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Sermon Notes – June 16, 2024 – “Get Your Donkey to Mass”

“Get Your Donkey to Mass”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

June 15 – 16, 2024

Gospel: Mark 4:26-34

I remember my theology teacher, Father Connolly who has gone on to his eternal rest.  Saint Augustine said, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.”   Father Connolly put it this way, “We have a hole in the soul that can only be filled by God because He made us for Himself.”  We all have that hole in our soul; a place where only God can dwell to make us whole and complete. 

While I was up North and visiting my cousins, I got the low-down on the family . . . who is in the hospital and who isn’t . . . it was like a hospital counseling session.  Some are doing well, and some are not so well.  But that’s life on life’s terms.  How is Cousin Larry doing?  “Well, if you don’t count the six stents, the level 3 chronic kidney disease, and the lack of circulation in his feet, he’s doing great!   What I would really love for them all to do is go to Mass.  They were all given the gift of Catholic faith at Baptism.  Get your donkey to Mass.  It would help them bear their crosses and not die early. 

We all have family and friends we dearly love who have gone off the reservation, and our hearts break for them.  We want them to know the hope, the joy, and the peace we have in the Faith and the consolation we receive from our good Lord.  Remember that God loves them more than we do.  God wants them in Heaven more than we do.  God created them out of love, sustains them out of love, and gives them His gifts to turn their heads toward Him so that they can realize that they are running away from the source of all grace and goodness.  Never give up on your prayers for them.  God will never give up on them.  We may get tired, frustrated, and resentful, but God never does.  He is there waiting for them because nothing will ever kill that desire for God in their soul. 

Many people try to fill that hole in their soul with all sorts of people, places, and things.  It never works.  No matter how hard they try, the hole is never filled.   They try to kill the call of God.  “Well, this other church is good. They do this, and they do that.”  Well, if it was that good, you wouldn’t be talking to me in that tone of voice.  Feeling a little guilty, are we?  I wonder why.  That’s anger and guilt.  I’m not a professional counselor, but even I can figure that out.   I can always tell when I meet an ex-Catholic.  Do you know how?  They say, “I used to be Catholic.”  Are you happy?  They aren’t.  They know what they had and lost.  Their soul is not filled with Who it was meant to be filled with.  Instead, they keep trying to explain how much better things are now.  Really?  It is not.  So, keep praying for your relatives and friends as I keep praying for mine who have left God and the Faith.   Remember, God is always after them 24/7 and 365 up until the moment they die.  He constantly follows them and thumps them on the back of the head.  Hey Stunade!  Quit running.  Stop hurting yourself and let Him love you.   

During my military travels, I used to see this poster that said, “A coward is a man who lets men better and braver than himself protect him and his family.”  And that is true.  There is more courage than that on the battlefield.  A couple of weeks after I arrived here, I received a phone call from Hospice.  “Would you go visit someone in the county?”  Sure, I’d be happy to visit them.  I was new to the area and had no idea where anything was.  I’ve been here 22 years, and I still have no idea.   Anyhow, I found my way out to where the county ends and God begins.  It was an older couple, and the wife was dying of kidney cancer.  I talked to the husband, who was a WWII veteran and an Army Ranger.  He had been captured by the Japanese and tortured.  After I gave his wife Last Rites, I remember the last words he said to his wife, “Honey, I kept my promise.  I did not put you in a nursing home.” 

When 9-11 happened, people in Statesville were saying, “Let’s go get them!”  Are you going to give me your sons and daughters and risk their coming home in a body bag?   I knew I would be recalled, and in a couple of weeks, I was gone.  We see physical courage every day in our police and fire departments.  But the more important type of courage is moral courage.  I know a bunch of brave men who go home and are good husbands and fathers.  That is the mark of a true man.  Despite their many crosses, they are good husbands and fathers.  They protect their families and pass on the Faith.  That comes from striving for holiness. 

Father’s Reflections . . .

The other day, I texted Father Hoar and thanked him for covering for me last weekend.  I said I hoped y’all didn’t love him too much.  I had visions of my bags being packed and waiting for me on the porch and the locks on the door changed.  Paranoia is sometimes a good thing.

People have asked about my vacation.  Let me put it this way:  I had three combat tours in the Army and a tour in Gitmo.  During the seven days I spent driving around Rhode Island, I had more near-death experiences than I had in the 24 years I spent in military service.  I had breakfast in the diner every day; it was like “Cheers” with pancakes.  While eating breakfast, I looked around at all the people there, and it reminded me of an old Country & Western song:  “I have friends in low places.”

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 – May 19, 2024 – “The Language of Love”

“The Language of Love”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

May 18 – 19, 2024

Gospel: John 20:19-23

Last week we celebrated the Ascension of our Lord and 10 days after that we have Pentecost.  At the Ascension, Jesus took the body and human nature He received from the Blessed Mother to Heaven.  The human nature He suffered with, taught, healed, died, and rose with was taken up to Heaven.   So, He needed a new body because the one He took from Mary was in Heaven.  He uses the human nature we received at our Baptism to teach, to heal, and to console down through the ages to make His love known to all the world.  Whatever your vocation, He uses your human nature as a part of His new Body.  Sometimes people call the Church an “it.”  No.  The Church is a “Who.”  Scripture says that.  In the book of Acts, when Saul was persecuting Christians, Jesus asked him, “Why are you persecuting me?”   He did not say, “Why are you persecuting an organization, club, community gathering, or Christian group.”  He said, “Why are you persecuting Me?”  It is His Body that people persecute. 

Now, we are our Lord’s human nature.  We are His arms and legs depending on what part of the mystical body we occupy because of our vocations and the Sacraments.  Throughout the ages, He has used our human nature to bring His love to everyone.   He takes our human natures and uses them as His own to proclaim His message, to teach, and to heal.  We are the Body of Christ in Stanly County.  People heard the Apostles speaking in every tongue.  Now, if you come to the 12:15 Spanish Mass, you can listen to me speak in every tongue.  It’s very charismatic.  You will hear me speaking Spanglish with a French accent.  I can order in a Mexican restaurant and the people I’m with are usually very impressed, “Oh wow!  You speak Spanish.”  But the wait staff just shake their heads.  I’m not great with languages.  I barely made it through Canon Law because you needed to know Latin.  Latin was pretty easy for me since I always had a dictionary. 

At Pentecost, our Lord sends the Holy Spirit Who gives the gift of tongue to proclaim His love.  How do we proclaim His love?  Do we have to learn every language on the planet?  What is the universal language?  How do we reach all these people?  That’s easy.  God gives us the ability to do that.  “Oh wow.  You speak in other tongues?”  Yes, and no.  That’s part of the lawyer in me.   I speak, or try to speak, one language.  “What’s that?”  I’ll give you an example.  When I was the pastor in Statesville,  I received a call from a Hospice nurse who said, “Father, so and so has died. Would you go speak to the family?”  I said, “Sure!”  I went, and I got there before the Hospice nurse and funeral director.  So, I talked to the family and said a prayer over the body.   When the funeral director and the nurse arrived, I helped them take the body to the car.  Then the nurse and I stripped the room and put everything back in its place.  The one thing you don’t want is for the family to come into the room and see the bed linens where their loved one had been.  So, we stripped the room and put it back to how it was originally before their loved one got sick.  The nurse took some of the medication and flushed them.  However, some of the drugs were unopened and OTC (over the counter).  Technically, the nurse was supposed to take them back to Hospice, but she said, “Father, do you know anybody who could use them?”  She wasn’t supposed to do that.  I told some priests that story and they said, “Well, we’d never do that!”  Yeah, I know.  Chumps.  But because I helped that nurse, I got to help other people with the medicine.   That’s the universal language and how you reach people by acts of love.  When I helped that nurse, it was spontaneous and not a part of my job, but I did it because it had to be done.  Show that love.  It can be understood in any language.  Here’s another example:  Years ago, I was going through the hospice unit making my rounds.  Two paramedics came in with a stretcher and a new patient.  The nurses were busy as they always are.  One of the paramedics said, “Where do you want him?”  Not “Hello” but “Where do you want him?”   I said, “Room 3.”  I went with them, and one took the side sheet, another one had the head, and I had the legs.  1 – 2 – 3,  and we got the patient onto his bed.   And because I did not have gloves on and had touched the patient’s skin, I went to the sink and washed my hands.  One of the paramedics approached me and said, “Thank you, Father.”  When we do what is right, other people see it.  You don’t do it because you will be noticed or thanked; you do it because it shows God’s love.   

The third and last point I’ll make is that the Holy Spirit comes to unite all human natures into one body.  Not different bodies but one body to reverse what sin has done.  What does sin do?  Sin divides.  Remember the Tower of Babel?  They all spoke different languages and could not communicate with one another.  It separated humanity.   The Holy Spirit calls us to unite in one faith.  In the military, Protestant chaplains were in awe of Catholic chaplains because they looked at our congregation which was similar to what I see here, and they saw people from almost every continent in the world.  There were some whose English was not that good.  It worked out great for me because there were these Korean ladies who would make vegetable Yaki Mandu.  Oh yeah!   It was killer.  I didn’t realize it was fried, but it was wonderful.  When I was sent to Gitmo for my Spanish lessons – it didn’t work out well, but I went – and other chaplains were amazed at how much the people there loved me.  First, they didn’t know me; give them credit for that.  But they loved me because I was their priest.  “Do they understand what you are saying?”  Some did because they were very educated.  The chairman of my “parish council” was a brain surgeon who trained in Russia.  I asked our doctors if the Cuban doctors were any good and if I should let them touch me.  “Oh, they are very good.  They trained in Russia.”  

We are all one.  In the last 30 – 40 years, there has been a tendency to separate the Church to make it more relevant and meaningful.  You cannot make Christ more meaningful, okay?  You cannot make the Mass more meaningful; that’s blasphemy.  We have a bad habit of hyphenating people.  “I am Spanish-Catholic.”  “I am Irish-Catholic.”  Really.  Did you come from the Old Sod (Ireland)?  “No.“  Do you like ‘Danny Boy’?   “Oh yeah.”  Well, first of all, you haven’t been in church for 50 years so shut up.  And second, I hate that song!!  People wanted to play it at funerals and the bishop said, “No!”  We are not of different faiths only country of origin.  There is no different faith for Vietnamese-Catholics.  They are Catholic.  “I am Canadian-Catholic.”  It’s colder there; I’ll give you that, but you are still Catholic.  Are we Albemarlian-Catholics?  Are we Stanly County-Catholics?  Are we Oakboro-Catholics?  No!  We are all Catholic.  They seek to break up the Faith.  We have to have a different Mass for each language.  That’s why Latin was good because it united everybody which is why we should go back to it.  We are all one faith; there is no such thing as hyphenated-Catholics.  That’s a sin and it’s blasphemy.  The Holy Spirit came to do the exact opposite . . . to unite us all.   It’s like soldiers – there are no hyphenated soldiers – we are all soldiers.  I remember one chaplain who got up and said, “We need more black chaplains.”  I said, “Excuse me.  When did the Army go color-coded with chaplains?”   He couldn’t answer.  He was a colonel but not my colonel so I couldn’t have cared less.  Little bigot. 

We are not color-coded or area-coded.  We are all Catholic by the grace of the Holy Spirit Who unifies the Church and by that unification, Christ continues His teaching and ministry.  We have one Faith, one Church, and one Lord.  To say otherwise is denying the gift of the Holy Spirit.  What evidence do we have of the Holy Spirit?  By babbling, “I have the gift of the Spirit”?  No.  The fruits of the Spirit are works of love.

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 – May 5, 2024 – “We Have the Tools to Become Saints”

“We Have the Tools to Become Saints”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

May 4 – 5, 2024

Gospel: John 15:9-17

In your prayer life, I encourage you to thank God for keeping you safe.  Also, ask your Guardian Angel to cover you with his or her wings so that you may have a safe night free of temptation and illness and can sleep soundly.  Do the same when you get up in the morning.  Ask your Guardian Angel to protect you with their wings as you go through your day to protect you from the dangers of satan, both temporal and spiritual.  Also, remember to say “thank you” at night and in the morning for their watchfulness over you. 

This past week we had the feast of Saint Catherine of Sienna.  She did a lot for the Church in her short life.  She was only 33 when she died, medicine being what it was five centuries ago.  In her short 33 years, she lived an extraordinary life.  I used to love reading about the lives of saints, which is why I never read fiction . . . it was boring.  The amazing thing about Saint Catherine is that she had no initials before or after her name like Most Reverend Bishop, STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology and not a disease), DD (Doctor of Divinity), or JCD (Doctor of Canon Law).  Whoopee!  That does not impress me.  I have initials after my name, and I also have a nice title – Very Reverend – which went south when the bishop retired.  Does that make me a brighter person?  Not necessarily.  All it proves is that I can pass tests. 

However, knowing how to take tests doesn’t mean you are holy.  Look at Saint Therese of Lisieux.  She didn’t graduate from college, nor did she take the Lay Ministry Program offered by our diocese.  But a century later, the Church made her a Doctor of the Church for her holiness.  Saints Therese and Catherine, like so many other saints, reached out and grasped the means to lead a holy life and change the world or their piece of it.   They cooperated with God’s grace each in their own vocation.  Their ability to become holy was the same as ours is today through the Sacraments offered by Holy Mother Church.  They had the same means to become holy as we do.  We all have different abilities and vocations.  Bob will not allow me to handle power tools.  He made that decision so that I wouldn’t hurt myself.  The staff will not allow me to work on phones and on computers.  Also, I know better than to try to work in the kitchen.  That’s not going to happen in my lifetime either.  We all have talents and abilities in every different sphere.  However, we share one common ability, no matter our education, which is holiness.  You are here so that you can take advantage of it and convert the world as the saints did.  I am at least twice the age of Saint Catherine of Sienne when she passed, and I am almost three times the age of Saint Therese de Lisieux when she passed.   Holiness is not a comparative thing, but when I think back on my life, I don’t know if I have done anything that compares to them.  I may have some explaining to do in a little while.  So, in my meditation, I reflect on how to aspire to greater acts of holiness and penance so that I may become like them. 

The ability to be holy does not atrophy.  If we get hurt and are laid up in bed for a while, we get to take physical therapy.  That’s a lot of fun!  I was at the hospital and these pretty young ladies came in.  They seemed so sweet, but the next thing I heard from the patient’s room was “OOOOOOH!”   I have a massage therapist who helps me with my bad back.  When the pain gets to be too much, I let out an “AAAAAH,” and she’ll say, “I’m helping you, Father.”  I feel it!  I really do!  Our muscles atrophy when we don’t use them, but the ability to be holy does not.  The ability to be holy is always there to be reawakened, enlivened, and fulfilled.  The ability to be transformed and to transform the world around us is always there.  We never lose it.  We just have to cooperate with the means to be holy that God gave us.  Holiness is not given to us because we are nice people.  I would like to think I’m the greatest guy I know, and I usually do.  But holiness and my talents have not been given to me because I’m me.  They’ve been given to me to use for you.  So however close I get to Almighty God, that closeness is not a reward for being who or what I am.  It is a gift for you to help build up the Body of Christ.  We have the same ability to be holy just as the great saints did.  We don’t need initials before or after our names.  We don’t have to participate in any special programs or ministries.  I think about the parish I grew up in.  It was crammed with WWII veterans.  Think about what those men and women did.  It was a small French-speaking parish, but they built a church, a school, and a convent.  They also produced five priests from my generation.  Two of those priests have passed.  I remember those men and women very well because it was a small parish.  None of them held spiritual degrees, but they had Christ in their hearts.

Some of us were early bloomers like Saint Catherine, and some of us were late bloomers.  We won’t know what we have and have not accomplished until we are standing before the Throne of God.  The same gifts that were made available to the saints when they cooperated with God’s grace are available to us.  They show the amazing transformation that can happen when we cooperate with God’s grace.   You can find a saint who was in any condition you may have but who was transformed.  The Church investigates potential saints quite vigorously.  They comb through everything written or said by candidates that could be made suspect.  It’s like a spiritual colonoscopy.  So, when people are raised at what is called the Dignity of the Altar and declared a saint, you know their lives have been investigated thoroughly.  The same grace Saint Catherine or any of the saints had is available to us anytime.  God can, does, has, and will give us that same transforming power to change our piece of the world by bringing God’s love, grace, and peace to those who need it.

Father’s Reflections . . .
I’ve been thinking about the four law enforcement officers who were killed in Charlotte two weeks ago.  Despite everyone having fresh plumbing, computers, and cell phones, there’s a lot of evil in the world, so it’s not a lack of stuff that makes people bad.  They’re sick.  Those four brave men won their eternal salvation.  Please keep their families in your prayers. 

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 – April 28, 2024 – “Are You Blowing Off God?”

“Are You Blowing Off God?”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 27 – 28, 2024


Gospel: John 15:1-8

I appreciate the warm welcome back from my vacation.  Many of you have asked how my vacation was.  It was exhausting.  Now you may be thinking, “But Father, you were on vacation. You had a chance to rest.”   When does a mother and father have a chance to rest?  Just asking.  I’m going back to the area I grew up as a priest, and I have my own little parish there.  Everyone wants to talk to me.  My vacation started this way:  I got up in the morning and when I went into the kitchen for coffee, I stepped in a bunch of cat poop.  Okay, this is going to be fun!  After that it just got weird.  I encountered a lot of episodes of WTMI (way too much information) during which I just sat there and said, “Uh-huh, Uh-huh, okay, yeah.”   I went to see my aunt, who is also my godmother, and my two cousins Sheryl and Lisa.  At one point, all three women were talking to me at once.  Now, I can’t tell my 95-year-old godmother to “shut up” but my cousins I can, and I did.   Shut up!   “What do you mean?”  Did I stutter?   I love you but together you two drive me nuts!  This is why I live alone and why living in a monastery appeals to me.  

Every day I went to the diner which is like the TV show “Cheers” with grease on a plate.   I have my own little parish there too.  I saw this one man who I’ve known for years.  When I first met him, he told me he had been in Vietnam.  He came home after basic training and AIT (job training) and got married.  Ten days later he was on a plane to Saigon.  When he got back home, he became an Elvis impersonator.  Gotta love a guy like that!  When I talked to his wife, I said, “He wasn’t the same young man you sent away, was he?”   She began to cry and said, “No.”  I complimented her, and I still do because she was the one who brought him home from the war.  It’s a type of on-the-job training.  My mother and aunts had to do it for my father and uncles without a textbook or instruction manual to guide them.  They didn’t talk about it although a few of them mentioned it to me before they died.  They had to bring their husbands home, so they taught their children not to sneak up on their dads.   Do not surprise Dad.  So, I’ve watched this man’s health deteriorate over the years.  I’m not “House” but there have been obvious signs.  He has had a lot of maladies due to his time in Vietnam.  During the first part of my vacation, he told me that his doctors had placed him in palliative care.  Well, some people live forever on palliative care, so I wasn’t concerned about that.  Near the end of my vacation, he told me that his doctors had given him the bad news that he had six months to a year to live, and he started to cry a bit.   The agent orange had caught up with him.   On the last day I was home, I told him I would see him in September, and he said, “No, you won’t.”   

This is a funny story about another guy.  Remember I told you that I know a guy?   Well, this is the guy.  I mean the Feds even bugged his phone, so he is the guy.  He’s not in the business anymore, however, he’s open to referrals.  So, I do know a guy.  About 30 years ago, his friend helped him get out of the business and become the wonderful guy he is today.  But his friend is dying and is in a trauma unit at a hospital in Rhode Island.  He wanted to see him but felt bad about intruding on the family.   So, he called his friend’s daughter and asked, “May I come to see your father?  I don’t want to interrupt the family if it’s a bad time.”  She said, “Yes, of course.  He wants to see you.”   So, he went.  Even though his friend had tubes protruding from every possible place you could have them, he motioned to him that it was okay.  He talked to his friend and made peace with him.   He left the hospital, and an hour later his friend was dead. 

Coming home I was privileged to sit next to a guy who had three hot toddies starting at 10:30 in the morning.  Everyone is trying to be a paratrooper.  I said, “Really?  That’s the amateur hour.”   Then, to top it all off, I called the church office to see how things were going and learned that the visiting priest had been vomiting all Sunday night and Monday morning.  So Servpro came to the house and disinfected everything.  Never a dull moment.   On Friday afternoon, I drove from Charlotte back to Albemarle to take care of the mail and then drove to St. Luke’s in Mint Hill to hear confessions and drove back.  Otherwise, I’m really relaxed.

While I was hearing confessions at St. Luke’s, someone said, “I don’t go to Mass the way I should.”  Well, you can.  Nothing is stopping you.  The doors here are open.  In many ways, it comes down to poor teaching about what the Mass is.  The Mass is not a function.  It is the event that redeemed creation and opened Heaven up for us.  It gives us the means to get there by the sacrifice of Christ which is always before the Father and made present for us.  In some parishes, the Mass is treated like a performance.  They have these big screens that come down from the ceiling, and somebody is at the front of the church cheerleading.   I didn’t read that in Scripture about Calvary.  Did they have a cheerleader?   Maybe I’m wrong.  I may have been sick for a day or two while in seminary.   Some parishes have a practice before the Mass or they have a Mass that goes on and on – like the guy last week – and on.  You get no more salvation with a Mass that goes for an hour and a half than one that lasts for 13 minutes, which I have done several times because of extenuating circumstances. 

Why is missing Sunday Mass so bad?  The greatest sign of God’s love is made present on the altar on Sundays and every day, but Sunday is a holy day of obligation.  Our good Lord asks those who say they believe in Him to come and be a part of the greatest act of divine love the world has ever seen.  But people don’t show up.   This is a little vulgar, but it’s true – they give God the middle finger.  “I’m too busy.”  “I don’t like it.”  “I was there last week, and it’s just a rerun.”  “I went to Mass a lot in grade school.”  Really?   I drank a lot of water back then, and I still drink water.  So, they give God the middle finger and go about their business.  That’s all ego.  The true way to spirituality, as evidenced by people who get sober, clean, or slimmer or whatever 12-Step program they are in, is by humility or ego deflation.  Once humility is achieved, along with the other steps supporting it, you never have to drink or abuse drugs again.  Humility is one of God’s gifts and is the first step in spirituality.   Does God chuckle at my not eating bacon?  Maybe but doubtful.  But He wants to see what I do with the sacrifices made on my behalf.  He made such a great sacrifice Himself by sending His only Son to suffer and die.  What is my response to that love?  By complaining and crying that I can’t eat bacon or that I have to eat fish?  That’s a big one.  Did I tell you I hate fish?  Ego deflation is the key to spiritual life. 

“What a beautiful Mass, Father.”  Don’t judge the Mass . . . all Masses are beautiful.  The beauty comes in the person who is suffering in the Mass and that is Christ.  What is the Mass?  It is Christ and that is where the beauty comes from.  The only way to improve the Mass is not from the outside but from inside us.  That’s how we come to appreciate the Mass and not by judging it by our standards like ‘America’s Got Talent’ or thinking that our trip to Walmart is more important.  The key to the Mass is humility and realizing what we are and what the Mass is.  The humble say, “Speak Lord your servant is listening” and not “Listen Lord your servant is speaking.”

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 – April 14, 2024 – “There is Only One Truth”

“There is Only One Truth”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 13 – 14, 2024

Gospel: Luke 24:35-48

35 Then they told their story of what had happened on the road and how they had recognised Him at the breaking of bread. 36 They were still talking about all this when He himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ 37 In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. 38 But He said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? 39 See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’ 40 And as He said this He showed them His hands and his feet. 41 Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so He said to them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ 42 And they offered Him a piece of grilled fish, 43 which He took and ate before their eyes. 44 Then He told them, ‘This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about Me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, was destined to be fulfilled.’ 45 He then opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46 and He said to them, ‘So it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that, in His name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses to this.

I looked this up: there are over 12,000 Protestant denominations. Protestants say they believe in Scripture; however, they must be reading different books than Catholics. God wants us to find our truth. Philosophically, there can be only one truth. There is one God and one truth. There is no different faith for Yankees than there is for people in Aquadale. There is not a different faith for people with different skin tones. We have only one faith and one truth. The Catholic Church teaches the truth.

I get these questions all the time. I see a group of Baptist guys on Mondays at Parkway House. They are good old boys, and I always go up and talk to them. Some of them will start quoting Scripture and ask if I am familiar with it. I feel like saying, “Dude, see this collar? I went to school and, believe it or not, I earned a master’s degree. I really did study, and I have a diploma to prove it.” So yeah, I think I know Scripture. I have people coming up to me all the time trying to prove me wrong. The Catholic Church wrote the Bible, so I know what it says and what it means. “Well, I don’t think it means that.” Do you argue with your doctor too? There is one truth. The Church teaches the truth, and we call that tradition. Truth is also contained outside of Scripture. In John’s gospel, he admitted that Scripture does not contain everything (John 21:25). So, we have the whole truth that the Church has taught from the beginning.

We have all sorts of people who have been “gifted” by the spirit, and they claim, “truth to power.” Uh-Huh. When someone uses that phrase, I always say, “I’ll get someone to check your meds because it sounds like you are on a real ego trip.” In the Catholic Church, those people have fallen by the wayside. They’ve all gone bye-bye. They say, “We have a new and better way. Christ told us so.” How’s that working out for you? Probably not really well. If we stick to what Christ said, we get what He promised: peace and joy in our souls, all the happiness that is possible in this life, and eternal life in the next. We have an inkling of what Heaven is like.

A lot of people say, “I don’t care what happens to my body; the body isn’t important.” Yes, it is. Our Lord said, “See by My hands and My feet that it is I Myself. Touch Me and see for yourselves.” At the end of time, we will have our bodies back . . . our souls will be reunited with our bodies. Nothing imperfect can be in the presence of God. There is only a temporary separation of our soul and body, so at the end of the world, we will receive our bodies back to serve our Lord and love Him. We will be reunited with our bodies and rejoice in Heaven. Hopefully, I won’t be eating fish! Please, Lord!! Although I am sure He will make me like it. This is our future. We will have our bodies back and not the weak and frail ones we have now, but bodies made perfect. We will be able to recognize each other in Heaven because the Apostles recognized our good Lord. If we do as we are told, that is our future. If not, let me know how that works out for you.

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 – April 7, 2024 – “You Must Be Willing to Try”

“You Must Be Willing to Try”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 6 – 7, 2024

Gospel: John 20: 19-31

When we go to Confession we are praying scripturally.  Now, this doesn’t happen very often, but I pray it happens to you because it will comfort and strengthen your faith.  We kneel and say, “Bless me Father for I have sinned.”  Our image of each other through the grate in the confessional is a bit hazy on purpose because I’m not supposed to recognize anyone.  In the hazy light, you may think that Father is growing a beard and has hair.  He has a certain glow about him, and he looks healthy because he doesn’t have that pale look he usually has.  Is that the father we know?”  Yes and no.  It’s my human body but you’ve been given the eyes of angels because you see Christ on the other side of that partition.  It is Christ who forgives sins.  It is Christ who hears your confession.  In His hand, He holds the chalice that is filled with His Precious Blood from His sacred wounds.  When He gives you absolution, He dips His hand into the chalice and anoints your soul with His Precious Blood for the remission of your sins.  As the Pentecostals say, “You’ve been washed in the blood.”  All your sins are forgiven and forgotten.  Your soul is infused with sanctifying and actual grace.  It is Christ who forgives your sins.  He uses my human nature just as our Good Lord heals you through the actions of good physicians and nurses.  This is one of the gifts He gives us and the fruits for which He sacrificed Himself so that we may have eternal life and forgiveness of our sins. 

I went to confession two weeks ago.  I do not ask you to do what I will not do myself.  Belief is proved by action.  Sometimes it is frightening to go to confession.   It can also be frightening to go to the doctor.  “Oh, my goodness!”   Going to the dentist can also be a really pleasant experience.  But why do we get nervous?  The doctors are going to do the best they can for you, reassure you, and make your life more pleasant.  That’s what I try to do on my hospital rounds.  It usually happens with drug addicts and alcoholics in the Emergency Room.  They are all nervous and upset.  I remember one man who served in Afghanistan as an Army first sergeant, and he was crying his eyes out.  He said, “You are going to throw me out of here!”  I said, “We don’t shoot our wounded.”  After that, I usually take out my business card and write my cell phone number on the back.   I tell them, “If you have a problem while you’re here, call me.  I know people.  If you have a problem, I’ll get it taken care of.”  In my 13 years at the VA Hospital, I’ve never had anyone call me. 

I always like it when people say, “We have scriptural beliefs.”  Really.  “We are a bible believing church!”  Really.  Scripture says that “Jesus did many other signs in the presence of [his] disciples that are not written” (John 2:30).  Not everything was written down.  After three years of ministry, if that’s all He did, He didn’t do much.  But the Word stayed with the Apostles which is called “tradition” and they taught it.  If you believe in Scripture, then go to Confession because He gave the power to the Apostles, bishops, and priests to absolve sin (John 20:21-23).  It says that in the black part of scripture not the white part. 

But we are all scared to go to Confession.  Why, I don’t know.  Actually, I do know.  It’s our pride.  Because you think that you are going to tell Christ, which is me acting in His person, something I haven’t heard before.  Very unlikely.  Moral Theology is a class we took before the Penance course at seminary, and it consisted of two very thick textbooks.  I’ve had people say, “Oh, I’ve committed every sin in the book!”  Okay, let’s see.  So, you married your first cousin and had relations with her?  “No, Father!  Okay, that’s one chapter from the textbook gone.  Did you fool around with animals?  “No!”  Okay, that’s another chapter gone.  The textbooks are getting thinner and thinner as we talk.   My point is that you are not going to surprise me.  It’s like when I go into hospital rooms and patients pull their bed sheets up around their chins.  I wish they all did that, but I tell them that I’ve seen more body parts than they will ever have. Occasionally, I have to say that to the Spanish because some of them wear very low-cut dresses.  Cover up!  I’ve seen more than that in the hospital. 

We have to say what we are sorry for as best as we can.  I cannot prescribe something for that which I don’t know about.  Doctors would never prescribe anyone pain medicine who said, “Oh, I have a terrible headache!  I need some oxycontin.”  The doctor is not going to say, “No problem, and I’ll make the prescription refillable too.”  Nope.  That would never happen.  If they did that, they would be over at FU (Felon University), and I’d be visiting them there.  In fact, I met a PA (physician’s assistant) at FU who was there for doing that same kind of funny stuff.  The physician may want to take a little peek because the problem could be sinuses, or it could be a brain tumor.  It’s the same with spiritual life.  The medicine I prescribe for your soul will depend on what I know.  The one thing priests cannot forgive is people who live in an objective state of sin.  For example, they have a bad marriage, or they are in a relationship that they are unwilling to leave or even try.   If you are unwilling to try, I cannot help you.  “Hey, I’ll give you cancer treatments if you’ll stop smoking.”  “But I don’t want to stop smoking.”   My older brother did that.  He had Hepatitis C, and the doctor said that he could cure it if he stopped drinking.   My brother said, “Nope,” and he did not have a good outcome.  We are all sinners, but you have to be willing to try. 

I do this all the time at the VA Hospital for patients who are getting a celestial discharge.  I don’t ask if I can give them Last Rites.  Instead, I say, “I’m going to give you Last Rites, okay?”  They usually say, “Yes.  Thank you, Father.”  Then I will ask, “When was the last time you went to Confession?”  I never ask if they would like to go to Confession.   When I ask them about the last time they went to Confession, I say it in a command-like tone, and that snaps them right back to their military days and they tell me.  Then I ask, “What are your sins?”  Of course, half of them can’t remember because they are usually sedated.  So, I say, “Key question: Are you sorry for all of your sins, those you remember and those you don’t?”   “Yes.”  Right answer, and I absolve them of their sins. 

There are two types of sorrow – perfect and imperfect contrition.  Perfect sorrow or contrition is when you are sorry for hurting the one you love.  You are sorry for offending them because you love them, and they are worthy of all your love as God Almighty is.  Imperfect contrition is when you are sorry because you got caught.  Ask a police officer how many people cry right before they get a ticket.  “I didn’t know!”   Well, here is a ticket as a reminder.  Imperfect contrition is sufficient. 

Remember, just because you don’t see Christ while in the confessional as I act in His person, doesn’t mean He’s not there.  Likewise, just because you don’t see law enforcement officers on Highway 52 while driving to Salisbury doesn’t mean they aren’t there.

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 – March 31, 2024 – “He is Risen”

“He is Risen”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 30 – 31, 2024

Gospel: John 20:1-9


People say, “Women have no power in the Church.”  No, but women have more courage.  Look at the Gospels and the courage of women.  Can you imagine how the women who went to the tomb felt?  That is the transforming power of faith.  Now, I know we have law enforcement here.  We also have medical people, the fire department, and combat veterans.  They can tell you what would happen to a dead body after three days in the Palestinian heat especially one with open wounds.  You aren’t going to want to be near it.  Whew!  There is no amount of Vicks Vapor Rub or Febreze that will cover up that stench.  But their love for Christ triumphed over their natural reluctance to do what we would say is disgusting.  Their love for the Lord gave them the courage to overcome their reluctance to go to the tomb and anoint the Body of Jesus.   I’m sure they knew exactly what they were getting into.  During that time, life was a lot more brutal and harsher than it is today.  We live a much cleaner life.   That’s what faith does.  Faith can transform our fear into love.  The women were going to the tomb to do a proper work of mercy for our Lord.  They didn’t have to, but they did.   And because of their love, these women were the first to behold the empty tomb and the resurrection.  Afterward, they brought Peter and John to the tomb, and Peter went inside. 

I’m old enough now to hide my own Easter eggs.  As time passes by, you realize that your celestial discharge is approaching.  We have a natural fear of death.  We were never supposed to die.  Our first parents are responsible for that; however, we have helped with the sins we have committed after baptism.   Sin brings fear, and sins committed after baptism increase that fear.  But the love of God can transform that fear and turn it into a longing, not to leave our loved ones behind, but to go be with the Beloved.   God wants us to be with Him, and He offers His love to transform our fear into love.  In the Gospel of Saint John, Jesus said, “I am going now to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you to myself, so that you may be with me where I am” (John 14:2-3).  We will go to join our good Lord, all those who wait for us, and all the saints who prayed for us. 

I had an interesting episode of God’s Mercy last Thursday while doing my rounds at the hospital.  We have a new hospice chaplain, and when I saw him, I wanted to say, “I was here before you came, and I’ll be here after you leave.  You’re the sixth hospice chaplain I’ve seen come through here.”  I’ve been at the VA hospital for quite a while.   But he’s a great guy, and he told me there was someone for me to see in the hospice unit.  I said, “Okay.”  So, I went in to talk to the patient.  He was in very bad shape and did not make it to the weekend.  He had been in Vietnam.  He had been Baptist, became a Catholic, became a priest, left the priesthood, was laicized, and got married.  I’m not sure where the lady was, and I didn’t bother to ask.  But he made his peace with God.  Father Elkhart from Sacred Heart came over and heard his confession.  I talked with him for a while, or as much as I could because he was in such discomfort.  I gave him the Apostolic Pardon because I take care of my own.  He was a soldier, and I was a soldier.  That is God’s mercy.  He wants us to be at peace. 

The resurrection is true, and its power is still alive and active.  Our Lord offers us His life.  If the resurrection wasn’t true, then all of this would be worthless.   He gives us the gifts to change what we have caused by sinning.   Even sin cannot compete with God’s plans.  All He asks for is our cooperation to draw ever closer to the Sacred Heart of His Son so that we can be transformed.  Those fears we have, and we all have fears, of leaving this life and going to God will be changed.  The transforming power of God’s love elevates us above and beyond our natural fears and limitations. The resurrection is true.  His power is still active.   Christ is risen.

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 – March 24, 2024 – “The Sound and Smell of Love”

“The Sound and Smell of Love”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 23 – 24, 2024

Gospel: Mark 14:1 – 15:47

We have a young man in our parish who is in his fourth week at Paris Island, and you know, I may be enjoying it a bit too much!  “Oh, Father, it’s so hard there!”  No, not really.  It’s unpleasant, but it’s not that hard.  Your worst day at Paris Island is infinitely better than your best day in Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan.  It’s not that bad.  You won’t get hurt unless you do something extremely stupid.  However, never underestimate the power of people to be stupid.  We can become, what one writer says, overly sensitive, which is a grave character defect.  We are sensitive about some things but not sensitive about others.  I get these emails at the Veterans Hospital (VA) about proper pronoun usage.  “Oh!  You called me by the wrong pronoun!”   Well, I thought ‘jerk’ fit you pretty well.  Do you know what I’ve been called in my life?  In the military anything soldiers said that was prefaced with ‘sir’ and that ended with ‘sir’ was appropriate, and I would take it.  “Sir, you are a bleeping idiot, Sir.”  Understood.  Very good.  Carry on. 

“Oh, oh, the opera of anxiety!”  Really?  All that drama with the psychiatric condition you have.   Really?   We are highly sensitive about the wrong things.   Today you heard a short recitation of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ.   For the Roman soldiers, this was just another day at the office.  They did this all the time.  They were trained professionals, just ask Saint John.  There was nothing special about Jesus’ death except that the Roman soldiers recognized it at the end.  Until then, Jesus was just another schmuck who had been sentenced to death, and they were just doing their job.  They did three that day; it wasn’t a big deal.  But we are here, and we are sensitive to His Passion. 

Now, I’m old, and I’m lucky to be so because a lot of people have wanted to kill me during my life and not just my family.   Go to YouTube and watch “Jesus Christ Superstar.”  One part of the story is about Pilot counting the lashes that were inflicted on our Lord during the scourging at the pillar.   One thing about lashing – when you are hit with a belt, it stings.  However, the Romans used a flagellum that had nail spikes attached to each cord which would dig into and rip away the flesh.  As a result, the wounds would not coagulate with the blood, so the bleeding would continue.  Eventually, you would die of suffocation because you lacked the strength to hold yourself upright.  That was one of the things the Romans inflicted upon people, and it was not a fun way to go.  That is suffering.  It’s not when someone hurts our feelings, “Oh, my goodness!  I’m so hurt!  They didn’t call me by my proper pronoun!”  Grow up!   You have no idea about hurt and about pain.  If you read the Passion, and I especially like ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’, you get an idea of what happened and begin to understand the pain that Christ endured.  After our Lord’s Passion, we cannot say, “My sin only hurts me.  I don’t hurt anyone else, just me.”  Uh no.  “I have no sin.”  Then you don’t need to come to church.  Don’t anybody start running for the doors! 

Love has a sound.  Think about the Passion and meditate on it.  The sound of love is the drip, drip, drip of blood that flowed from the sacred wounds of our Lord on the Cross and onto the ground.   That is the sound of love being poured out for us.  Mary was the first one to be washed in the blood.  Love also has a smell.  It is the smell of blood.  At our Lord’s Passion, they smelled, they heard, and they saw divine love.  This is the price of sin that we try to minimize so much.  Not only the white lies – the color coded sins which I never studied – but any sin.  This is how much God loves us. 

Look at the Passion, and you will see the price of love.  All that misery translates into what we need . . . His love for us, and the love to restore us to God’s friendship.  Do you have any idea of the agony He endured?  The Romans were pretty good at their jobs and intentionally prolonged death.  Think about the agony our good Lord endured when He didn’t have to, but He did so out of love for us.  Look at the Crucifix and that is how much God loves us.  It’s what our sins have caused.  That’s the price of sin that our Lord paid for us because we could not.  Think about how much we have taken for granted the depth of our sins and the magnitude of His love. 

How will you apply this message to your life?_________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” 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 – March 17, 2024 – “We Want What We Want When We Want It”

“We Want What We Want When We Want It”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 16 – 17, 2024

Gospel: John  12:20-33

Our Good Lord said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit” (John 12:24).  He calls us to be grains of wheat.  But why must we die?  I’m glad you are interested, otherwise the sermon would be over.  It’s so that we may bring forth life.  The means to do it is really easy; it’s right in front of us.  Keep the Commandments.  By keeping the Commandments, we die to ourselves.  Dying to ourselves is the resignation of the will.  De-egotazation is the basis of every 12-Step group.  De-egotazation steps are the keys to recovering from whatever addictions people have.  However, it’s not just obeying the Commandments – there are more than 10, and those 10 have a lot of other things in them.   

There are two ways in which to obey the Commandments.  One way is objectively by obeying the law.  For example, if you are driving to Misenheimer you will go through Richfield.  Near the VFW, there is usually a highway patrol officer or deputy sheriff sitting there.   So, you reduce your speed, and once the coast is clear, you kick your speed back up to 65.  But when you get to the university, you slow back down in case a Misenheimer police officer is hiding behind the bushes.  Once you are on the other side of the university, you floor it again to Salisbury.  When you don’t want to get into trouble or get caught, that is objective obedience.   But that is only the beginning of de-egotazation. 

People say, “We are studying scripture.  What do you think this means?”  Every time our Lord asked the Apostles a question, they always got it wrong.  Peter got it right once, but Jesus said, “My heavenly Father revealed it to you” (Matthew 16:13-19).  So, we cannot say we know what ‘this’ means.  Jesus said only male and female were created and for that reason, a man and a woman shall leave their families and the two shall be as one.   During the first week in Latin class, we learned the words male and female.  It’s really easy!  Yet now, in principle, people say, “Well, I think that means this, and we can change it.”  No!  He said it.  That’s like telling Christ, “You were wrong.”  How is that for ego?  “You were wrong.”   Really? 

The second part of obedience is when you truly die to self.  Spiritual growth really takes over with interior ascent.  This is not just the objective obedience of simply following the law but the interior ascent.  “I do it because of my love of the Lord.  I resign my will to Him.”  That is the hardest part of all.  Soon, I will have been a priest for 40 years, and because I can take tests, I’ve got some letters after my name and some titles before it.  I’m a really big guy.  Sometimes the bishop will say, “I want this done.”  Are you kidding me?  Granted, his Excellency has more information than I do.  But sometimes I think, “Is he telling me how to do my job?”   That is the ego speaking.  It’s like pastors who don’t take suggestions or even listen to people.    Look at the history of this place, and you realize that previous pastors never took any advice from anybody.  That’s why we have had to fix everything in the past few years – because they built it wrong.  They wouldn’t listen. 

Subjective obedience is the most difficult because it’s when we truly die to self.  The first one, the objective part, is tough enough.  I can handle driving 65 in a 55 . . . I really can.  However, in North Carolina, law enforcement can give you a ticket for driving 56 in a 55.  I don’t think a judge would hear it, but according to the law, there is no grey area.  It’s the ego – not just the objective ego but also the subjective.  And that is the hardest part of dying to oneself.  The objective is hard enough, but the subjective is worse.   That’s where real spiritual growth exists. 

We bristle at rules.  “Oh, the Church has too many rules!”  Well, flying has a lot of rules too.  I suggest you follow them, otherwise we will be coming by with a squeegee to clean up your body parts.  There are a lot of rules in a lot of things.  Pharmacology has a lot of rules.  Trying it on your own usually doesn’t work out well.  Rules are there to keep us from doing stupid stuff.  They are there to warn us that something will hurt really bad, and we won’t be able to fix it on this Earth.  Rules are there to keep us safe and to point us in the right direction.  But we don’t like the rules because of our egos.  I want what I want when I want it!  Our daily dying to self: “Yes, Lord.  I will try to do what you ask of me not only because it’s for my own good, but it will also enable me to love You even more.” 


How will you apply this message to your life?_________________________________________

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” 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.”