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Ascension Presents – When You Don’t Understand the Bible

Have you ever read the Bible and thought to yourself, “wait… what?”

Oftentimes in Christian media we see what Fr. Mike dubs a “Hallmark” version of following Christ. There’s struggle and hardship, but then God’s grace comes in and cures everything, making everything nearly perfect for the characters in the story. While these types of stories make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, they’re not very realistic. And while God’s grace is essential, it’s not a magic wand that makes everything bad go away.

There are some stories in the Bible that at first glance appear dark, difficult, or just don’t make sense. Even some of the things Christ says to his followers can sound harsh or even scandalous at times. But it’s in these moments of confusion and concern that God wants to teach us something.

This was something that St. Augustine struggled with before his conversion. It wasn’t until after he had accepted the faith and began to intentionally practice it that he realized it’s not God’s word that’s wrong, it’s our interpretation of it. He gives us 7 things to do when trying to understand a passage we’re unsure of:

1. Read the text in the original language. Or, if you’re not a scholar of Greek or Latin (more than likely), at least realize that a lot can be lost in translation, like idioms and turns of phrase, or context and foreign references.
2. Try different biblical translations and see how they compare.
3. Weigh what you’re reading with all of scripture (it’s ALL connected!)
4. Be humble and accept that you don’t know everything needed to fully understand God’s word (and that’s okay).
5. Sacred tradition always trumps our own interpretations.
6. Don’t take figurative language literally.
7. Don’t universalize a parable to be relevant for all situations in life.

The Bible wasn’t written by Hallmark. It was inspired by God. Hallmark is meant to help you escape reality. The Bible is meant to help you get back in touch with reality. There’s going to be brokenness, and sin, and unhappy endings, but there will also be real grace that transforms those hardships into strength, and it has the power to change your life.

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Sermon Notes – October 31, 2021 – Follow Directions!

 “Follow Directions!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 October 30 – 31, 2021

Gospel: Mark 12:28-34 

One thing about theology, it is a precise science.  Our Lord was precise.  He gave our first parents instructions in a 12-word declarative sentence:  “You shall not eat from the Tree of Good and Evil.”  They screwed it up, and here we are.  Really?  It was twelve words in a declarative sentence about how to maintain the original state of grace.  Our Lord reiterates what His Father revealed in the Old Testament about how we should love God with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind.  He also said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”   But the devil clouds our minds, especially of those who are educated way beyond their abilities. “What does that mean?”  “How can we do this?”  “We better check the nuances of that.”  “Well, that was 2000 years ago, and now this word means something else.”  No.  It really means what it says.  “It means this now because we are all enlightened.”  No, that’s just a temptation of the devil.  We want to be like God and make up our own rules.  When you get to Judgement, let me know how that goes for you.  

Our Lord did not say, “Work it out for yourselves, and whatever you come up with is good.” No.  He was very precise in how He told us to do it because He knew we would mess up.  Follow the Commandments.  By the way, a person’s conscience does not triumph over Divine Mandate or Church teachings.  “My conscience told me it was okay to do this.”  If you go down the street about a half mile and take a left at the courthouse, behind it is a big building full of people whose conscience told them it was okay to do whatever they did.  Also, if you drive down Airport Road to Felon University, there’s a whole bunch of people there who will say, “God told me it was okay to put a bullet in that guy’s head.”  No.  Conscience does not trump Divine Revelation.  The apostles had been in the presence of God for years and saw all those miracles, but every time He asked them a question, they got it wrong. 

Our Lord was precise.  Let’s say that you are traveling, and you think the Mass is at 8:30 at Our Lady of Perpetual Agony down the street.  You get ready and go, but they moved the Mass to 7:30.  Are you guilty of missing Mass on Sunday?  No, because you tried. Are you guilty of missing Mass if you got your days mixed up and thought November 2nd was a Holy Day when it was actually on November 1st?  No, you’re not.  But, when you give the Church the big humph, well then you have a problem.  God tells us exactly how to love.  He knew we would mess it up because of our fallen nature.  We are supposed to try to return to the original state of grace by living a life of holiness, and we can by doing what He told us to do.  

 “What would Jesus do?”  Jesus told us precisely what to do.  If we do what He said to do, we will get what He has promised.  Two weeks ago, I went to see my cardiologist.  It was a great appointment because he never put on a glove.  One glove is bad enough, but when they double-glove, be very afraid. . .it might get mildly invasive.  “Now this is going to hurt a bit.”  No it’s not.  It’s going to hurt a heck of a lot!  It’s not a thrill for anybody on the other side of the glove either…trust me on this one.  I saw a doctor give a patient a rabies shot in the finger. Wherever you are bitten, that’s where you get the shot now. This guy was a Vietnam Vet, and he was no sissy boy.  The doctor said, “Now this is going to hurt.” The guy was sitting in a chair, and he grabbed both chair arms while nurses held him down by his shoulders.  After the shot, he decided to relax a while on a gurney. Afterward, I was talking to the doctor, and he said, “Oh, it’s going hurt worse tomorrow.”  Who are you, Joseph Mengela?  Anyway, my cardiologist said that my blood work is fine.  I’m normal – at least my blood is.  I’ve been keeping records from when I started this heart regime two years ago after my brother’s death.  There is improvement because I did what I was told to do.  Did I always like it?  I’ll let you be the judge.  When I go out to breakfast with the staff, they have French toast and bacon while I have fake eggs and dry wheat toast. What do you think?  To make matters worse, they go on and on about how good their food is.  Stuff it!  I’m not brave enough to tell them, but that’s what I’m thinking. Still, I did what my doctor told me to do, and I have scientific evidence that my health has improved.  However, it just means I’m going to die of something else. 

Our Lord showed us exactly what we should do.  Love your enemies and pray for them. Sometimes, the most loving thing to do is not the thing we want to do.  We all have someone who irks us and who we just cannot stand.  I am not immune even as a priest.  Am I supposed to forgive them?  Yes, even though sometimes I’d like to go charismatic and lay hands on them. Forgiveness is an act of intellectual love. . . an act of faith.  What are we supposed to do?  We are supposed to pray for them.  Pray for good for them. . .and not to have an aneurism.  Pray for their conversion.  Pray that God will lay hands on them and not from the Joe Cutrone School of Counselling. 

Our Lord left us precise ways to show our love for Him and precise ways to show that love in action. What did our Lord tell us about forgiveness?  He gave us an example of what that love is in the parable of the prodigal son.  In the parable, the father didn’t wait for his son to grovel.  He ran out to meet his son, put his arms around him, and kissed him on the cheek.  He even had a celebration for him.  Likewise, our Lord went out after sinners.  He went to sick people like the blind man and healed them.  He didn’t ask if they wanted to be healed; He healed them anyway.  We are supposed to do that for those who hate us, for those who don’t love us, and for those who are unkind to us.  He told us to love one another, and this is how we are to demonstrate our love.  He showed us exactly what to do even to the point of the Cross.

How will you apply this message to your life? 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://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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Sermon Notes – October 24, 2021 – “There’s Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself”

 “There’s Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 23 – 24, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 10:46-52

I was having my car washed the other day because I’m lazy and old.  I always go to the same place, and while I was at the carwash, I saw one of the workers who I’ve met a few times.  The man said, “Hmmm…you served in the Army?”  Yes.  “You were in the 101st Airborne?”  Yes, for about three years. . . He must have seen the 101st sticker on my car.  The man said, “I saw a movie about them when they were in Vietnam.  I couldn’t do what they did.”  Well, they weren’t Superman; they were just boys from the neighborhood.  However, we had been convinced that we were Superman, and we certainly acted like it with a big red “S” on our chest and thinking we could do anything.  I wanted to ask the man at the carwash who had told him that he couldn’t do it.  I mean, I’m not Schwarzenegger, and I made it.  So, who told you that you couldn’t do it? 

It was the same thing that told our first parents they were naked.  God asked Adam and Eve, “Who told you that you were naked?”   Why did God create us?  What’s the first question in the old Catechism?  By the way, the Catechism is the best teaching tool we have in the Church.  God made us because He loves us and so that we can be with Him forever.  He is always calling us to everlasting life.  The Gospel tells us, “Go to Him.  He is calling you.”  Our Lord calls us to Him. Bartimaeus did not take time to think about his fears, and even though he was blind, he went to Jesus.  Which is interesting because it doesn’t say that somebody helped him…he just ran to Jesus.  Ask a blind man to go somewhere without help.  But he did.  It is possible.  So, don’t say, “I can’t do it.” 

Our Lord calls us to holiness.  And what is holiness?  It’s a return to our original state.  The original state of man and the state we are called to is not sin.  The original state of man and the one that Jesus wants to transform us to is the state of Adam and Eve before the fall.  It was the state of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  They were truly human.  It is sin that makes us less than human.  Sin was never supposed to be in our souls. 

The saints prove it is possible to return to holiness. . .to strive for holiness and to achieve the greatest amount of holiness we can in this life and perfection in the next.  The saints prove it is possible, and they were just like us.  They weren’t supermen or superwomen.  They were just like us, but they took advantage of the graces that God offers.  God calls us, no matter our state or vocation, to offer us the grace we need to return to holiness.  He doesn’t ask us to do the impossible. He offers us the necessary grace to do it, but we must reach out and take that grace and cooperate with it. 

Each time we come to Mass and receive Holy Communion or go to Confession, we grow in faith, hope, and charity which are what we call the Theological or infused virtues.  We do not get them by prayer or works.  They are infused in us through worthy reception of the Sacraments and are activated by works and prayer.  Go to Mass.  Go to Confession.  Acquired virtues you get by doing works.  Acquired and Theological virtues give us the power to turn away from sin and live for God.  Use the virtues you have.  An example is the virtue of music that Frankie has by reading that coded musical language that nobody understands.  She has the gift of being able to play the organ and piano so well, but if she stops playing, she will lose the gift.  We must exercise our gifts…we have to use them.  When you do, don’t be afraid by the lack of results or reception. We are doing it for God Himself.  Do not fear.  He is calling you.  Run to Him.

We take counsel of our fears, and we should never do that because fear is always a lie.  The worse thing I ever lived through never happened.  We are afraid we might lose something, that it will be too hard, that we can’t do it, or that we won’t have any fun.  Anybody can do brain surgery if you are willing to go to medical school.  Take it one step at a time.  You won’t be asked to do brain surgery on the first day.  You’ll have to wait six or seven years before you can.  Do not be afraid. The Master is calling you.  He is calling us to share in the blessings and joys of heaven. “Does He know all my faults?”  Yeah, I’m pretty sure He does.  “Does He know I’m not perfect?”  Yeah, I’m pretty sure He knows that too.  He wants to help make you perfect.  We become perfect in heaven.  We progress each day taking up our cross and following Him. . . Each day by bearing our sufferings. . .Each day by asking for the grace we need to carry our cross. 

Remember the spiritual lie: “Oh I’m good…my relationship is good.”   Did you know that’s the worse spot to be in?  You have too much confidence in yourself, and that’s when you should be very afraid.  Self-satisfaction is saying, “I’m fine just the way I am.”  The good Lord will say, “Fine.” Come back when you’re not.”  Grow ever closer to Him.  We have nothing to fear.  Get up and go to Him.  In our fallen state, just like Bartimaeus, we will be restored to the way we are supposed to be.  So, in the words of Gospel, “You have nothing to fear from Him.  Get up.  He is calling you.” 

Father’s Afterthoughts:
I don’t recommend anyone imitating my style.  It is particular.  I give some people nicknames like “Face” that just come to me.  I really should up my meds.  On Friday I was up at the VA.  I knocked on a patient’s door and called out to him.  The patient, Tommy, had been asleep and grumbled as he was trying to wake up.  So, in my most commanding voice, I said “On your feet soldier!!”  That got Tommy’s mind right.  It snapped him right back to the old days.  With other patients, you can’t do that, but with Tommy I can.  You know Congress made me an officer and a gentleman?  Never, ever trust those people!  

How will you apply this message to your life? 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://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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Sermon Notes – October 10 – “Because I Like Skittles”

“Because I Like Skittles”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 October 9 – 10, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 10:17-30

One day when I was at Fort Campbell, I went into the First Sergeant’s office to say, “good morning.”   The First Sergeant said, “Good morning.  Hey Sir, you know your chaplain’s assistant is graduating from air assault school.  His road march is on Friday.”   Oh, goodie!  Thanks for reminding me.  I appreciate it!   I left his office, but I didn’t appreciate it.  It meant that on Friday at 0-dark-30, I would be out there for graduation and the final test:  a 12-mile march in full field gear through gently rolling hills similar to the Alps.  The custom at Fort Campbell and the 101st is that if there is one person in your section doing push-ups or a road march, you all do it.  The only saving grace is that I didn’t have to wear the field gear.  Oh, there is nothing I’d rather do first thing in the morning than go on a 12-mile march at 44 years old.  Thank you, First Sergeant!  I probably could have gotten out of it, but I sucked it up and went anyway.  I was looking forward to the relaxation and being one with Mother Nature.   Um…No.   I would be running with children who basically had to run all the time.  Why did we do it?  We sacrificed to build and reinforce the bond of trust we have with our fellow soldiers…the band of brothers.  Is it pleasant?  Oh, heck no!  But it was the right thing to do.  They are works of love.  The bond with your fellow soldier is that he would die for you and you for him.  Works of love don’t always have to be enjoyed.  Why do we perform works of love?  We do them because it pleases the beloved. 

Our Lord said, “If you love Me keep my Commandments.”  Nowhere did our Lord say, “if you would like to” or “if it’s convenient” or “if you aren’t too busy” or “if you’re in the mood.”  He never said those things.  He said, “If you love Me keep my Commandments.”  The Commandments are not just draconian measures that our Lord has given us to ruin our fun.  The works of love teach us how to go outside of ourselves, to renounce our fallen nature, and to do something for Him.  It may manifest itself in someone or through someone else.  Everything we do with love; we do for Christ.  Doing works of love is not always pleasant.  Do you know why some people find the works of love unpleasant?  Because we are too much in love with ourselves.  The works of love are always focused on the beloved and not on self.   The Gift of the Magi is a short love story written by O. Henry.   Love is always focused on the other, and when we find the works of love inconvenient, unpleasant, or distasteful, that is the time we grow most in love by dying to ourselves and living more for our good Lord.  “Father, I had a game and couldn’t come to Mass.”  Really?  Saint Augustine wrote that “if there is any work involved in love, the work itself is love.”  And that is true.  The young man who approached our good Lord was unwilling to leave everything and follow Him.  Our Lord was testing him.  How much do you love Me?  The young man kept the Commandments and that was wonderful; however, he did not learn the lesson from them.  What is the lesson from the Ten Commandments?   It is total renunciation of oneself to the Beloved.   That’s the lesson.  Go sell everything you have.  Give to the poor.  Your possessions are a representation of yourself.  Give everything you have into service for our good Lord to use as He sees fit.  All the fruits of your talents and labors when used to support your family are works of justice and love.  So don’t feel bad about that.   People say you cannot earn a lot of money from the job you’ve worked at for 30 or 40 years.  You can’t enjoy it because you didn’t earn it.  It’s a work of justice and moral obligation to support yourself and your family and ultimately to pay taxes.  Put yourself and all your talents and abilities in God’s hands.  Renounce yourself and give yourself to Him.  The young man did not see that.  Hopefully, he eventually got it right. 

You’ve heard the phrase “follow the science.”  Who says that?  People who want you to follow their version of “science.”  You know what the science is for people recovering from any addiction?  No matter how much medicine is involved, make sure they come back from Opioids, Meth, or booze, and that they don’t die from detox.  That’s a big drawback.  In all the twelve-step programs, what’s the key to renewal and freedom from addictions and obsessions?  It begins with Step 1 which is perhaps the most important step – admitting that we are powerless.  The final step is to have a spiritual awakening.  There is a Seventh Step prayer…I’ll let you look that up too.  It’s a prayer of total renunciation.  In all the groups that started these types of programs what was the first prayer?  It wasn’t the “Our Father” but the “Peace Prayer” by Saint Francis.  “Lord make me an instrument of Your peace.  Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” That’s a renunciation of self.  Take me and use me as you will with all my talents especially where it is most helpful for people who know my faults.  It’s through your faults that shows people what God has done for you and the mercy he has shown to us all.  We do works of love not for ourselves because it pleases us…that’s selfishness.   The Commandments aren’t legal checkmarks you have to do like driving the speed limit when the police are around.  The Commandments are works of love.  They teach us renunciation of self. They are only burdensome when we want what we want when we want it, or we find them to be inconvenient because we love ourselves more.  They are not always convenient.  They are not always pleasant.  I’m sure changing diapers is not always pleasant.  I’ve been in hospitals.  Believe me, there are far worse smells in a hospital than in a diaper.  Trust me on this one.   Sometimes I leave patients’ rooms and have Skittles.  Know why I have Skittles?  Because I like Skittles. 

We all have fallen natures.  Just this morning I was here, long before you, saying my prayers.  And I really wanted some coffee.  I mean I REALLY wanted coffee.  The coffee had already been brewed.  But what was more important… my cup of coffee or my prayers?   You know the answer, but darn it, I wanted some coffee.  Today, the good side of my nature won, but it’s always a fight.  So, when difficulties come, always remember Who the works of love are for.

Father’s Afterthoughts:

·       I want to thank the Daughters of Mary for the marvelous meal they provided after the funeral Mass  for Elaine Gibbs.  The funeral luncheons they do is something to die for.  

·         When I was in the Army, I always loved those eight mile runs in the rain.  It was so refreshing and cleansing.  Thank you, sir.  Could you make this suck any more?

How will you apply this message to your life? 


You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://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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Saint of the Day – October 17 – Saint Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila (1515–1582), also known as St. Teresa of Jesus, was born in Spain to a large, devout, and prominent Catholic family. Fascinated with the lives of the saints taught to her by her pious parents, as children she and a brother tried to run away from home to seek martyrdom among the Moors. After an uncle found them and returned them home, they built hermitages for themselves in the family garden. At the age of 14 Teresa was plunged into sorrow upon the death of her mother; to find consolation she asked the Virgin Mary to be her new mother. When she began to exhibit worldly vanities, her father placed her in a convent to be educated with other ladies of her social class. Determined to avoid marriage, and motivated more by the need for security than love for God, at the age of twenty Teresa entered religious life as a Carmelite nun. For two decades she led what she describes as a mediocre prayer life, hindered by too much socialization with visitors. However, an intense prayer experience in her forties helped her to renounce worldly attachments and enter deeper into a life of prayer. She advanced rapidly and taught others to do the same, being encouraged by a vision of the place reserved for her in hell if she was unfaithful to God’s graces. She had many profound mystical experiences for which she was often slandered and ridiculed. After the reform of her own life she worked hard to reform the laxity of many Carmelite convents, and was successful even while being greatly opposed in her efforts. She was a strong and important female figure of her era, and her great progress in the spiritual life led her to write the spiritual classics Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection. For these works St. Teresa of Avila was named the first female Doctor of the Church. Her feast day is October 15th.

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Saint of the Day – October 6, 2021 – Saint Bruno

(C. 1030 – OCTOBER 6, 1101)
Saint Bruno’s Story

This saint has the honor of having founded a religious order which, as the saying goes, has never had to be reformed because it was never deformed. No doubt both the founder and the members would reject such high praise, but it is an indication of the saint’s intense love of a penitential life in solitude.

Bruno was born in Cologne, Germany, became a famous teacher at Rheims, and was appointed chancellor of the archdiocese at the age of 45. He supported Pope Gregory VII in his fight against the decadence of the clergy, and took part in the removal of his own scandalous archbishop, Manasses. Bruno suffered the plundering of his house for his pains.

He had a dream of living in solitude and prayer, and persuaded a few friends to join him in a hermitage. After a while he felt the place unsuitable and through a friend, was given some land which was to become famous for his foundation “in the Chartreuse”—from which comes the word Carthusians. The climate, desert, mountainous terrain, and inaccessibility guaranteed silence, poverty, and small numbers.

Bruno and his friends built an oratory with small individual cells at a distance from each other. They met for Matins and Vespers each day and spent the rest of the time in solitude, eating together only on great feasts. Their chief work was copying manuscripts.

Hearing of Bruno’s holiness, the pope called for his assistance in Rome. When the pope had to flee Rome, Bruno pulled up stakes again, and after refusing a bishopric, spent his last years in the wilderness of Calabria.

Bruno was never formally canonized, because the Carthusians were averse to all occasions of publicity. However, Pope Clement X extended his feast to the whole Church in 1674.

Reflection

If there is always a certain uneasy questioning of the contemplative life, there is an even greater puzzlement about the extremely penitential combination of community and hermit life lived by the Carthusians. May we mirror Bruno’s quest for holiness and unity with God.

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – October 4, 2021 – Saint Francis of Assisi

(1181 OR 1182 – OCTOBER 3, 1226)
Saint Francis of Assisi’s Story

The patron saint of Italy, Francis of Assisi was a poor little man who astounded and inspired the Church by taking the gospel literally—not in a narrow fundamentalist sense, but by actually following all that Jesus said and did, joyfully, without limit, and without a sense of self-importance.

Serious illness brought the young Francis to see the emptiness of his frolicking life as leader of Assisi’s youth. Prayer—lengthy and difficult—led him to a self-emptying like that of Christ, climaxed by embracing a leper he met on the road. It symbolized his complete obedience to what he had heard in prayer: “Francis! Everything you have loved and desired in the flesh it is your duty to despise and hate, if you wish to know my will. And when you have begun this, all that now seems sweet and lovely to you will become intolerable and bitter, but all that you used to avoid will turn itself to great sweetness and exceeding joy.”

From the cross in the neglected field-chapel of San Damiano, Christ told him, “Francis, go out and build up my house, for it is nearly falling down.” Francis became the totally poor and humble workman.

He must have suspected a deeper meaning to “build up my house.” But he would have been content to be for the rest of his life the poor “nothing” man actually putting brick on brick in abandoned chapels. He gave up all his possessions, piling even his clothes before his earthly father—who was demanding restitution for Francis’ “gifts” to the poor—so that he would be totally free to say, “Our Father in heaven.” He was, for a time, considered to be a religious fanatic, begging from door to door when he could not get money for his work, evoking sadness or disgust to the hearts of his former friends, ridicule from the unthinking.

But genuineness will tell. A few people began to realize that this man was actually trying to be Christian. He really believed what Jesus said: “Announce the kingdom! Possess no gold or silver or copper in your purses, no traveling bag, no sandals, no staff” (Luke 9:1-3).

Francis’ first rule for his followers was a collection of texts from the Gospels. He had no intention of founding an order, but once it began he protected it and accepted all the legal structures needed to support it. His devotion and loyalty to the Church were absolute and highly exemplary at a time when various movements of reform tended to break the Church’s unity.

Francis was torn between a life devoted entirely to prayer and a life of active preaching of the Good News. He decided in favor of the latter, but always returned to solitude when he could. He wanted to be a missionary in Syria or in Africa, but was prevented by shipwreck and illness in both cases. He did try to convert the sultan of Egypt during the Fifth Crusade.

During the last years of his relatively short life, he died at 44, Francis was half blind and seriously ill. Two years before his death he received the stigmata, the real and painful wounds of Christ in his hands, feet and side.

On his deathbed, Francis said over and over again the last addition to his Canticle of the Sun, “Be praised, O Lord, for our Sister Death.” He sang Psalm 141, and at the end asked his superior’s permission to have his clothes removed when the last hour came in order that he could expire lying naked on the earth, in imitation of his Lord.

Reflection

Francis of Assisi was poor only that he might be Christ-like. He recognized creation as another manifestation of the beauty of God. In 1979, he was named patron of ecology. He did great penance—apologizing to “Brother Body” later in life—that he might be totally disciplined for the will of God. Francis’ poverty had a sister, Humility, by which he meant total dependence on the good God. But all this was, as it were, preliminary to the heart of his spirituality: living the gospel life, summed up in the charity of Jesus and perfectly expressed in the Eucharist.

Saint Francis of Assisi is the Patron Saint of:

Animals
Archaeologists
Ecology
Italy
Merchants
Messengers
Metal Workers

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – September 3, 2021 – Saint Theodore Guerin

St. Theodore Guerin (1798–1856), also known as St. Theodora, was born in Etables, France, towards the end of the French Revolution. She was a pious child who loved prayer and who knew her vocation was to be a nun. However, she was delayed in following this path after the murder of her father when she was 15, which, in addition to the previous death of two of her siblings, sent her mother into a deep depression. St. Theodore took on the household tasks and the care of her mother and her remaining sister. Finally, when she was 25, her mother gave her consent, and Theodore left home to enter the religious life. She joined the Sisters of Providence who served God by educating children and caring for the poor, the sick, and the dying. In 1840 she was asked to lead a band of missionary sisters and establish her order in the United States of America, specifically to serve the pioneers in Indiana. Even though her health was fragile, she crossed the Atlantic and then traveled by steamboat and stagecoach until she reached the wilderness mission of St. Mary of the Woods, which consisted only of a tiny log chapel. She and her five sisters endured the extreme hardships common to life on the frontier. Less than a year after arriving she opened an academy which became the first Catholic women’s Liberal Arts college in the United States, still active today, called St. Mary of the Woods College. St. Theodore also established numerous schools, pharmacies, and orphanages throughout the state of Indiana. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II and canonized in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is October 3rd.

//Catholic Company//

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Sermon Notes – September 25-26, 2021 – None of Us are Getting Out of Here Alive

“None of Us are Getting Out of Here Alive”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 September 25 – 26, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 9:38-43, 45, 47-48

I want to tell you about my evil twin brother, Paul.  While I was on vacation, I went to the local diner where it’s like Cheers with food, and everyone knows your name.  If you are a regular, you pour your own coffee and bus your own table.  The owner told me that my brother was the happiest when he could do something for someone else.  That was very nice to hear. 

I have good news and bad news for you today.  The good news is about the latest that I have read about Covid.  It’s 99.5% survivable.  Now, that’s really good news!  The bad news is that life is 0.0% survivable.  None of us are getting out of here alive.  One day the doctor is going to tell us that our birth certificate has been canceled.  When I was in Gitmo, I was outside the hooch one night with Father Seamus, a Norbertine father, while he was having a cigar.  This Air Force doctor walked by and said, “You know, Padre, that’s going to kill you.”  Father Seamus took a drag on his cigar and said, “And what are you planning on dying of doctor?”  We are called in the 5th Commandment to take all moral and prudent means to protect our health. 

We are also called to prepare ourselves to meet Christ and to grow daily in holiness.  This dispels the fear that the devil creates about our passing whenever that will be.  Sometimes it will be like Dorothy Strube at age 96, and sometimes it will be much sooner.  There was an announcement in the obituaries about a gentleman who was 46 when he passed away.  We don’t know when it will happen, but constant communion with Him in this life will make us happier and make those around us happier.  It will dispel the fear of transitioning from this life to the next…hopefully to heaven, if you do it right.

I read about this one man who committed murder in France and who was sentenced to death. His conversion in prison was so great and so amazing, that he was nominated for sainthood for being a servant of God.  He did go to the block…the French took their heads off in those days.  So, he was executed, but he was nominated for sainthood for such was his transition even in that small window.  My point is this: Why wait for that small window? 

We are called to grow closer to God.  Drawing close to Him will provide peace for our souls.  That moment of death will not be tragic.  Instead, it will be a fulfillment of our love.  Two hearts who love each other so tenderly will be together for all of eternity and never separated by sin.  I say that to the dying.  I say, “Make your peace with God and go meet your savior.  You will never lose Him again.”  That’s where we are all headed…to have peace so that we can become holy. 

Do not let your crosses, whatever they may be or how many you may have, cause you to think you aren’t doing something right.  “If I were doing it right, my crosses would be much lighter, and I wouldn’t fall so often.”  All of that is “bravo sierra” from the devil.  Saint Teresa of Avila said, “If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few.”  Conversely, the more crosses you seem to have, the greater the love Christ has for you.  So, carry your cross, if not for yourself, for others and drawing them to salvation and away from the suffering of the world.  The devil uses many things – he is the father of lies – and he may make you think you are not drawing closer to God when, in fact, you are.  Be prudent about your health in all things.  Also, realize that no matter how many things there are to triumph over, there will be a moment when God will call you from this life to another.  And, He will ask you, “Did you love Me?”

How will you apply this message to your life?  Are you taking all moral and prudent means to protect your health as we are asked to do in the 5th Commandment?  Are you preparing to meet Christ by growing in holiness?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to 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).  Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by Googling “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”

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Saint of the Day – September 29 – Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels

The Archangels St. Gabriel, St. Michael, and St. Raphael share a feast day on September 29th. These are the only three angels mentioned by name in Sacred Scripture.

St. Gabriel means “Power of God.” He is the messenger or herald angel most famous for appearing to the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation (Luke 1:11-38).

St. Michael means “Who is like God?” He is the warrior angel, the famous foe of Satan, who is the champion of God’s people and guardian and protector of the Church (Rev. 12:7-9).

St. Raphael means “God has healed.” He is a companion and healing angel, most famous for curing a man’s blindness and for traveling with Tobiah in the book of Tobit (Tob. 12).

//Catholic Company//