Category: Saint of the Day

Celebration of the saints on their Feast Days.

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Sermon Notes – When You Wrestle With Pigs in The Mud, You’re Gonna Get Dirty

“When You Wrestle With Pigs in the Mud, You’re Gonna Get Dirty“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 20-21, 2021

Gospel:  John 11: 1-45

I’ve hear a lot these days that we live in a “cancel culture.”  Do you know what that is?  It’s when people say mean things about you and try to erase your very existence.  However, I disagree that we are living in a cancel culture.  I was in a cancel culture.  I was in the U.S. Army for 24 years and served in three wars.  They tried to put an expiration date on my birth certificate, and they were pretty darn good at it too.  That’s cancel culture.  We are not living in a cancel culture.  What we have here is an evil culture. People are trying to do evil under the appearance of good.  They are claiming what was evil is now good.  These sins are included in the four sins in scripture that cry out to Heaven for vengeance.  Members of the cancel culture scream at you just as they screamed at our Lord and crucified Him.  There’s nothing new under the sun as scripture says.  And there’s not. The good news for us is that we don’t have to be that way.  But, if you wrestle with pigs in the mud, the pigs doesn’t mind, but you’re going to get dirty.

Let me ask you a question.  Do you know what the secret to happiness is?  Want me to tell you?  Our Lord has told us to be holy. He said, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you.”  This is a peace that the world cannot take away.  So, if we seek and strive for holiness and to be one with our good Lord each day, we will have a happiness that no one can take away.  That doesn’t mean you won’t have your share of sorrows and troubles.  We all have our illnesses, and we all have our struggles.  Our loved ones have been taken from this world to Heaven.  That happens to us all.  It doesn’t mean Christ stopped loving us.  It means we are sharing in some of His Passion for the sake of the Body of His church, for our own redemption, and for the souls of others.  We know deep down that as long as we do not turn away from our Lord through mortal sin or unrepented venial sin, He will always be there.  Even though we cannot feel it, He is always present with us.  Our peace and joy will come later after our trial on Earth is done.  Our suffering is redemptive. 

Saint John Paul II was suffering from end-stage Parkinson’s.  He loved classical music, so they brought in a world famous orchestra and conductor to play for him.  I don’t know his name…it’s not ZZ Top, so it’s beyond me.  Because of the steroids he was on for the Parkinson’s, he was bloated, shaking and drooling. He could barely move.  The last piece the orchestra played was his favorite, and the orchestra played it so beautifully, it would have made angels weep.  When the orchestra finished playing, the conductor turned around and looked nervously at the Pope.  The conductor was a little scared, because they were playing for the pope.  The Holy Father could barely move, but he looked at the conductor and gave him a thumbs up.  Even in his suffering, you knew he was a man of God.  He had a happiness about him no matter what happened.  He had the weight of the whole Church on his shoulders.  He had a fatal illness that is terribly debilitating. But, he still had peace.  And, that’s what we can have, because we have Christ.  However, because we have Christ, we have an obligation to help others. 

So, how do we fight this so-called cancel culture?  We must try to be even more holy and to pray for people.  Some of them are like those in I see in the gated community, a state sponsored residence with its own security system.  Those incarcerated never had a chance.  They were abused in childhood, so the chances were less than average that they would have a good life.  They had a lot of things working against them.  Granted, they chose to do evil, but they had a lot more crosses than we do. That’s not an excuse, but it’s a mitigating factor.  How do we help those people who are evil and who try to say what we believe is evil and must change?  Even the Catholic Church says sometimes what we believe must change.  That’s not true.  They are lying.  They aren’t wrong…they are lying.  Educated people who know better are lying.  How do we change that?  Have a little chat with them?  Even though I’m almost 68, I’m still a soldier, and part of me would love to say, “Let’s go outside and discuss this.”  No.  Our Lord said to love them, sacrifice for them, and pray for them.  They were taught from a young age that sin was good.  We see the outcomes of sin and evil.   We don’t have to be like them.  But, instead of fighting with them, we need to love them. 

Those who advocate evil are just like little children who don’t get their way, and they throw a tantrum.  That’s me some days.  Ever had a child…or a husband…throw a temper tantrum?  What happens?  Like our guardian angels, and like any good parent, we slowly take them in our arms, close to our heart. They are all worn out from their temper tantrum and break down in tears.  So, we hold them close to our heart, giving them comfort and love.  That’s what we are to do with this cancel culture.  We can hold out our arms to them, no matter what they say to us, and no matter what they try to do to us.  We can pray for them, sacrifice for them, and slowly bring them in to our heart. 

This culture is not cancel…I know what cancel is. Cancel is evil.  We are living in an evil age.  Actually, every age is evil.  But, we don’t have to be like that.  Remember, when you grow close to Jesus, you have both a gift and a command to go out and bring others in and to change the culture.  What’s very sad about people who are caught up in the cancel culture is that they don’t see how blind they are. They are like someone who has had too much to drink.  The cops stop them, and they say, “I only had two beers!”  Really?  That math is wrong.  They can’t stand up, never mind drive.  “I’m okay!”  They don’t see it…they are blind.  It’s just like alcohol blinds the alcoholic and dope blinds the dope addict.  And, the only cure for that is divine love.

During my time working in hospitals, I’ve learned that the only proper way to treat a disease is to find out what the disease is.  So, we shouldn’t say it’s a cancel culture when it’s an evil one.  People who are not eradicating evil are promoting it.  There’s a big difference.  Saint Mother Teresa tried to eradicate evil, and look at the love she spread.  So this is what we do.  We don’t have to be like them; instead, we need to love them, to pray for them, and to sacrifice for them.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Will you, like Saint Mother Teresa, try to eradicate evil by spreading God’s love?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://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).  There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.

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Saint of the Day – March 25th – Saint Dismas

St. Dismas (1st c.) is the name Church tradition has given to the “Good Thief,” one of the two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus Christ on Good Friday. All we know about St. Dismas is what is mentioned of him in the Gospels: “Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, ‘Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us.’ The other [St. Dismas] however, rebuking him, said in reply, ‘Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal.'” Then St. Dismas, as an expression of his faith in Christ as the Messiah, said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied to St. Dismas, “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-42). The feast day of St. Dismas is March 25.

//The Catholic Company//

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Saint of the Day – March 24th – Saint Catherine of Sweden

St. Catherine of Sweden (1331-1381) was the fourth of eight children born to St. Bridget of Sweden and her husband, Ulfo. As a child she was sent by her parents to be educated in a convent, and was later given in marriage to a German nobleman. Catherine was able to persuade her husband, a virtuous young man, to live together in a mutual vow of perpetual chastity. They lived happily together in complete devotion to God.

After the death of her father, and with her husband’s consent, Catherine accompanied her mother to Rome. While there, Catherine’s husband died. She continued to be a companion to her mother and rejected further offers of marriage. Her mother worked to establish a new religious order, called the Order of the Holy Savior, or the Bridgettines.

After her mother’s death, Catherine took her body back to Sweden for burial while continuing the work of establishing the Bridgettines. She later traveled back to Rome to advocate for her mother’s canonization and for Pope Urban VI to ratify her Order. While in Rome she became great friends with St. Catherine of Siena. St. Catherine of Sweden finally returned to Sweden and became abbess of the newly founded Bridgettines, living the rest of her days as a model of prayer and penance.

St. Catherine of Sweden is the patron saint against abortions and miscarriages. Her feast day is March 24th.

//The Catholic Company//

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Saint of the Day – March 23rd – Saint Rafqa (Rebecca)

St. Rafqa / Rafka (Arabic for Rebecca) (1832–1914) was born in Himlaya, a Maronite village in the Lebanese mountains. She was an only child, and her mother died when she was seven. After her father’s remarriage there was much family discord as to whom Rafqa should marry. Not wanting to wed any of the men in question, she turned to God and entered religious life at the age of 21.

Rebecca had a great devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary which she learned from her mother. She studied and served as a teacher for many years, but, after witnessing and surviving a massacre of Christians, she decided at the age of 39 to become a cloistered contemplative nun living under a strict rule in a monastery. Here, Rafqa prayed earnestly that she might share in the sufferings of Christ. Her prayers were heard almost immediately. She became blind and paralyzed, and over the course of 30 years she struggled with deteriorating health and incredible pain. All of her sufferings she united to the sufferings of Christ without complaint.

Under obedience to her superior Rebecca worked on an autobiography near the end of her life. She died at the age of 82, and her grave is credited with many miracles. St. Rafqa is a Catholic Maronite saint canonized by Pope St. John Paul II in 2001. She is the patron of sick people, bodily ills, and loss of parents. Her feast day is March 23rd. 

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – March 22 – Saint Nicholas Owen

Saint Nicholas Owen (? – 1606)

Nicholas, familiarly known as “Little John,” was small in stature but big in the esteem of his fellow Jesuits.

Born at Oxford, this humble artisan saved the lives of many priests and laypersons in England during the penal times (1559-1829), when a series of statutes punished Catholics for the practice of their faith. Over a period of about 20 years, Nicholas used his skills to build secret hiding places for priests throughout the country.

His work, which he did completely by himself as both architect and builder, was so good that time and time again priests in hiding were undetected by raiding parties. Nicholas was a genius at finding and creating places of safety: subterranean passages, small spaces between walls, impenetrable recesses.

At one point he was even able to mastermind the escape of two Jesuits from the Tower of London. Whenever Nicholas set out to design such hiding places, he began by receiving the holy Eucharist, and he would turn to God in prayer throughout the long, dangerous construction process.

After many years at his unusual task, Nicholas entered the Society of Jesus and served as a lay brother, although—for very good reasons—his connection with the Jesuits was kept secret.

After a number of narrow escapes, he himself was finally caught in 1594. Despite protracted torture, Nicholas refused to disclose the names of other Catholics. After being released following the payment of a ransom, “Little John” went back to his work. He was arrested again in 1606. This time he was subjected to horrible tortures, suffering an agonizing death. The jailers tried suggesting that he had confessed and committed suicide, but his heroism and sufferings soon were widely known.

Nicholas Owen was canonized in 1970 as one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales.

Reflection

Nicholas was a clever builder and architect who used his skills to protect endangered priests. Without his help, hundreds of English Catholics would have been deprived of the sacraments. His gift for spotting unlikely places to hide priests was impressive, but more impressive was his habit of seeking support for his work in prayer and the Eucharist. If we follow his example, we may also discover surprising ways to put our skills to God’s service.

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – March 21st – Saint Nicholas of Flue

St. Nicholas of Flue (1417-1487) was born in Switzerland, a devout child of pious parents. At the age of 21 he joined the army and fought in local battles. In his mid-twenties, at the advice of his parents, he married a similarly pious woman and had five sons and five daughters. He served the public by holding various civil offices, and was esteemed by all for his moral integrity.

After 25 years of marriage, upon discerning a special call from God, and with the consent of his wife, he went to live in a nearby valley as a hermit. He built a dwelling out of branches and left it only for daily Mass. He wore a tunic and kept his head and feet bare, spending his days in prayer and penance on behalf of the local people.

With permission from the parish priest he abstained totally from food and drink, without any negative effect on his health, which was confirmed by the Church as a miracle. He lived in this manner for 20 years and became known as a visionary and a prophet. Distinguished persons from all over Europe came to him for counsel. The civil authorities built him a cell and chapel and assigned him a chaplain.

The saint intervened as an arbiter when a civil war was imminent, resulting in the enduring union of the French and German-speaking parts of Switzerland. His hermitage became a place of pilgrimage after his death. St. Nicholas of Flue is the patron saint of Switzerland. His feast day is March 21st.

//The Catholic Company//

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Saint of the Day – March 20th

St. Cuthbert of Lindisfarne (634-687 A.D.) was born in present-day Scotland to a lowly family, and worked as a shepherd near the Melrose Abbey monastery. A child playmate prophesied that he would one day become a bishop. And one day, while tending to his sheep, St. Cuthbert saw in a vision the soul of St. Aidan, the Bishop of Lindisfarne, carried to heaven by angels. This mystical experience inspired in him a desire to become a monk.

After spending time as a soldier defending his home region of Northumbria against attack, he arrived on horseback, armed with a spear, seeking entrance at the monastery. He was received and became a monk in the Celtic Christian tradition. He grew in holiness and learning, and after serving as prior he withdrew from the community into the lifestyle of a solitary hermit.

After several years of a quiet life of prayer and penance, he was persuaded to return to active life as the Bishop of Lindisfarne. A year later he became sick and died. Miracles were reported at his grave; in fact, so numerous were the reported miracles that Cuthbert was called the “Wonder-worker of England.” Throughout the Middle Ages the shrine of Cuthbert remained one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in northern England. His feast day is March 20th. 

//The Catholic Company//

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Saint of the Day – March 19th

Saint Joseph’s Story

The Bible pays Joseph the highest compliment: he was a “just” man. The quality meant a lot more than faithfulness in paying debts.

When the Bible speaks of God “justifying” someone, it means that God, the all-holy or “righteous” one, so transforms a person that the individual shares somehow in God’s own holiness, and hence it is really “right” for God to love him or her. In other words, God is not playing games, acting as if we were lovable when we are not.

By saying Joseph was “just,” the Bible means that he was one who was completely open to all that God wanted to do for him. He became holy by opening himself totally to God.

The rest we can easily surmise. Think of the kind of love with which he wooed and won Mary, and the depth of the love they shared during their marriage.

It is no contradiction of Joseph’s manly holiness that he decided to divorce Mary when she was found to be with child. The important words of the Bible are that he planned to do this “quietly” because he was “a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame” (Matthew 1:19).

The just man was simply, joyfully, wholeheartedly obedient to God—in marrying Mary, in naming Jesus, in shepherding the precious pair to Egypt, in bringing them to Nazareth, in the undetermined number of years of quiet faith and courage.

Reflection

The Bible tells us nothing of Joseph in the years after the return to Nazareth except the incident of finding Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:41–51). Perhaps this can be taken to mean that God wants us to realize that the holiest family was like every other family, that the circumstances of life for the holiest family were like those of every family, so that when Jesus’ mysterious nature began to appear, people couldn’t believe that he came from such humble beginnings: “Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary…?” (Matthew 13:55a). It was almost as indignant as “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” (John 1:46b).

Saint Joseph is the Patron Saint of:

Belgium
Canada
Carpenters
China
Fathers
Happy death
Peru
Russia
Social Justice
Travelers
Universal Church
Vietnam
Workers

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – March 18th

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (C. 315 – March 18, 386)

The crises that the Church faces today may seem minor when compared with the threat posed by the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ and almost overcame Christianity in the fourth century. Cyril was to be caught up in the controversy, accused of Arianism by Saint Jerome, and ultimately vindicated both by the men of his own time and by being declared a Doctor of the Church in 1822.

Raised in Jerusalem and well-educated, especially in the Scriptures, he was ordained a priest by the bishop of Jerusalem and given the task during Lent of catechizing those preparing for Baptism and catechizing the newly baptized during the Easter season. His Catecheses remain valuable as examples of the ritual and theology of the Church in the mid-fourth century.

There are conflicting reports about the circumstances of his becoming bishop of Jerusalem. It is certain that he was validly consecrated by bishops of the province. Since one of them was an Arian, Acacius, it may have been expected that his “cooperation” would follow. Conflict soon rose between Cyril and Acacius, bishop of the rival nearby see of Caesarea. Cyril was summoned to a council, accused of insubordination and of selling Church property to relieve the poor. Probably, however, a theological difference was also involved. He was condemned, driven from Jerusalem, and later vindicated, not without some association with and help from Semi-Arians. Half his episcopate was spent in exile; his first experience was repeated twice. He finally returned to find Jerusalem torn with heresy, schism and strife, and wracked with crime. Even Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who was sent to help, left in despair.

They both went to the Council of Constantinople, where the amended form of the Nicene Creed was promulgated in 381. Cyril accepted the word consubstantial—that is, Christ is of the same substance or nature as the Father. Some said it was an act of repentance, but the bishops of the Council praised him as a champion of orthodoxy against the Arians. Though not friendly with the greatest defender of orthodoxy against the Arians, Cyril may be counted among those whom Athanasius called “brothers, who mean what we mean, and differ only about the word consubstantial.”

Reflection

Those who imagine that the lives of saints are simple and placid, untouched by the vulgar breath of controversy, are rudely shocked by history. Yet, it should be no surprise that saints, indeed all Christians, will experience the same difficulties as their Master. The definition of truth is an endless, complex pursuit, and good men and women have suffered the pain of both controversy and error. Intellectual, emotional, and political roadblocks may slow up people like Cyril for a time. But their lives taken as a whole are monuments to honesty and courage.

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – March 17th

Saint Patrick (C. 415? – 493?)

Legends about Patrick abound; but truth is best served by our seeing two solid qualities in him: He was humble and he was courageous. The determination to accept suffering and success with equal indifference guided the life of God’s instrument for winning most of Ireland for Christ.

Details of his life are uncertain. Current research places his dates of birth and death a little later than earlier accounts. Patrick may have been born in Dunbarton, Scotland, Cumberland, England, or in northern Wales. He called himself both a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and a large number of his father’s slaves and vassals were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. Forced to work as a shepherd, he suffered greatly from hunger and cold.

After six years Patrick escaped, probably to France, and later returned to Britain at the age of 22. His captivity had meant spiritual conversion. He may have studied at Lerins, off the French coast; he spent years at Auxerre, France, and was consecrated bishop at the age of 43. His great desire was to proclaim the good news to the Irish.

In a dream vision it seemed “all the children of Ireland from their mothers’ wombs were stretching out their hands” to him. He understood the vision to be a call to do mission work in pagan Ireland. Despite opposition from those who felt his education had been defective, he was sent to carry out the task. He went to the west and north–where the faith had never been preached–obtained the protection of local kings, and made numerous converts.

Because of the island’s pagan background, Patrick was emphatic in encouraging widows to remain chaste and young women to consecrate their virginity to Christ. He ordained many priests, divided the country into dioceses, held Church councils, founded several monasteries and continually urged his people to greater holiness in Christ.

He suffered much opposition from pagan druids and was criticized in both England and Ireland for the way he conducted his mission. In a relatively short time, the island had experienced deeply the Christian spirit, and was prepared to send out missionaries whose efforts were greatly responsible for Christianizing Europe.

Patrick was a man of action, with little inclination toward learning. He had a rock-like belief in his vocation, in the cause he had espoused. One of the few certainly authentic writings is his Confessio, above all an act of homage to God for having called Patrick, unworthy sinner, to the apostolate.

There is hope rather than irony in the fact that his burial place is said to be in County Down in Northern Ireland, long the scene of strife and violence.

Reflection

What distinguishes Patrick is the durability of his efforts. When one considers the state of Ireland when he began his mission work, the vast extent of his labors, and how the seeds he planted continued to grow and flourish, one can only admire the kind of man Patrick must have been. The holiness of a person is known only by the fruits of his or her work.

Saint Patrick is the Patron Saint of:

Engineers
Ireland
Nigeria

//Franciscan Media//