Blog

“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 29 – 30, 2018

Scripture: Luke 2: 41-52

41) Each year his parents went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover, 42) and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to festival custom. 43) After they had completed its days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it. 44) Thinking that he was in the caravan, they journeyed for a day and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, 45) but not finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for him. 46) After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions, 47) and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers. 48) When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” 49) And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50) But they did not understand what he said to them. 51) He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. 52) And Jesus advanced [in] wisdom and age and favor before God and man.

I grew up in a parish in Warwick, Rhode Island. At most, there were 600 families, including survivors of the Great Depression and World War II, however, this small parish produced five priests. Jesus said, “You will know them by their fruits… every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit” (Matthew 7:15-17). The parish members in my boyhood church were happy and had a common mission…to be holy. Through the gift of faith, we can all be holy. However, to be holy, you must be willing to give up the high cost of low living. Is it hard? Yes. Is it as hard as the devil tells us it is? No. Do people fall short? Yes.

My family is no different than yours. Some of my cousins do not go to church, even though their families made sacrifices to send them to Catholic school. So, what can we do? As a family and as a church, we can pray and sacrifice for them. For example, in the military, if fellow soldiers are struggling with their 60 lb. backpacks during a 12 mile nature walk, we don’t ask if we can help….we take their burdens onto our own backs and go. If someone falls, we pick them up and carry them. In the same way, we can help each other, and all of God’s children, by shouldering their crosses, just as Christ did for us.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you strive to be holy? Will you help others who are struggling by shouldering their crosses?

“Is There Room at the Inn?”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 22 – 23, 2018

Scripture: Luke 1: 39-45

39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord* should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.

The New Testament is the beginning of our salvation. It was provided by Mary who is the Ark of the Covenant, and recorded by Luke. He took it all down. Mary was filled with love and was the epitome of obedience. Even though she didn’t understand when the angel Gabriel told her that she would bear a son, she said, “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:26-38). She didn’t ask for proof, and she didn’t make excuses. She simply obeyed.

When the angel, Gabriel, told Zecharia that he and his wife, Elizabeth, would have a son, he did not believe. Instead, Zecharia said, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.”(Luke 1:18). As a result, he was struck mute until the birth of his son, John. When Mary was told that her relative, Elizabeth, had conceived a son, unlike Zecharia, she believed and immediately went to visit Elizabeth. Love is in immediate action. Once we say yes to Jesus, we can bring Him to others.

We study translated and retranslated scripture. Many of the expressions are those not used in our culture, so you have to read scripture in the context and period in which it was written. Once at Fort Bragg, I was sitting next to a friend of mine, a Rabbi, during mandatory chaplain training being taught by a minister. The topic was the Old Testament. I noticed that my friend was getting very red in the face…he was quite angry about the misinformation being provided. The Rabbi corrected the minister, and justified his explanation by saying that his peeps, the Jews, actually wrote the Old Testament.

Nobody wants to play the role of innkeeper in reenactments of the Christmas story. But, they didn’t know Joseph, Mary, or Jesus. There is a picture of Christ knocking on the door of a house; however, the picture is wrong, because the doorknob is on the wrong side. Only we can let Jesus in. In a way, we are our own innkeeper, and the doorknob is inside us. How do we let Him in? By going to confession and by taking Holy Communion.

How will you apply this message to your life? He is knocking….will you let Him in?

“Rejoice in the Lord Always!”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 15 – 16, 2018

Scripture: Luke 3: 10-18

10) And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do? 11) He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two tunics should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise. 12) Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13) He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” 14) Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.” 15) Now the people were filled with expectation, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. 16) John answered them all, saying,l “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming. I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. 17) His winnowing fan* is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” 18) Exhorting them in many other ways, he preached good news to the people.

Many of us take daily medications for high blood pressure or cholesterol that enable us to have better health and, therefore, live better lives. We don’t often feel reactions like: “Yippee! I’m doing great!” or “I feel like doing the happy dance!” No. It’s more of a quiet, slow, and steady process to better health. The same is true with our spiritual health. Rarely, do we have feelings of joy and ecstasy…that kind of happiness won’t happen until we meet Him.

I recently visited an 87 year old man who was in Hospice. I spoke with the family and asked if I could say the “Prayers for the Dying.” They agreed, and although they are not Catholic, they loved it. This man was dying a terrible and painful death, but his dead uncle visited him to reassure him that it’s not that bad and that he wouldn’t feel any pain. Often, I tell those who are dying to go and meet their Savior and to meet Him joyfully.

We have three opportunities to meet God up close and personal:

• Sacraments

• Our deaths

• At the end of the world when He returns

Rejoice that we have the opportunity each day to be renewed by Him. How wonderful it is that we have this great gift! At Mass, we receive Him into our souls and become one with Him. We are united with Him, and He is united with us. And, we can do this every day; two times a day. Christ is there waiting for us in the Tabernacle. Saint Therese of Lisieux wept after she received her first Holy Communion…not because her mother was dead and missed the event, but because Jesus had kissed her heart, and she knew that God was there.

Let us rejoice for this is only a foretaste of heaven. The Lord tells us that our time of waiting is almost over, and that He will come for us, and no longer will we need to participate in Mass to see Him. Rejoice that Christ is coming… either at our deaths or at the end of the world. When He comes, we will be in His presence forever.

We will be judged, and everything will be made present before our eyes. Does God send people to hell? No. We send ourselves to hell.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you seek every opportunity, through the sacraments, to get up close and personal with God?