Category: Sermon Notes

Transripts of weekly sermons

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Sermon Notes – “In the Quietness, God Lets Us Know He Hears Us” – December 15, 2024

“In the Quietness, God Lets Us Know He Hears Us”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 14-15, 2024

Gospel: Luke 3:10-18   

Today Holy Mother Church celebrates the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  I hope and pray to be here for the 4th and final Sunday of Advent.  At 71 years of age, I have more time behind me than I probably have ahead of me.   My chaplain friends ask me if I’m ready for Christmas.  Yeah.  How do you get ready for Christmas?  Saint John the Baptist told us how, as he prepared Israel for the coming of the Savior, he said, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths”(Luke 3: 1-6).   

We pass this law and that law so that we can get everybody straightened out and decide how they will live.  Our Lord did not mean that.  He meant us.   We are great at prescribing for other people, but not for ourselves.  We must make straight the paths of the Lord in our own hearts, and He tells us exactly how to do it.  If you have two coats, give one to someone who is cold.  If you have more than enough food, give some to a person who is hungry.  Soldiers should not bully anyone (we never do).  Tax collectors should not take any more than they should.  He tells us how to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ.  Live a moral life.  Living a moral life burns away the stain of sin and prepares our souls to be at peace when our Savior comes, whether it’s in Holy Communion, at our death, at His 2nd coming, or at the commemoration of His incarnation coming on December 25th.   

There are a lot of books on prayer.  “Say these prayers, and everything will be all right.”  No.   I had this one secretary at the VA who said, “I said this prayer, and I claimed that miracle.”  Really?  Do you think that God told the parents who have children in St. Jude’s that if they didn’t pray correctly, He would let their children die?  No.  Prayer is an act of love.  Why do we do acts of love?  For the sake of the Beloved, not for ourselves.

Now, He never says that by doing all these things, you will feel better.  You may not.  He also didn’t say that when you pray you would levitate.  He said, “Pray. Stay with Me for a while.”  He didn’t say you would be happy all the time and doing the happy dance.  Sometimes we can be weak and terrified, so when someone gets sick on pea soup, we panic: “Oh, my God!  It’s satan!”  No, it’s just bad pea soup.   

Living a moral life is very noble.  You all are here, so I know you are trying to live moral lives.  Sometimes it’s not fun, is it?  For example, on doctor’s orders, I have to eat fish twice a week.  It’s part of the Fourth Commandment, so I have to obey it.   Do you know how I feel about the thought of eating fish?  Nauseous.  I hate fish but I have to eat it.  It’s a work of love.  I’m not saying love of self wouldn’t expand my lifespan, but I trust in Almighty God who has given physicians medical knowledge and wisdom.  Doing acts of love does not always feel good.  Occasionally, every now and again, once in a while, our Lord will favor us with His consolation.  In the military, we call that an “atta boy.”  It can be disappointing because I like being told I’m doing a great job.  I have been a priest for 40 years, and I’m still not a monsignor.  That’s really crushing!  I’m a Very Reverend, but that’s just an honorary title.  I wish that were true. 

When you pray through your works of charity, you may feel like, “Hey, God.  I’m doing all this stuff and getting nothing in return.”  Yes, you are.  You are growing away from self-love and toward your love for Him.  You are preparing your soul for Christ.  You are doing a great job, so do not be disappointed.  That’s a great temptation of the devil.  You may be disappointed because you are not getting atta-boys or atta-girls.  But every now and then, God will let us know as He did Elijah in the cave.  Don’t look for a huge and momentous event; that scares people.  But in the quietness, God lets us know He hears us and that we are safe in the palm of His hand.  Our Lord said, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11-12).   So, when we do all these acts of love and do not get anything back from our Lord, that is when we are growing more and more in love with Him.

So, how do we prepare for Christmas?  We do as we are told.  

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.

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Sermon Notes – December 8, 2024 – “We Have Christmas Every Day”

 “We Have Christmas Every Day”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 7-8, 2024

Gospel:   Luke 3:1-6

I heard confessions on Monday night in Statesville and Thursday night at St. Lukes.  On Monday night, we were invited to dinner at Outback.  One priest had never heard the phrase “circling the drain.”   My gosh!  Where have you been all your life?  You haven’t spent much time in hospitals and around nurses, have you?   On Thursday night, I had to educate one of the older priests when he said, “Well, the patient’s mother and wife wanted him to be given Last Rites, but the patient wouldn’t take it, so I left without giving it to him.”   I told this priest I’m a trained hospitalist, and this is how you handle that situation.   You wait until you see the nurses go by with the medication cart.  Then, have a cup of coffee and, after about ten minutes, go back into the patient’s room while he’s bombed and ask him, ‘Would you like Last Rites now? Oh, I thought you might say ‘yes.’”   Or you could ask the nurses when the patient will be medicated again and wait about ten minutes after that to ask him if he wants Last Rites.  Get the mission done, Father.   But God takes care of that anyway.  That’s just my bed-snide manner.  That night at dinner, Father Rossi ordered some hors d’oeuvres.  He asked me if I would like some tuna ahi.  It looked like undone roast beef.  I said, “That’s very kind, Father.  Would it get me any time off purgatory?”   No?  In that case, they don’t make a pharmaceutical strong enough to make me eat that thing.   I don’t eat fish.  I have a rule. 

In 17 days and a wake-up, we will celebrate the incarnation of God.  Our good Lord became incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Mother and made visible on Christmas.  We do not have to ask what love looks like because we can see it.  It’s a wonderful day.  God becoming incarnate was a great act of love by God.  But was it His greatest act of love?  No.  His greatest act of love was the crucifixion.   People say, “I wish we could have Christmas every day.”  You do!  I don’t get cookies every day like I do at Christmas, but God comes to us every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 

Jesus, as the 2nd Person in the Blessed Trinity, was hard to see under the veil of human flesh and blood.  He is also hard to see under the veil of bread and wine in the Mass when it becomes His Most Precious Body and Blood.  But this is our faith.   His human nature was united with His divinity in what is called hypostatic union.  In the Mass, that happens when I put a drop of water into the chalice of wine.  That is His human nature being assumed into His divine nature.  At every Mass, God becomes flesh again.  He is incarnate in the Most Blessed Sacrament in every Catholic church in the world.  So, we have Christmas every day but without bad music like, “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Clause” and “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer.”  Shut up!  Those songs make me want to rip out the loudspeaker. 

God is present in our world.  On His ascension, Jesus took the flesh that he received from the Blessed Mother and brought it to Heaven.  But He did not leave our world.  He didn’t say, “I’m going up to Heaven, and when it’s time, I’ll come back to get you and take you home.”  God is made present in our world every day in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  It was hard for the Apostles to see our Lord and believe He was truly God.  Because of our fallen human nature, it is also difficult for us because we see with the eyes of our bodies instead of the eyes of our souls.  The trouble is our vision.  I appreciate all the hard work my eye doctor, Dr. Billingsly, has done for me.  He has saved me from walking around with a stick and a dog.  But the ability to see with the eyes of faith is most important to me. 

We have God’s physical presence every day, just like the Apostles.  We have Christmas every day.  Isn’t that wonderful?  It truly is.  Granted, we don’t have cookies and baked goods every day.  I will leave my back door open if anyone would care to make a donation.  I would be most grateful; just don’t tell my doctor.    We have Christmas every day without the bad music, wreaths, trees, and lawn statues, but that is unimportant.  What is important is what resides in the Tabernacle.  God came into the world, and He never left. 

Father’s Afterthoughts: 

We had a new patient in hospice.  He’s 91 years old.  So, I went into his room and started talking to him to see if he was oriented to time and place.  He was pretty “gah-gah.”   My final question was, “Do you remember the branch of service you were in?”  He said, “Marines!”   That question always gets through.

How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – We Find God in the Silence – December 1, 2024

“We Find God in the Silence”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 1, 2024

Gospel:   Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

Before Mass, I was talking to a lady who just returned from Lourdes.  I’ve been to Fatima several times but never to Lourdes.  Before you enter the shrine area, the grotto, or the church itself, signs ask for silence and appropriate dress.  Shorts are not allowed.  If you are not silent, someone will come to remind you; if one reminder is not enough, they will ask you to leave.  The silence is out of respect for Who dwells there.  Exterior silence is essential for prayer.  C.S. Lewis wrote “The Screw Tape Letters.”  Screwtape was one of the senior devils, and he had a little devil who was trying to rise up the demonic ladder.  This little devil said he was trying to think of innovative ways to get people away from God.  Screwtape told him that they already had an excellent method called noise.  Noise is very distracting.  It takes you away from who you are talking to or who you are trying to listen to. 

In the Mass, there are certain sections for reverential silence.  Unfortunately, the Mass has developed into something where people are moving, singing and doing whatever.  Someone said that those are supposed to be moments of meditation.  No, they are not.  Whoever said that did not go to a proper seminary.  Meditation takes about 20 minutes, and there is a reason for that.  Not only do we get the noise from outside that interferes with our concentration, but we also have silent, distracting noises in our hearts.  So, no matter how quiet it is in church, except for now, while I’m speaking, the hamsters are going and going, aren’t they?

We all have difficulties, and we all think about these things we must do whirling around in our heads.  Ideally, we leave all those things at the door.  But we bring them into church and give them to our Lord.  What happens when we have the stillness of the soul or as best we can?  Remember, we are men, not angels.  It is then we can hear God speak to us as He did to Elijah while he was in the cave.  God was not in the storm.  God was not in the earthquake.  God was in the silence afterward.  In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord asked the Apostles, “Can you not spare an hour to watch with Me?”  He didn’t ask them to talk.  He didn’t ask them to sing.  He asked the Apostles to watch with Him.  That is a huge part of prayer.

Last week, the hospice chaplain asked me if I would sit with a man who was actively dying.  He had been actively dying for three days, so he was a little slow at it.  I said, “Sure.”  I have done that many times.  Did I know him?  No.  Did I know his family?  No.  Did I know if he was a good man?  No.  What I did know is that he was a child of God.  So, I sat with him and reminded him to breathe.  He was trying to break the habit.  But in that room, in that reverential silence, I knew God was either there to take him or would be coming soon.  I prayed that he would have a merciful judgment and go joyfully to his loving God.  God was in that room, and I was listening.  That is a part of preparing for Advent. 

People ask, “Father, are you ready for Christmas?”  My response is, “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but what difference does it make?  It’s going to come whether I am ready or not.”  It makes no difference.  Christmas is coming.  All these things we have to do are wonderful.  However, the most important thing we have to do is our interior preparation, which makes all the exterior preparations worthwhile.   All those gifts people give each other are expressions of God’s love.   The love within them is the love of God expressed by giving to others.  How much more expressive would they be if their souls were holier?  Do yourself a favor this first week of Advent and read “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry.

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – “Do the Routine Things Routinely” – November 24, 2024

“Do the Routine Things Routinely”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 23 – 24, 2024

Gospel:  John 18:33-37

33 So Pilate went back into the Praetorium and called Jesus to him and asked Him, ‘Are You the king of the Jews?’ 34 Jesus replied, ‘Do you ask this of your own accord, or have others said it to you about Me?’ 35 Pilate answered, ‘Am I a Jew? It is Your own people and the chief priests who have handed You over to me: what have You done?’ 36 Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if My kingdom were of this world, My men would have fought to prevent My being surrendered to the Jews.  As it is, My kingdom does not belong here.’ 37 Pilate said, ‘So, then You are a king?’ Jesus answered, ‘It is you who say that I am a king. I was born for this, I came into the world for this, to bear witness to the truth; and all who are on the side of truth listen to My voice.’

When I was growing up there was a very famous coach.  His name was Don Cherry who coached the Boston Bruins hockey team and the Gas House gang.   Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Dallas Smith, Rick Smith, and Kevin Hodge were all inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.  God love them.  Tommy Karmiris was a short little guy and an instigator who was always starting fights.  That’s good old-fashioned hockey.  One thing that Coach Cherry did that made the Bruins so successful was that he drilled his team on the basics – basics – basics.  Do the routine things routinely and don’t be a show-off.  The old-fashioned things always work.  The guy who comes across the blue line cannot score if he is on his butt.  Stick to the basics. 

Attention to basics is how we grow in spiritual life.  Sometimes we have to be called back to that.   Each little act of love is not done just by rote; they are acts of love.   I see people making the Sign of the Cross and it looks like they are getting ready to throw a fast ball, a curve ball, or getting ready to steal second base.  What are you doing?   Stick to the basics.  Slow down when you say your prayers.  Don’t be like me.  I have French ancestors who could say the Rosary in seven minutes.  I was there.  Dude!  God has all day.  Relax.  Doing the small things routinely is how we grow in holiness and advance in the spiritual life.  Do the routine things routinely and they will become spiritual muscle memory.   In Catholic school, we used to do the spiritual lean with our butts on the seat, and the nuns would come by and thump us on the back of the head.  Sit up!   They were telling us that Mass is important.  Your act of kneeling is a prayer in of itself.  It is an act of love.  All these little things are acts of love, acts of obedience, and acts of submission of our will as we give ourselves to all mighty God. 

Doing routine things routinely is how we advance in spiritual life.   Save yourself a ton of money by not going to conferences and other things that take your money.   You don’t need it.  It’s right here in church.  All those little acts are acts of preparation.  So, when the time comes that something bad like an accident happens, God forbid, and it happens to all of us, we will do routine thing routinely.  Before the Gospel is read, we make the Sign of the Cross on our foreheads, lips, and hearts.  This is a prayer for the Lord to be in our minds, on our lips, and in our hearts.  Making the Sign of the Cross should be done slowly and deliberately, not quickly.  It takes an act of will to stand up here and watch these things.  But I know it’s well intentioned.  We do the Catholic thing.  At funerals I tell people if they have a question, don’t ask a Catholic, come ask me.   We need to pay attention to what we are doing because our minds are easily distracted . . . look – squirrel!   But we can become saints just like members of the Bruins team became Hall of Fame hockey players – by doing the routine things routinely.

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – “Do Not Give Up and Do Not Be Afraid” – November 17, 2024

“Do Not Give Up and Do Not Be Afraid”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 16 – 17, 2024


Gospel:  Mark 13:24-32 

We see, hear, and judge things according to the state of our souls and not always as they really are.  People do strange things to themselves like piercing rings through the nose and other body parts the doctors and nurses tell me about.  One of my favorites is when people pierce their tongues and hearing how that affects their speech.  Wow, that must have been fun going in.  I say to them, “I’m not trying to be offensive, but why did you do that?”  “Because it makes me look pretty.”  The question I would like to ask, but don’t, comes from Genesis, “Who told you that you were ugly?”  Sin tells us we are ugly.  No one is ugly who is in a State of Grace.  Look at Saint Teresa of Calcutta and Saint John Paul II.  How beautiful were they?  No one is ugly unless they are in a state of sin.  We judge things according to the state of our soul.  Some don’t like the results of the election, and that’s fair.  Some say they are going to shave their hair.  You know, did you ever think about those women who lost their hair because of cancer treatments?  That’s a little insensitive don’t you think?  A little wrapped up in ourselves, aren’t we?  We hear and see things, and some of those things may be accurate.  However, we judge those things according to our interior disposition. 

People talk about how bad things were before 1964.  “Oh!  It was terrible back in those days. “The Latin Mass was terrible!”  Some say, “We have a vengeful God” and “I’ve heard sermons about fire and brimstone.”  Excuse me – I was there.   I grew up back then.  On my Holy Card is the verse, “Then I shall go in unto the altar of God, of God, who gives joy to my youth”(Psalms 42:4).  I must have had some weird people in my church because I loved the nuns, and the priests were great too.  In those “bad old days,” five priests came from our small parish which no longer exists.  Three still are priests, and two have passed.  Where the heck were you?  “We were yelled at.”  I was never yelled at in church.  However, our priest was French Canadian, so our Mass was in “Franglish.”  When the Mass went to English, we really never knew because he had such a heavy French accent. “The Lord be with you, ehh.”  “And also with you, ehh.”  Father was a U.S. Army chaplain in the war and worked with paratroopers.  One day a paratrooper asked him if he had ever jumped out of an airplane.  Father said, “No.”  Would you like to?  “Yeah, okay.”   So that afternoon they took him up in an airplane and out the door he went.  Welcome to the Army!  He was a wonderful man. 

Now, the priests I had in college said, “If you screw up, you’ll be sent to Vietnam.”  If you got expelled from college, guess who was waiting for you – Uncle Sam.  He had a job for you, and it involved travel.  Lovely.   Sin has consequences.    They played hard ball, but they had to – you know how boys are – you have to play hard ball.  But I had wonderful nuns, brothers, and priests.  I never heard any hell, fire, and brimstone.  “The sisters slapped me.”  Well, you probably deserved it.   

The Lord tells us the end is near, and we will be judged.  We do not know the day or hour when our Lord will come, but it is close and soon.  If we try to have holiness of life, we should be joyful about His return.   He’s going to reward our long suffering.   If you have anxiety about our Lord returning, it means you have a problem.  If you have done something wrong and have a guilty conscience, come see me.  I can fix it.  And if you think you have a sin I haven’t heard, I’ll pay you for the privilege to hear it.  People ask me, “Father, what’s it like hearing confessions?”  It’s like being stoned to death with popcorn.   By the way, all sins are great.  The difference between mortal sin and venial sin is the difference between slapping your wife and punching her.  Every priest should be moved during Confession by the great love that people have when they come to say, “God, I have sinned against you, and I need Your forgiveness.”  That’s what moves priests during Confession.  So, come see me and come joyfully.  Our Lord is coming back, and He’s going to fulfill our longing for Him.  We should be joyful.  Be sorrowful for all those people who do not welcome His coming and pray for them. 

Part of us does not want to die because we were never meant to.  However, because of the effects of Original Sin and the sins committed after Baptism it will happen.  Heaven is meant as a consolation for those who are trying to love God by taking up their crosses every day and following Him.  It’s an encouragement and not like “Wait till I get down there – you’re in trouble!”  Remember, once everything is forgiven, it is forgotten.  Satan will try to tell you it’s not.  Do not be disturbed by all these things going on.  Our Lord says, “I’m in charge. I’m in control.  And I will come back.  I will come either at Judgement or at the end of the world.”  We will all probably leave this world before that.  Is that a bad thing?  Originally, we were not supposed to die, so it’s a bad thing.  But when we die, we will go into the arms of our loving Savior.  It’s an encouragement.  “I know what you are going through. Stand fast. I am coming.  I have not forgotten you.  I will come and you will find fulfillment of your love in Me.”  He is going to fill our empty arms, and He’s going to totally fill that hole in our souls that can only be filled by Him.   So do not give up and do not be afraid. 

How will you apply this message to your life? __________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – November 10, 2024 – “Are You Grateful?”

“Are You Grateful?”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 9 – 10, 2024

Gospel:  Mark 12:38-44  

I’m in bit of a conundrum because I prepared a wonderful sermon, brief but wonderful, on the Gospel just not this Gospel.  Oops!  So, would you like to hear a sermon that I come up with by the seat of my pants or would you like to hear the short one on another Gospel?  Seat of my pants?  Not happening. 

Remember the story about the ten lepers who were cured by Jesus but only one came back to thank Him?  That was a lesson on prayer for the Apostles to show them how few say, “thank you.”   The lepers asked God for a favor, and when God cured them, they went away.  Jesus was surprised that only one man came back to thank Him.  You don’t surprise God.  I don’t care how original you think you are.  You don’t surprise God.  But God did that to drive home the point to the Apostles about how important gratitude is in prayer.  We are ungrateful children sometimes, which hurts both our spiritual and mental health lives.  We sink into a funk.  “Oh God doesn’t love me.”   Well make a gratitude list.  In all 12-Step Programs, they tell people to make a list of things they are grateful for.  “How long of a list?  Five or ten things?”  Oh, about 100.  “What do you mean a hundred?”  Well, that’s easy.  Are you breathing?  Put that at the top of the list.  Is your heart beating?  That’s number two.   “But I’m not happy.”   I see that.  You are so self-centered it’s unbelievable.  Make a gratitude list. 

There are so many things to be grateful to God for.   I tell people at funerals to be grateful you had someone you loved and who loved you.  It’s not forever in this life; in the next one, yes.  Be grateful you had them for so long.  My family bailed out on me early.  I don’t blame them at all, to tell you the truth.  But my family reunions are a lot easier, cheaper, and quieter.  But I loved them, and they loved me.  “But I don’t have this, and I don’t have that.”  Well, I don’t have a Bentley, and that keeps me up at night.  I go to the Bentley dealership and just cry.  I don’t have a lot, but I have all that I want.   I have more than ever I needed and more than I ever wanted except for bacon.   That will come in Heaven.  Extra crispy please, Lord. 

Be grateful for what you have.  It is a great addition to spiritual life.  You know what else is a good addition to spiritual life?  Spending time with God.  In prayer, we go to God and tell Him what we need and thank Him for the blessings He has given us.  Okay, conversation over; time to move on.   God is perfection in courtesy which comes from the virtues of love, charity, and respect. Prayer takes time.  “What are you waiting for Father?”   I’m waiting for God to say, “You’re welcome.”   It is inconsiderate if you walk away from God after saying “Thank you,” without waiting for Him to say, “You’re welcome.”  Have you ever thought about that?  “Hey, I’m doing fine. I said, ‘thank you, didn’t I?”   Perfect!  You are growing right along.   When we say, “thank you” to people, we expect them to say, “You’re welcome.”   When you thank God in prayer, take some time to wait and listen because He will always respond and say “You’re welcome.  I love you.” 

When Jesus tells you to do something in prayer, do it.  Don’t worry about the results – just do it.  You will be surprised at the results.  He showers His gifts on the just and the unjust in life.  He gives His gifts to the unjust so that they might turn their hearts to Him.  He still loves them and even their sins cannot stop His love.  He gives His gifts to the just to keep them encouraged, to reassure them that He is watching over them, to let them know that He hasn’t forgotten about them, and so that they may have gifts to give others to show God’s love for them.  That is why God cured the lepers. 

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – November 3, 2024 – “Things I Wish I Could See – Part 2”

“Things I Wish I Could See – Part 2”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 2 – 3, 2024


Gospel:   Mark 12:28-34

Let’s see how your memory is.  Remember last week when I talked about vision?  Okay, obviously you don’t remember but there are Sermon Notes at the back of the church.  Pick one up and refresh your memory on what I said.  What I said was that I wished I could see what truly is.  Dr. Billingsley is great, but there is just so much he can do.  I want to see our good Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, in the Confessional, in the Mass, and in the Sacraments.  By the way, do you know why deacons cannot perform the Sacraments?  Because only those who can celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass are allowed to perform the Sacraments.  The Sacraments come from the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  Anyhow, I want to see our Lord as He truly is . . . the brilliant light that is the light of the world. 

I had my picture taken in New York for an Army advertisement, and I had to put on makeup.  That was the first and last time I will ever wear makeup outside of the box.   I was a member of the 101st Airborne . . . so hell no!  You wouldn’t believe all the lights they shine on you to put on the makeup.  While I was sitting under all those lights, I felt like a rotisserie chicken.   That’s the same kind of light here in the church – the light of truth – that shines on us as we sit in front of the Most Blessed Sacrament and in the Confessional.  That light allows us to see ourselves.  We see ourselves in three ways:  how we see ourselves, how others see us, and how we truly are.  It takes humility to see ourselves as we truly are.  That’s why the vision to see ourselves as we truly are is so necessary for advancement in spiritual life.  

We find that vision by seeking the light of Christ whether it is in front of the Blessed Sacrament or in the Confessional.  In His light, we see ourselves as we truly are . . . our crosses, our failures, our talents, and our abilities.  Too often we avoid His light because we see ourselves with all these problems.  “God, I have all these problems.  I’m not good enough for you Lord.”  First of all, we cannot earn God’s love.  I don’t care how good you are, you cannot earn His love because God’s love is free.  Look at all that God has given us, including our crosses which are actually gifts.  But when we look at our crosses, we see pain. We see all our troubles, all our failures, and all our wants and desires. 

In spite of everything, we are all loved by Christ.  Nothing that we have done can stop God’s love for us.  Nothing.  God will always love us.  How we love God is another matter, but that is up to us.  But God will always love us.  We are children of God.  When I was in Hospice the other day, I was talking to this man while the EMT’s were with him.  I asked him if he would tell me his religious denomination so that we could take proper care of him.  He said, “I’m not Catholic; I’m Baptist.”   I said, “May I tell you a secret?”  He whispered, “Yeah, go ahead.”  I said, “You are a child of God, and no one gets better than that.” 

As you sit here in church, you are sitting in the presence of God, Himself, in the Blessed Sacrament.  You are also sitting in His presence during Confession.  It is then that we see ourselves as we truly are – loved by God.

How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – October 27, 2024 – “Things I Wish I Could See – Part 1”

“Things I Wish I Could See – Part 1”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 26 – 27, 2024

Gospel:   Mark 10:46-52

I have to be careful when I read the paper because if I hold my head just right the light that shines through my glasses could start a fire.  Thanks to the heroic efforts of Dr. Billingsley, my vision is 20/20 and I am street legal to drive.   Because of him, I don’t need a dog and cane to get around, and he has the worry lines to prove it. 

When I pay attention, I can see things as well as anybody else.  The trouble is that I want to see better.  I see things as they are, but I want to see things as they truly are.  I want to see things that exist but cannot be seen.  I’m not saying that I want to see the deputy sheriff hiding behind a billboard on Highway 52.  Rather, I want to be like Saint Francis and Saint Teresa de Lisieux, the Little Flower.  They saw their guardian angels.  I would like to see our good Lord truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.  I would like to see our Lord celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and walk to the Father waiting at the altar.  I would like to see our Lord on the other side of the confessional screen absolving me of my sins by putting His hand into the chalice of His Most Precious Blood and anointing my soul.  I would like to see our Lord give the faithful new life through the Sacrament of Baptism.  I would like to see our Lord unite a man and a woman in the Sacrament of Matrimony and leading to procreation according to the order of nature which Saint John Paul II called the domestic church.  I would like to see our Lord give young people the Sacrament of Confirmation and impart the Holy Spirit upon them so that they can be faithful witnesses.  I would also like to see our Lord at a deathbed and giving Last Rites to prepare a soul to transition from this life to the next bringing them safely to Heaven where all of us are meant to be. 

I would like to see that, but I would settle for this – to see our Lord’s presence in those people who really irritate the you-know-what out of me.  You know them – they drive 10 mph below the posted speed limit and then they go 15 mph over it and then back to 7 mph.  In the military we call that the “slinky.”   They think the speed limit is just a suggestion.  I had one in front of me the other day, and I wished I were a cop so that I could blue light him.  He crossed over the yellow line, and then all the lines.  Dude!   But you know what?  There’s no need for all that angst and anxiety.  I work at the VA, and I had plenty of time to get where I was going.  But it’s all about me!  God might say to me, “Hey, this morning during your prayers you said you love Me.  How’s that working for you?”  Not well.  I could pray for more patience; however, patience is an acquired virtue, and if you pray, “Lord, please give me patience,” He will send every idiot your way.  But that’s how to achieve more patience.  You might feel angry, but how you react to that anger is how it can become a sin. 

The gift I pray for is to have eyes of faith that can see God in suffering souls.  That is the kind of 20/20 vision I would like to have. 

How will you apply this message to your life? _____________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – “He Knows Our Fears” – October 13, 2024

“He Knows Our Fears”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 12 – 13, 2024

Gospel:   Mark 10:17-30

Going back to the Old Testament, there is the Commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”  In the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie, “True Lies,” Arnold’s wife asks him, while he is on truth serum, if he ever killed anybody.  Arnold replies, “Yes, but they were all bad.”  Translated properly from Hebrew, the Commandment says, “You shall not take life unjustly.”  That is the Commandment.  The State has the inherent right to execute prisoners who have been justly convicted of capital crimes. The Church did not give the State that right, and the Church cannot take it away.  You have the right to protect yourself and others to the point of killing another person.  That is not murder, which is forbidden.  Remind me to speak to the Godmother, but that’s another matter.  You have to read Scripture in Hebrew.  “Oh!  We should not have soldiers or armed police!”  Yeah, let me know how that works out for you.  Not well because it violates the 5th Commandment.  You have the right and the obligation to preserve your own life. 

Thomas à Kempis was a priest who died in 1471 at the age of 91, an amazing life span especially during that period, medicine being what it was.  Even today, that would be considered a darn good run.  During his life, he was a priest at an Abbey where one of his jobs was to write.  He transcribed four copies of the bible with a quill pen and parchment paper.  That’s a lot of writing.  He also taught the young religious in the offices of the Abby.  He wrote a book, “The Imitation of Christ,” which is a spiritual classic.   If you are interested in spiritual life, it is a book you should have.   He wrote that the key to spiritual life is to do the will of another rather than your own.  And that’s hard.  I teach that to all the young men who want to be married.  I tell them that the answer to everything their wives ask is, “Yes, dear.”  That’s it, and your meals will continue to come on a regular basis.  Otherwise, you may win the battle, but you will not win the war.  They will attrite (gradually arrange) your death by a thousand cuts, and you have to shut your eyes some time.   So just say, “Yes, dear.” 

Doing the will of another is the hardest thing.   It is an act of love to trust in the will of another especially someone appointed over you.  When I entered the military service, do you know what the first thing I did was?  I was a brand new officer – a captain.  But I went to a sergeant, even though I was already in the Army when he was still in diapers, and I asked him, “Would you help me, please?”  Why?  Because he knew more about the Army than I did.  Knowledge does not always apply to rank or position.  I had to trust that sergeant not to lead me astray.   I had to trust Master Sergeant Rodriguez, who was a tunnel rat in Vietnam, to teach me how to do my job in combat so I didn’t get myself killed.  He had been there, and rank had no standing.  So, we trust, which is hard to do.  Remember, we are fallen creatures because of Original Sin, sins committed after Baptism, and those sins committed against us after Baptism.  Our first parents walked with God and talked with God but did not want to serve God.  They ate the apple, and here we are.

What is God’s will?  “I do not know what God’s will is for me.”  Well, Christ spelled it out very specifically because every time He asked the Apostles a question, they got the answer wrong.  He knew we would also screw it up, so He said, “Keep My Commandments,” and he spelled them out.  “If you love Me, keep my Commandments.”  That means the Commandments are works of love, so we trust and surrender our will to Him.  And that’s hard because sometimes we think we are the brightest bears in Jellystone Park.  But we are not.  We are afraid.  “If I do this, I won’t have any fun. I won’t have this, and I won’t have that.”  The rich young man had many possessions.  He was possessed by his possessions.  Nobody could have his stuff.  You see someone playing with your stuff, you call the police because it’s your stuff.  All the gifts God has given, our talents and abilities, are to be put into service for others.  Our Lord knows our fears – that we might lose something or that we might miss something.  Fear is a tactic that the devil uses very often.  It’s a poor, positive motivator but a great negative one.  Fear.  “I might miss something.”  “I’m too busy on Sunday mornings to come to Mass.”  Hmmm . . . 9:30 a.m. in Albemarle.  What is going on in Albemarle at that hour?  I’ve lived here a long time, and I would like to know because I’ve missed it!  “I can’t come to Mass because I have company.”  Bring them to Mass with you; it would be good for them.  But people fear they will miss something. 

Our Lord talked about this in today’s Gospel:  “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come (Mark 10:29-30).  He promises us great things to assuage that fear that prevents us from renouncing ourselves and from loving Him.  What our Lord promises us in this life are very nice things but the greatest thing of all He promises us is Himself. 

How will you apply this message to your life? _____________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”

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Sermon Notes – October 6, 2024 – “Love is Long-Suffering”

“Love is Long-Suffering”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

October 5 – 6, 2024

Gospel:   Mark 10:2-16

Who did God create first – Adam or Eve?  Adam?  No.  God created adom first.  What does “adom” mean?  It means “person” in Hebrew.  After God took the rib from adom and created male and female, then adom became Adam and Eve.  Once there was one person, and now there were two.  The two become one in the Sacrament of Marriage.  That’s why you have to read Scripture in the original Hebrew.  “Father, when did you study that?”  Actually, I studied it for two semesters under a Rabbi.  God created adom first and then He separated that person into male and female.  So that in the Sacrament of Marriage the two who were separate are joined together into one. 

Now you might think, “Father, you’re not married.”  Correct, and every woman on the planet is thankful for that.  There’s a saying that “those who can’t, teach.”  Really?  Does your cardiologist have heart disease?  No.  Does your oncologist have cancer?  No.  So don’t listen to them; they don’t have it.  “How would you know, Doc?  You don’t have the disease, so buzz off!”  The love of a priest for God and the vocation of the priesthood are very similar to marriage.  Why?  Although the situations are different, it is the same basic expression of love because that love comes from Almighty God.  God chooses how we will serve Him in this life.  In the married state, man and woman become co-creators with God in the order of nature.  He chose me to become a co-creator with Him in the order of grace.   To express the love and wonder of God and expressed in self-sacrificial love always mindful of the intent of the Other.  United with the source of all love and to be holy in order to give that holiness to others.  That love lasts forever.  I cannot stop being a priest until they zip me into a body bag and send the box back up to Rhode Island to be buried with my parents until the resurrection on the Last Day.   I am a priest forever because we are married to it. 

How do we accomplish growing together in marital love?   Through the Sacraments and prayer.  Bishop Sheen said this to all couples, Catholic and non-Catholic, who were preparing for marriage, “Pray the Rosary together every day.”  I say the same to the couples I am preparing for marriage.  Why?  It accomplishes a number of things.  If you pray the Rosary, you pray scripture, which solves a lot of problems. You learn how to speak to each other.  If you can pray out loud together, you can talk to each other about anything.  Setting aside that time for prayer just for the two of you and God, the source of all love, will keep a marriage together.   Many priests who stopped saying their prayers and stopped doing their meditations eventually left the priesthood.  Their egos cut them off from the source of life.  They choose self-love instead of being filled with His selfless love.  I have yet to meet a priest who left the Priesthood and was truly happy. 

Love is always focused on the other and not on self.  That is what love is.  Yes, it is long-suffering, and you have to put up with the sins of others.  So do I.  Not everybody makes me cookies.  Oh, the sufferings I’ve seen as a priest!   But no matter the vocation, the principles are the same.  Holiness and union with God enable us to have union with others in our vocations.

How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”