Blog

 “The Temptations”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 March 12 – 13, 2022

Gospel: Luke 9:28-36

Pop quiz:  Do you know what hypostatic union is?  I didn’t think so.  Hypostatic union is the union of the two natures in Christ.  Christ is one “Who” or one person and two “What’s.”  We, however, have just one “what.”  Our nature is human, and it’s the only one we have.  Christ has two natures – one that is human and one that is divine.  The human nature He took from the Blessed Mother was assumed and lost in His divine nature.  That’s why in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, when I’m preparing the gift, you see me pour wine into the chalice and then one drop of water.   That blood and water is a symbol of His human nature being assumed and lost into the divine nature of Christ.  If that drop of water is not in there, it is not the proper matter, and the chalice cannot be transubstantiated, i.e., it cannot change into the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.  For the Sacrament to be valid, there must be proper matter and form.  The proper matter consists of the wine and the drop of water.  The proper form is to say the words that Christ said.  If one of those two things is missing, the Sacrament is invalid. 

Sometimes people complain that they no longer get the wine.  Well, you never got the wine.  When it was possible, and only in this country did it happen and probably won’t happen ever again, you were offered the Most Precious Blood of Christ.  You were not offered the consecrated wine.   You were offered the wine with water that had been transubstantiated or changed into the Most Precious Blood of our Savior.  Anything else would be blasphemous.  Priests were trained, unless they were sick during that time, to say the correct words.  People have an appreciation for that because anything else would be blasphemous.  Blasphemy is holding something sacred up for mockery or ridicule.  During the transfiguration, our Good Lord exposed and made present to the three apostles His true nature in Christ.  He lowered the veil of His humanity so that they could see some of His divinity.  They could see on Earth what will happen in Heaven, and so can we.  If you have any doubts about getting to Heaven, come see me and I’ll help you out.  It’s my job.   

Moses and Elijah were talking to God face-to-face as one man talks to another.  There was no knowledge gap because, like God’s presence, Heaven is the eternal now.  God has no time.  They talked about the events about to happen in 10 days.  So, how did Peter, James, and John know who Moses and Elijah were?   Of course, Christ may have called them by name.  But they were also enlightened and could see.  It was a gift.  One of the great miracles was the manifestation God when the apostles heard His voice, “This is my Son, the Chosen One.”  It was no coincidence that this miracle occurred 10 days before the Passion.  It was to prepare them for the scandal of the Passion.  Our good Lord comes and gives us consolations although not as often as we would like them.   He comforts us when we need it . . . sometimes before a great tribulation and sometimes afterward.    I don’t get consolations as often as I would like.  Maybe you do, but I don’t.  I’m a real whiner in prayer.  I don’t normally admit that in public, however I just did. 

What happens after He gives us His consolation?  The great temptation of the devil: “You are not doing something right, so God is allowing this to happen.”  “He is punishing you.”  “He withdrew Himself from you; therefore, you are bad.”  And none of that is true.   It’s the great lie of the devil.  “If you prayed right, God would be with you all the time.”  No.  If you thought God was elevating you all the time, you’d be in a mental hospital.  It’s not true.  We do not constantly live in God’s consolation like what Peter, James, and John experienced.   But we do have the consolation that He is always present to us.  So, God will come to us every now and then, not as often as we want, but more often than we think.  He comes to us to show His love.  He loves us not because we’ve said the right word or combination of words in prayer.   No.  God comes and consoles us because He loves us.  God comes to even the most hardened sinner.  Why?  Because He loves them too.  His Son died on the cross for them too.  God wants them to turn around and embrace Him.  He did not make them to be condemned to hell.  He made them, and all of us, so that we could know Him and love Him. 

If you want more heavenly consolations, the tangible and non-blasphemous ones, pray for them.  It couldn’t hurt.  You can pray for anything you want; just don’t be discouraged if you don’t get it.  But keep praying.  I’m still not a Monsignor after 38 years in the priesthood, and I haven’t given up.  I’ll be writing my Christmas card to the bishop on the back of a $100 bill.  It’s the Rhode Island way.

Keep praying but be careful about the temptations of satan.  Pray even if you don’t feel it.  Feelings are so fickle and are not a basis of spiritual life.  People say, “I don’t feel consoled” and “I don’t feel this or that.”   I don’t care what you feel.  Feelings are not reality.  Reality is that God is always with us.  Where else is God supposed to be other than with us?   “I feel alone.”  That’s a temptation.  Where is your guardian angel?  Your guardian angel is always with you.  The Church is always praying for you.  So, you are not alone.  You are not unprayed for, and you are not unloved.  That is another great temptation and an easy one for us to fall into because like Peter, James, and John, we want our heaven here on Earth. 

Do not be discouraged if you don’t receive the consolations that you think you should have.  It doesn’t mean you are bad.  It doesn’t mean you are praying wrong.  It doesn’t mean you have to give more to the church although that would be a good thing. . . you should do it anyway.  Just saying!   Right after Communion is the best time to receive certain gifts.  We need and appreciate them.  Remember when your parents let you walk to school all by yourself?  You didn’t know that half the neighborhood was watching as you walked to school.  You didn’t see the trooper behind the tree watching all the kids as they walked to school.  You thought you were so grown up, right?  No!  The neighbors and the state troopers made sure you were safe and got to school okay.  So do not be discouraged with your passions.  Do not be discouraged with your ordinary walk in life or think that God is not with you.  Because that is a lie.

How will you apply this message to your life? 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to http://AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”   Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by searching for “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle” 

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