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“Never – Ever – Give Up”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 June 26 – 27, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 5:21-43

What is the greatest gift our Lord has given us? The gift of Himself.  He offers us the perfect gift of love.  Why?  Because He loves us and wants to draw us closer to Him.  He really wants to give us that gift, sometimes more than we really want it.  But, since you are all here, I imagine you all want His gift.  Unfortunately, we have people in our lives who don’t seem to want it.  They go off the reservation. They turn their backs on everything their parents did for them and sacrificed for them.  It breaks your heart.  But, you pray and sacrifice for them anyway, don’t you? 

We are supposed to pray constantly.  Saint Peter said that the devil is always prowling about seeking the ruin of souls.  What do we pray for?  A lot of times when we pray, we pray too small.  We pray for those who do not like us.  We do not pray that they will have a heart attack or suffer any other kind of injury.  Instead, you pray that their souls may be converted or that you may have the strength to not choke the living you-know-what out of them when they are around.  We pray for a lot of good things. The ultimate good thing is eternal salvation.  This is the eternal good we should pray for…both for ourselves and others.

What’s the definition of insanity?  Doing the same things over and over and expecting different results.  We are human and not angels, so it is frustrating when we don’t see the results of our prayers right away.  We like things immediately.  Even the coffee maker isn’t fast enough for us.  Remember the televisions that we had to wait on to warm up?  Can you imagine that now?  When we do not see the results of our prayers right away, we think they are not working.  We give God a hard time, because we want what we pray for today.  However, God’s ways are not our ways.  He tells us to never be discouraged by prayer.  Maybe God said “No.”  If so, it is probably good that He did, because instead of giving us what we ask for, He gives us a greater good. 

Always say a prayer for yourself and your own salvation and another prayer for the salvation of others, especially your family.  It may take years and years to see any results from your prayers, and you may get more grey hair and worry lines.  You may get fed up and write them off, and that may be necessary if they have other problems.  But still pray for their salvation.  God never gives up.  You never know what He has in store, so do not get discouraged when praying for family and friends.  One of the side effects of prayer is that it changes us.  We develop a deeper trust and resignation to the will of God.  In today’s Gospel, people said “the child is dead” so do not bother. They gave up.   But, Jesus said, “If I gave you these small things which are not the best, why would I not give you the big things if you ask for it?” 

You never know what God will do, and I’ll give you several examples.  One is Saint Monica and her son, Saint Augustine.  Saint Monica never gave up on Saint Augustine, and he did a lot of crazy things.  He couldn’t write about it very well, and his confessions were boring as heck.  He’d put you right to sleep.  Still, he did a lot.  Then, you have my own family. My oldest brother and evil twin brother moved away from the faith, but they both received last rites and entrance into Heaven. Who knew?  Through prayer…my mother’s prayers, my father’s prayers, and my prayers, I was able to do their funeral Mass.  Another example is one that I remember quite clearly.   I was at Presbyterian Hospital in the Oncology Unit, and I had three patients on my list to see…two on the left and one on the right.  I thought, I’ll go see the patient on the right first.  So, I went into the room and introduced myself as the Catholic chaplain for the hospital.  The patient’s husband said, “Father, my wife is dying.  Will you give her the Last Rites?”  So, I gave her the Last Rites.  I anointed her and right where the ritual states “at or near the moment of death,” the woman took her last breath and died.  I looked at the nurse who shrugged her shoulders.  So, I said, “Go forth, Christian soul, from this world in the name of God, the almighty Father, who created you.”  When I came out of the elevator that day, something had told me to take a right turn instead of a left.  I had not seen these people before that day or after.  Another time when I was at Atrium, I was walking up the stairs, more steps for my heart, and a nurse asked me if I was a priest.  I said “Yeah.”  Go figure, huh?  Actually, I’m the pastor at a Baptist church, and I’m just trying to confuse everybody.  Anyway, the nurse said she was going to call me about a patient in ICU who was dying of cancer.  I never saw the patient before and I never saw her after.  Saint John Vianney, the Cure of Ars, had the gift of reading souls.  One day while he was taking a walk, he saw a woman who approached him.  She said, “Curate, you have the gift of seeing souls.”  Sometimes.  “Remember my husband?  He is dead.”  Saint John said, ”Yes.  I’ll offer him a prayer.” The woman said, “He fell off a bridge and drowned. He was an evil man. He’s in hell isn’t he?”  Saint John said, “I don’t know.”  The woman was irate and said, “You don’t know? What do you mean you don’t know!  He hit me, he spent money, and he drank!”  Finally, after she had finished unloading all her vile on him, Saint John said, “There was a lot of time from when he left the bridge and until he hit the water.” 

Imperfect contrition is the fear of God’s punishment and is sufficient to get you into purgatory and eventually into Heaven.  Even saying “I’m sorry” is enough.  So, we do not know what will happen.   We will find that out only if we get to heaven. Remember, we have control over that.  Everyone in hell is a self-made man or woman.  I’m not sexist.  So, keep up your prayers for all of those who need His love. That’s the way to love. 

Now, I am not much.  I’m not that bright, but I can read a calendar, so I know my sell-by date is rapidly approaching. I pray for a happy death and that God will allow me in heaven with all my sins and faults.  I pray that I will see the rest of my family.  So, never, ever, ever stop praying.  We never know how it will end.  Remember, God wants your family, friends, and enemies in Heaven more than even you do.

How will you apply this message to your life?  No matter what, keep praying for yourself and your salvation and the salvation of your family, friends, and enemies.

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