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Sermon Notes – July 31, 2022 – “Make Room!”

“Make Room!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 July 30 -31, 2022

Gospel: Luke 12:13-21

13 A man in the crowd said to Him, ‘Master, tell my brother to give me a share of our inheritance.’  14 He said to him, ‘My friend, who appointed Me your judge, or the arbitrator of your claims?’  15 Then He said to them, ‘Watch, and be on your guard against avarice of any kind, for life does not consist in possessions, even when someone has more than he needs.’ 16 Then He told them a parable, ‘There was once a rich man who, having had a good harvest from his land, 17 thought to himself, “What am I to do? I have not enough room to store my crops.”  18 Then he said, “This is what I will do: I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods in them, 19 and I will say to my soul: My soul, you have plenty of good things laid by for many years to come; take things easy, eat, drink, have a good time.”  20 But God said to him, “Fool! This very night the demand will be made for your soul; and this hoard of yours, whose will it be then?”  21 So it is when someone stores up treasure for himself instead of becoming rich in the sight of God.’

In the last verses of the 12th chapter of Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, the saint earnestly desires higher gifts.  He wrote:

“First, I seek the higher gifts and I will show you a more excellent way.  If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” 

And that’s true.  Saint Paul continues with the theme of love in the 13th chapter.  Love is the one thing we should desire above all else.   God is love itself.  He wants to make us wealthy in His love, and He teaches us how to grow in that love.  The one thing we can be truly rich in is to always possess Him and to be possessed by Him. 

The more you experience the love of God, the more you want.  With God you can never get enough.  We are inspired and motivated to make more room for Him in our souls through our works, prayer, and self-sacrifice to possess Him and be possessed by Him.  Doing so will enlarge and beautify our souls for a proper dwelling place for Him.  And when we have that possession, we have an ever-increasing wealth.  Then all the other things we have will assume their proper role. 

But it’s never enough.  It’s like being in an Irish family. . .there’s always room for one more.  There is always room for more love. 

Did you know that you can go to Mass more than once a week?  You can receive Holy Communion up to three times a day. . .did you know that?  You can go to Confession once a day. . .twice, if you’ve done something really bad.  If you want to drive over to the Catholic church in Concord so you don’t have to see me, that’s okay – I get it, as long as you go.  There is no limit on God’s desire to be a part of your soul.  And when we are possessed by Him what happens?  We are transformed, and all the things we have find their proper place. 

Sometimes, every now and again, we realize how truly rich we are.  “Well, Father, I’m not really rich. Have you seen my bank statement?”   I’m not talking about that.  “Father, I don’t live in a nice house.”  I’m not talking about that.  “Father, I don’t have a nice car.”  I’m not talking about that either.  Look at all the sufferings you have.  Look at how rich you are.   Even with the worse things in your life, you are chosen.  You have much to offer God for the sanctification of souls.  You are truly rich, because it is in that pain and suffering we have all endured or are enduring that we share in the suffering of Christ for the redemption of the world.

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.”  Cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories”

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The Secret Sauce of Holiness

How is it that a young French girl who entered the convent at 15 years old and died at only 24 years old would become a Doctor of the Church? How is it that on her deathbed her own sisters thought her life was so unremarkable that they struggled to write her obituary?

Today, Fr. Mike reflects on how the “Little Way” of St. Thérèse of Lisieux contains a secret to holiness for every modern Catholic.

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Sermon Notes – July 23-24, 2022 – “Love You More!”

July 23 – 24, 2022

“Love You More!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 Gospel: Luke 11:1-13

1 Now it happened that He was in a certain place praying, and when He had finished, one of His disciples said, ‘Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.’ 2 He said to them, ‘When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; 3 give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, 4 for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.’ 5 He also said to them, ‘Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, “My friend, lend me three loaves, 6 because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him;” 7 and the man answers from inside the house, “Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up to give it to you.” 8 I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it to him for friendship’s sake, persistence will make him get up and give his friend all he wants.  9 ‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.  10 For everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asked for a fish, would hand him a snake? 12 Or if he asked for an egg, hand him a scorpion?  13 If you then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!’

Why must God give us good things?  Because, as Saint John tells us, God is love.  What is God’s nature?  His nature is love itself.  Love seeks to diffuse itself by spreading that love.  So, to not give us good things would be a denial of His very nature.  He gives us good things whether we deserve them or not because He loves us.  The first question in the Catechism is “Why did God make us?”  Because He loves us.  God gives us good things not because we pray the “right” way, or because we tithe to the Church, or because we do this, that, and the other thing.  That would be like a business deal. . .you give me this, and I’ll give you that.  He offers these gifts to us, both temporal and spiritual, to show His love for us and to draw us ever closer.  Or, if we have wandered away, to call us back and to remind those souls, including ours, that He wants us to be with Him.   

We are called to pray.  Most of us have prayed for things very hard and valiantly.   We’ve used the right words and claimed the things we have prayed for in the name of Jesus.  We have asked for the intercession of Saint Jude who is the patron saint of the impossible and the intercession of other saints who are patrons of particular causes.  But we have been disappointed because sometimes those answers have not come, and we have not gotten what we wanted.  That doesn’t mean that God has stopped loving us.  It means that He has other plans for us and that, in itself, is a gift of love.  We are called to have trust in the Lord.  Trust Him even though the answer to our immediate need, want, desire, plea, threat, is “No.”   He has something far better in mind for you or that person you have been praying for.  You must trust Him. 

Now I have been 38 years a priest, and I am not yet a monsignor.  Wait a moment while I tear up.  Sorry; I got a little misty-eyed there.  But I have been the pastor for the past 18 years of the greatest parish in the diocese.  I don’t tell anyone that because they might boot my butt out of here.  But I’ll take that trade all day long.  You have to remember that God loves us and sees more than we can see for ourselves.   Sometimes what we want is not good for us as anyone who has children knows.  The crosses He allows us to carry, He gives us for the sake of others.  God constantly offers us these gifts to keep us encouraged, to remind us of His love for us, and to draw us ever closer to Him. 

God gives us all these gifts because He loves us.  Sometimes that love is hard to see because of the gift wrapping.  Some of His gifts we never see.  We never see all the temporal and spiritual evils He protects us from.  Remember that when you thank Him at the end of the day.  So, pray.  And as Saint Augustine once said, “Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.”   God will give you the most wondrous gifts along with all the other gifts including the good stuff like apple pie and the bad stuff like Covid.  But whatever the gifts may be, they all point to His love for us.  He is love itself, and He wants us to love Him back more and more in this life. . . all of us, both good and bad.  He wants to turn them back to Him too.  He takes no delight in the death of a sinner.  That’s not why He sent His Son.  He wants to draw us ever closer to Him in this life so that we may have life with Him united in perfect love in Heaven.

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.”  Cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories”

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Sermon Notes – July 10, 2022 – “There are Heroes and Saints in Our Midst”

“There are Heroes and Saints in Our Midst”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 July 9 – 10, 2022

Gospel: Luke 10:25-37 

You’ve heard me say that if you study scripture, you need to study with a rabbi or take some Jewish courses, because you need to read scripture in the proper context.  I took two courses with a rabbi, and it was fascinating.  In today’s gospel, the priest and the Levite were clergy, and they did not take care of someone who laid hurt on the side of the road.  You know what?  They didn’t have to.  According to the law at the time, if a hurt person was on your side of the road, you had to take care of them.   However, if the hurt person was on the other side of the road, the law said that you didn’t have to help them.  So, the priest and the Levite were justified in not caring for the hurt person according to the law.   But Jesus said, “My love goes beyond the law.”  People say, “Father, I’m a good Catholic…I go to Mass every Sunday.”  Being a good Catholic goes beyond not robbing banks and not committing murder.  Okay?

We tend to see people without really seeing them.  We see them as they are now and not in the way they were.  By the way, I watch all of you.  That’s why I was a good Battalion Chaplain.  I got to know my troops, and I could look at their faces and tell if something was wrong.  Our small parish is about the size of a battalion.  At church, people tend to sit in the same seat.  And if someone happens to sit in your seat, you stand there and stare at them.  “Hey! I always sit there, and I am not moving!”  It happens all the time.  So, when you are not here, I know it.  You can’t pull a fast one on the old man. 

Over the past few Saturdays, I have noticed that someone was not here.  He was a little guy who you wouldn’t give a second look at on the street.  His name was Ray Mikol, and I always called him by his first name.  Know what his first name was?  Sergeant Major.  He earned that.  He was in the Knights of Columbus.  He spent 29 years in Uncle Sam’s Army.  Ray suffered from a heart attack and went on to his rest.  Ray was an overachiever.  He earned the award that nobody wants to get – the Purple Heart.   They usually give that one to dead people.  He got the Bronze Star for valor.  He did a couple of tours in Vietnam.  He had all these good conduct medals and a Paratrooper Badge.  That’s like a Marine getting a Good Conduct medal.  It just doesn’t happen!  A paratrooper with a Good Conduct medal flies in the face of everything I know about paratroopers.  But think of all the sacrifices he made.  He loved God, and he loved his family.   He did the right thing and sacrificed for them.  And I am sure there are a lot of soldiers who have families and grandchildren because of him and his teaching by example.   That just goes to show you there are heroes and saints in our midst. 

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.”  Cell phone: click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories”

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Sermon Notes – July 3, 2022 – “Do Whatever He Tells You”

“Do Whatever He Tells You”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 July 2 – 3, 2022

Gospel: Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

I was talking to a gentleman in the Hospice unit, and he said he had a question for me.   Are you Catholic?  I said, “Yes.”   I want to ask you about prayer.  Isn’t praying to Mary and the Saints a prayer that belongs only to God?  I said, “Yes it does, but look at the definition of ‘pray.’”  Now I’ve had the benefit of a Catholic education in English – not diction – English.  Pray means “to ask.”   Pray can mean “worship” and “adoration,” but it can also mean “to ask.”  So, we ask the Blessed Mother for her intercession.  Who got the first miracle?  Mary.  Then who better than God’s mother to ask?   I told the man that it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.  I know a lady. . . I can get things done.  He said that made a lot of sense and he was happy with my answer.  I almost said, “When you see Mary, put a good word in for me.”  But I left that thought for later. 

In the Gospel of John, there is a recounting of the wedding in Cana of Galilee.  Mary gave advice for us all which will make our lives a lot easier and our faith more fruitful.  What did she say?  “Do whatever He tells you.”   Now the disciples and apostles were jubilant when they returned from the wedding.  Who knew that Jesus, being the son of God, would tell them what to do and it would all work out?   If you go through the Gospels, you see that every time a miracle happened the apostles were surprised.  You think they would have gotten used to it!  During the three years they were with Him, He raised at least three people from the dead.  They saw Jesus as God.  He fed the 5,000.  When a storm arose which frightened the apostles, He stilled the waters.  And they were still surprised when He performed a miracle?  Did the apostles have short term memory problems? 

We are called to do what we are told because of the One who told us.  Do what you are told, and you will be surprised.  Do what you are told, and God will get results.   We are here to fallow spiritual orders.  Will it all work out?  Yes.  Will we see it?  Maybe not.  We don’t always see the results of our hard labors, sufferings, and prayers.  But God sees out of time.  Jesus said, “One sows and another reaps.”   If we do what He tells us to do, we will get what He has promised.  Act like He acted.  Become like Him.  Follow in His footsteps.   

Going back to my wonderful sermon last week, we shouldn’t try to change Jesus’ words as if He doesn’t understand what’s going on in the 21st century.   “Do You know what’s going on here?”   “You obviously aren’t getting newspapers, watching CNN, or on Facebook.”    “Come on!  You gotta change this stuff.  People are upset!”  They are always upset.  When they crucified the Savior, you think they were upset?  Yeah!  Just do what you are told.  And the great thing is, like in the military and in married life, we don’t have to like it, nor do we have to understand it.  Who has been known to whine to God?   There is a heresy and a popular one that people have spent quite a lot of money on.  It’s the catchphrase, “What would Jesus do?”  How the heck would you know?  It’s a heresy to make yourself equal to God.   Just do as you are told.  Don’t worry about it.  God is up all night, so there’s nothing to worry about.  He’s got it.  

The hardest thing to do is the submission of self.  I took three vows:  poverty, chastity, and obedience.  Which of those is the most difficult?  Obedience is the most difficult because some of us are educated beyond our abilities and always have in the back of our minds, “Yeah, but… You don’t know anything, you with the pointy hat and stick.”  We think we know the solutions.  We think we know what must be done.  But that’s not always true.  We think we know what’s good for people.  That, too, is not always true.   We judge people even though we don’t know the crosses they carry.  When my brother passed away, he was buried in his fireman’s uniform, and he had all these badges.  My sister-in-law never knew what they were.  So, I asked the fire captain what they meant.  He said that they were for a couple of lives he saved and for this and that.  He did all this stuff, and no one ever knew.  I saw a picture of my sister-in-law’s brother in his Army green uniform, and he had all these medals and ribbons.  Not bad!   I asked my sister-in-law if her brother had ever told her what they meant.  She said “no.”  I didn’t expect him to since he was a Vietnam veteran and a retired colonel.   So, I said, “You see that one there?  That’s the Distinguished Flying Cross, downgraded from the Medal of Honor.  You need to ask him about that one.”   I knew he probably would not tell her the truth, but the family needed to know this stuff.  Later on, I asked my sister-ion-law if he had told her about his medals, and she said “yes.”   I wondered if he told her the truth, because he had done some work on the dark side, and some of that information is classified.  But he told me. 

You never know the crosses people are carrying, so we don’t make judgements about them.  We just do what Jesus asks us to do.  That’s all.  In the Book of Acts, the apostles were thrown into prison, and prisons back then were a little rougher than those we have now, but what did they do?  They rejoiced because they were found worthy to suffer for His name.  They did what God wanted them to do, and that’s what He wants us to do.  When we stand before Him, He will ask, “Did you do what I asked you to do?”

How will you apply this message to your life?

Father’s Reflections. . .

  • This morning during my meditation, I remembered something from 31 years ago.  That’s not bad…at least I’m not in the Alzheimer’s unit yet.  But I remember this. . .Our unit moved back from Iraq and redeployed to Fort Bragg where I ran into General Schwarzkopf’s chaplain.  General Schwarzkopf was Commander of the Armed Forces in Iraq during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The chaplain and I were chatting, and he told me something that General Schwarzkopf had said to him right before Desert Storm.  The General was going into a meeting with his subordinate commanders or what we would call combatant commanders.  The General said, “Chaplain will you pray for me?  Tonight, I am about to send many young men and women to their deaths.”  That night he gave the order, and we went into Iraq.
  • I was doing my rounds in the Hospice unit and I saw the Hospice nurses, all female, and they were having lunch of fruit, salad, and other healthy stuff.  I went back to the office and saw Chaplain Metcalf who I’ve known for 33 years since my days in the Army.  He was also having lunch except he was eating the Sausage Lover’s pizza and drinking a big glass of Cheerwine.  He said, “Don’t tell my wife about the Cheerwine.”  And you wonder why women live longer!  

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”

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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 – June 19, 2022 – “Mom’s Apple Pie is Best!”

“Mom’s Apple Pie is Best!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 June 18 – 19, 2022

Gospel: Luke 9:11b-17

Today Holy Mother Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or the Feast of Corpus Christi.   In the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, our Lord and God, Jesus Christ, is made physically present under the veil of bread and wine.  We call that transubstantiation.  “Wow, that’s a big word!”  It’s six syllables.  I know; I learned Catholic school English.  “But it’s tough to remember.”  Well, first and second graders learn it, so how tough can it be?  “It’s hard to understand.”  No, it’s not.  You’ve all had experience with it.  “What do you mean, Father?”  For example, my mother’s apple pie was the best.  Nobody could make the same apple pie as my mother.  Granted, they all had apples, bread, dough, and whatever else goes into an apple pie.  I’m not a culinary kind of guy…I’m a real man.  They used the same ingredients, but it was different.  Now it should have tasted like the pies you can get at Harris Teeter because, as chemistry tells us, it has the same ingredients.  But it is different.  Why was that?  Because my mother’s love transformed those ordinary elements into something wonderful and unique.  You will never have that again this side of Heaven.  And gentlemen, please do not go to your spouse and say that your mother’s pie was better.  It’s different – you don’t have to say it’s better, otherwise you will get so badly hurt that you will need to seek medical treatment.  Just an offering of some marriage counseling.  But this is what happens here.  We experience it all the time.  Christ changes the essence of ordinary elements into His love which Himself.   If our mothers can do it with their apple pies, why can’t Christ do it? 

The priest takes the place of Christ and makes present the Sacrifice which is before the Father in Heaven.  We become one with the Sacrifice in the Offertory when the priest takes your human natures and makes them one with Christ on the altar.  Christ received His human nature from the Blessed Mother, and He suffered, died, and was redeemed with it.  From the Cross, He took the human natures of Saint John, Mary Magdalene, and Mary of Clopas.   He took their human natures and united their suffering with Himself.  He takes your human nature and unites it with His suffering always before God and present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  This is our faith.  The central doctrine is that God is with us.  God is physically here and not in the ethereal sense.  That’s why the Blessed Sacrament is kept in the middle of the church.  The Blessed Sacrament is central to everything, and everything points to it.  We are surrounded by the best way to have a foretaste of Heaven. 

Over the years, you have made this church something really beautiful.  People who come and visit here always remark about how beautiful it is, and that’s because of your love.  Your love for God is expressed in the beauty that is present in testimony of what is here – not what is here – but Who is here.  You make a profession of faith every time you receive Holy Communion.  Like the apostles at the Last Supper in the Upper Room, you receive from the hands of the priest, who is acting in the person of Christ, Christ Himself.  When you are given Holy Communion, I say “Body of Christ.”  This gift is so sublime that Paul said there are rules about it.  These are not exclusionary rules.  Our Lord had rules about it… this greatest act of love.  In order to receive this gift, we must show our greatest act of love by a total renunciation of ourselves and sin. 

This is our faith, and we are transformed by it.  I had a quinceañera which is a Mexican event for 15-year-old girls.  The girls wear dresses similar to those in “Gone with The Wind,” and I always ask them, “How do you sit down?”   Of course, that’s a mystery I’m not meant to understand on this side of Heaven.   I tell these girls to be holy and they will have a joy that no one can take from them.  Always be united with our Lord in the Sacraments of Holy Communion and Confession as Saint John Paul II said.  Those are the Sacraments of the Most Precious Body and Blood.  Then you will have a joy that nobody can take.  We can lose that joy only through sin.  So, we are the makers of our own misery.  You will be transformed.  When you leave here you become your own ciborium which is the covered chalice that contains the Blessed Sacrament.  You bring God to other people from within yourself.  When Saint Therese of Lisieux was too young to receive Holy Communion, after her mother received Communion and returned to the pew, Saint Therese would put her head in her mother’s lap because Jesus was there.  You can bring that love.  It’s a personal choice, but do what you can

This is our Faith…our wondrous Faith.  If you are in a state of grace, you can receive Communion every time you go to the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  What a wonderful gift.  The Lord remembers every gift.  How can we surprise our Lord when we receive His gift?   By saying “thank you.”  Remember the lepers He cured and how many of them thanked Him?

How will you apply this message to your life? __________________________________

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Father’s Reflections. . .

It’s Fathers’ Day, and during my morning meditation it occurred to me that the greatest lessons my father taught me were never spoken. 

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