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“Would You Rather Have a Colonoscopy?”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 October 1 – 2, 2022

Gospel:  Luke 17:5-10

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’  ⁶ The Lord replied, ‘If you had faith like a mustard seed you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.  ⁷ ‘Which of you, with a servant ploughing or minding sheep, would say to him when he returned from the fields, “Come and have your meal at once”?  ⁸ Would he not be more likely to say, “Get my supper ready; fasten your belt and wait on me while I eat and drink. You yourself can eat and drink afterwards”?  ⁹ Must he be grateful to the servant for doing what he was told?  ¹⁰ So with you: when you have done all you have been told to do, say, “We are useless servants: we have done no more than our duty.” ‘

As a priest I hear a lot of things, and some are more interesting than others.  I’ve heard this many times when I ask people why they don’t go to church: “When I was young, I went to church all the time.  I prayed all the time.  I even ate fish on Fridays.”   Eating fish on Fridays was not mandatory.  You couldn’t eat meat on Fridays, but fish was not mandatory.  “Well, I’ve paid my dues, and now I don’t have to go.”   And I say, “Really?  You know, when I was young, I took a lot of showers and brushed my teeth a lot.  Does that mean I don’t have to do it now?”   That’s the attitude of some people.  They will give you a laundry list of all the things they’ve done for the church and how great they are.  But there is no love there.  It’s like you’ve done this huge favor for our Lord by responding to the invitation to Mass and showing up.   But where is the “thank you” for the many gifts, God has given us?   Where is the gratitude for all the bad things God has prevented from happening to us?  I shouldn’t be here.  I should be dead.  My business locations were interesting, so I should not be here.  

The way we talk about religious acts, “I’ve got to go to Mass.”  It’s like saying, “I’ve got to get a colonoscopy.”   Participating in the Mass is a great act of love for our Savior.  Are you really in love with our Lord or are you here so you won’t have to worry about eternal hell fire?  Love does not keep track of what it does for the Beloved.   Love only regrets it could not have done more.

Father’s Reflections. . .

Some of you have asked how my vacation was and if I had fun.  My vacation caused me to have some deep thoughts.  I wondered whether I’m getting old or if I’m just getting good at what I do because I didn’t need bail money while I was gone.  But my vacations are always…interesting.  I’ll give you one story besides the one about the woman who threw up in the aircraft on the flight back – we had a flight and a show, so what the heck – we got it all.   It really wasn’t a bad flight.  If you have ever flown on a military aircraft there is what’s called a “map of the earth,” and it’s a lot of fun.  It’s like riding in an airplane on a roll-a-coaster.  You learn to keep whatever you’ve eaten down…or not.  Anyway, one morning I was eating breakfast at the diner like usual and I was talking a lady I know, Cindy, who is a paranormal or ghosthunter.  She told me about a very old cemetery across the street which dated back to the Revolutionary War.  But she was scared to go there.  She was once at this cemetery in the daytime, and she heard a voice say, “Get out!”  She felt a presence, so she picked up her dog and ran out of the cemetery.  I said, “Really!  I’ve been all over that cemetery and haven’t encountered anything.”  She asked me if I was afraid.  I said, “Do you know Who I work for?  Are you talking to me?  I know a Guy.”  She asked me if my sister-in-law and I would go there with her so she could show us the spot.  So, we went to the cemetery and she took us to a spot and said, “Right here.  This         is where it happened.”  So I walked behind the gravestone and found another one that was flat and black.  I looked down and it was the grave of a young guy who was a member of a biker club.  I said, “It might be him.  He probably left the planet a little unhappy.  It could be him, but who knows.”  This is some of the fun that I have.  What do you do for fun while on vacation?  Something you probably wouldn’t do, but that is just me.

How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________

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