long as they have a breath in them.
Father’s Afterthoughts. . .
My day is never dull. There is always something interesting going on here. Today, I had a wedding, and the bride came up in a carriage drawn by horses. I got to pet the horses. I love horses! I’m still six years old. Quoting Sir Winston Churchill, Doctor Eddins, a local physician, said, “There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.”
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
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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”
Err on the Side of Love
//Contemplative Monk//
Sermon Notes – September 4, 2022 – “Three Points”
“Three Points”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
September 3 – 4, 2022
Gospel: Luke 14:25-33
Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and He turned and addressed them, “If anyone
comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple.”
In our preaching course at seminary, we were told that we should have at least three major points in our sermons, or what they call “homilies” these days. My first point is that if a man cannot renounce all of his possession, he cannot be Christ’s disciple. What is our greatest possession? Ourselves. When we renounce ourselves, instead of just living for self, we live for God. Our greatest purpose is to live in this world and to love and serve Him and reign with Him in the next. So, all of this “stuff” we have from our hard work, efforts, and studies, we can enjoy because it is a principle of self-ownership and fulfillment. We are supposed to enjoy our possessions especially on Sunday according to Church tradition. But we should use the stuff that God has given us for our own work. What work? The works of justice. First of all, providing for ourselves, providing for our families, and providing for those in need. We have an obligation to give to others that which is above and beyond our needs.
The second point is that this past week the Church marked the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist. Saint Bede the Venerable wrote about the martyrdom and said that Herod did not want John to deny Christ. He just wanted John to stop talking about the reign of God which would have been the same as denying Christ. Now, if you haven’t noticed, the World wants us to do that too. It does not want the Church to proclaim the truth. Some may say, “Well it’s not the most loving thing to do.” Well, it is because our Savior said it. Are you saying that our Savior didn’t tell us what the most loving thing to do is? We are to proclaim the truth and live the truth. We cannot stop proclaiming the truth, otherwise we would be denying our Faith.
Remember, last week I told you last about Saint Francis who said to preach the Gospel, whether in-season or out-of-season, convenient or inconvenient, and to use words if necessary. You are constantly preaching by your good works because people will see them. And as Peter said, He will see your good works and give praise and thanks to the Father. This is the evangelization we are all called to do. Sometimes when we do, we will get a rather harsh reaction from people. This has happened to me several times. People will say, “Are you a Catholic priest?” Yeah. . . I’m not Johnny Cash with a funny collar. Others say, “I used to be Catholic.” Really? They don’t know how insulting that is. In response, I’ll say, “Well, I still am.. . what happened to you?” I don’t take that garbage from anybody. Apparently, they don’t know my background. My next question to them is one that I’m not expecting an answer to because they aren’t going to give me one. But I ask them, “What have you done or what has been done to you?” They hurt from their sins or what has been done to them.
When I’m sick, eventually I will go to the doctor. Or the people around me will make me go to the doctor like what happened when I got Covid. But people are angry at and afraid of the source of all healing, and they rebel against it. They run from the One who can bring peace to their soul which is Jesus Christ. It is not a bad thing if we have sinned. . .yes, it’s not the best thing, and we’d rather not have sin, but the worse thing is to stay away from the Savior who can heal it. He will heal and fulfill our souls and give us peace no matter what we have done or what has been done to us. He can bring peace to a troubled soul. Usually, people are happy to hear the message – even non-Catholics because they can see that scandal is from the sins they have committed and the sins of others committed against them. But if Catholics are poor teachers, they may drive them away from the source of all love and healing.
The third and final point is that I heard this week about mothers taking their kids to school and leading them by the hand. Some of the kids were going very much against their will, because school is strange and disturbing to them, and they would rather be at home. It made me think of another situation in which a woman was hastening to another place. One night I was at the house of a woman who had cancer and who was rapidly leaving this world. I gave her the Last Rites, and she said, “Father, I say my rosary all the time.” And I said to her, “That’s wonderful. Keep it up as long as you can. And you know what will happen? Soon, the Blessed Mother will come take you by the hand and lead you to her Son.”
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”
One More Time
//Contemplative Monk//
“Intense Love does not Measure” – Saint Teresa of Calcutta
The 5 by 5 Rule
//Contemplative Monk//
Sermon Notes – August 28, 2022 – “The Most Loving Thing”
“The Most Loving Thing”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
August 27 – 28, 2022
Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14
1 Now it happened that on a Sabbath day He had gone to share a meal in the house of one of the leading Pharisees; and they watched Him closely. 7 He then told the guests a parable, because He had noticed how they picked the places of honour. He said this, 8 ‘When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take your seat in the place of honour. A more distinguished person than you may have been invited, 9 and the person who invited you both may come and say, “Give up your place to this man.” And then, to your embarrassment, you will have to go and take the lowest place. 10 No; when you are a guest, make your way to the lowest place and sit there, so that, you’re your host comes, he may say, “My friend, move up higher.” Then, everyone with you at the table will see you honoured. 11 For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be raised up.’ 12 Then He said to his host, ‘When you give a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relations or rich neighbours, in case they invite you back and so repay you. 13 No; when you have a party, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; 14 then you will be blessed, for they have no means to repay you and so you will be repaid when the upright rise again.’
What is the most loving thing we can do for those we love and those we meet? To tell them the truth. And what is the truth? Okay, that was kind of a trick question. The truth is not an “it”. It’s a “Who.” Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” When we tell people the truth, we tell them about the Lord. The fullness of His message is found in the Catholic Church because the Catholic Church is our Lord as Paul discovered in the Book of Acts. We teach people the Faith. We show them His message which will sometimes infuriate them, but it will bring us peace, and that is exactly what our soul needs. The message to that person is one that will heal their soul and fulfill it. One day they will be united with Him in the Kingdom of Heaven if they have been faithful. So, how do we pass on His message? Saint Francis of Assisi said, “Preach the Gospel always, whether convenient or inconvenient, and if necessary, use words.” You may talk about our Good Lord, and you may have a fine religious education, but the best teaching is one of action out of love and forgiveness.
An odd thing happened a while ago, and one that I may have already told you about – I’m old and I repeat my stories – I’m near the end of my priesthood, and I don’t have many stories left to tell. Anyway, I was on duty at hospice, and we had a patient come in on a stretcher. The ambulance drivers came in and asked where we wanted him. All the nurses were busy, so I told the guys that we are going to put him in room 3. There were only two of them, and it takes three people to move a patient. One guy was at the head and shoulders, the other took the sheet, I took his legs, and 1-2-3 BOOM. Because I hadn’t been gloved and touched the man’s bare skin, I went over to the sink and washed my hands. One of the ambulance drivers came up to me and said, “thank you, Father.” And just by that…a small act of kindness. Done day in and day out, we are teaching about our Good Lord.
Do not be dissuaded by loud people, people who are drinking, people who walk away, people who text that our church is wrong and that the teachings of Christ are outdated. Why? Because the devil is always very loud, and everything he tells you is a lie. I know a priest at one of the hospitals in the VA system. He is the chief chaplain, so he has to go to all these meetings. I’d rather have a colonoscopy. There was this one meeting he had with the social worker. The social worker lectured this priest on the proper use of personal pronouns. The priest said, “We cannot as Catholics acknowledge that because it denies God’s creation and His creative Will.” Male and female is all there is. Christ said that marriage is between a male and female. We cannot undo God’s creative Will. It is obvious, and it would be denying our faith. If you deny an article of faith, you deny it all. So, this priest looked at the adjectives in which people are identified. To the social worker, He said, “May I ask you a question? Why don’t you call me by my own personal pronoun? By the way, it’s “Father.” And the social worker couldn’t answer him. That tells you it’s from satan.
Do not be discouraged by teaching the truth. Persevere. By doing so, the apostles said it will save your immortal souls. Do not cower to loud voices. Their voices are like little children whistling past the cemetery. I go into cemeteries at night…I don’t care. I know who I work for. Am I afraid? No, I’m not. Are you kidding me? Bring it! They are just like little children afraid of the dark. If you scream long enough and loud enough, you will believe all the evil propaganda the world has ever had.
So, do not be disheartened. Preach the truth. The truth is a Person and the fullness we have in the Catholic Church. I was reading the newspaper recently about the movie on the life of Saint Padre Pio. Know what happened to the actor who is portraying Saint Pio? Even though this actor had a colorful past, he became Catholic. What happened to the head of the Gestapo in Rome, Italy during WWII? A priest came to visit him, and he became Catholic. So do not be discouraged. Continue to proclaim the Gospel by words and actions. Proclaim your faith. That is the most loving thing to do.
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 – August 21, 2022 – “It Depends”
“It Depends”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
August 20 – 21, 2022
Gospel: Luke 13:22-30
22 Through towns and villages He went teaching, making His way to Jerusalem. 23 Someone said to Him, ‘Sir, will there be only a few saved?’ He said to them, 24 ‘Try your hardest to enter by the narrow door, because, I tell you, many will try to enter and will not succeed. 25 ‘Once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you may find yourself standing outside knocking on the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” but He will answer, “I do not know where you come from.” 26 Then you will start saying, “We once ate and drank in your company; you taught in our streets,” 27 but He will reply, “I do not know where you come from; away from Me, all evil doers!” 28 ‘Then there will be weeping and grinding of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and yourselves thrown out. 29 And people from east and west, from north and south, will come and sit down at the feast in the Kingdom of God. 30 ‘Look, there are those now last who will be first, and those now first who will be last.’
Let me ask you a theological question. Is it hard to enter the Kingdom of God? The best answer is “it depends.” And I don’t mean old people’s garments. It depends on the condition of your soul. The condition of your soul depends on who you love more. Do you love God or do you love you? There is a saying in counseling: “I’m not much but I’m all I think about.” God will ask, “Do you love me?” It’s a requirement to get into Heaven. And it’s not the emotional, frothy “Oh I love you!” kind of love. There are people in the “Nut Hut” who do that, and they aren’t quite well. To love God is to do the works of God. What are the works of God? They are works of love. Our Lord said, “If you love me keep My Commandments.” That is His commandment. It is also the commandment of the Church as Paul found out in the Book of Acts. You cannot separate the two. Some ecclesiastical jailhouse lawyers might say, “Well, I love Christ but not the Church.” You cannot do that. It’s contrary to scripture from the very earliest time in 34 ad. Christ died in 33 ad.
So, how do we see the Commandments? Our Lord said, “If you love Me keep My Commandments. My Commandments are not burdensome.” It’s how much you love. If you love, there is no act that is burdensome. Saint Augustine said, “There is no labor involved in works of love and if so, even the labor itself is love.” Love becomes burdensome when we focus on ourselves. We want what we want when we want it. Spiritually, we call that “king baby.” “I want what I want and if I don’t get it, I won’t come to church.” Shut up. God help us.
Every time our Lord asked the apostles a question, guess what happened. They got it wrong. How can we love? It’s not hard. I saw it as a soldier all the time. If some schmuck got hurt for whatever reason, other soldiers would go over and help the injured soldier. They didn’t expect thanks for carrying the soldier’s stuff. They didn’t even ask…they just did. They helped take care of business. At Christmas time, young soldiers who got married and had three or four kids right away needed money for gifts for their kids. We had various funds that could help, but my sergeant-major said, “No. We take care of our own. We don’t go to strangers.” So, everybody donated money, and we made sure that all those children had a good Christmas. There was this one child who had leukemia and was being treated at an Air Force base. His father wanted to see him, but it was expensive to travel. So, the colonel came up with a “training mission.” They put the father on a bird and flew him out to the Air Force base. They left to do something else, flew back, sat there for a while, and eventually picked the father up. After that, they flew back home. I once met a Vietnam Veteran who extended for second year in Vietnam. I said, “Dude! Why did you extend for another year?” He said so that his younger brother who had just been drafted wouldn’t have to go. That’s what we do. That’s exactly what we do. Those are acts of love. Were they all Catholic who did that? No, and I know that for sure. I was with them for three years and knew all of the Catholics. Did they all go to church? I don’t think so. Will they get into the Kingdom of Heaven? They’ve got a shot because they loved and thought of others before themselves. They responded to God’s calling even when it wasn’t convenient. I hear this from some of the Spanish: “I will come to Mass if I don’t have something else to do that day.” Really? We have Mass on Saturday night and twice on Sunday. Really? Our Lord invited you to Supper. You want to spend eternity with Him but you can’t find the time to come to church.
It’s all in how you love. Heaven is not hard to get into, but it’s harder than you think because it requires action on your part. And that action is to die unto self, to live for others, and to love others. That’s the hard part. We have to die to selfish love to be able to live a total and Christ-like life.
Father’s Afterthoughts. . .
Something else seminary didn’t prepare me for, and one for which I’m going to kill the nurses in Hospice. They told me that we had a new admission, and he was Catholic. I said Okay. I’ll give him Last Rites. So, I went into his room. He was a Vietnam Vet with Agent Orange poisoning and was pretty far along in his journey. Usually when a veteran is far along in their journey, the nurses put on the Care Channel on television. It’s nice soothing music, nature scenes, waterfalls, and things like that. It was tough for me to give him the Last Rites. As I was saying the prayers to absolve him, you know what they had on television? “Animal House.” Really!
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.” Cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories”