Category: Sermon Notes

Transripts of weekly sermons

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Sermon Notes – There’s No Apple Pie in Heaven (Darn It)

“There’s No Apple Pie in Heaven (Darn It!)“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 10 – 11, 2021

Gospel:  John 20:19-31

You may remember my sermon on Holy Thursday that was so wonderfully entitled “When a one man band gets hit in the butt with a beer truck, the music stops.”  Our Lord gave the apostles and their successors the ability to carry on with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the ages so that the fruits He won through His death could be passed on.  He told the apostles if you forgive their sins, they are forgiven.  That happens every generation with every priest.  Any priest who says the Mass has the power to give these gifts and to forgive sins.  We have to hear the sins by the way.  Jesus told the apostles, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven, if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”  So, how do we know?  Because people tell us.  The sins we hold bound and do not offer forgiveness for are those you are not sorry for and those you are not going to try to stop.  If you come in and say you are living with two girlfriends as husband and wife, and you are not going to stop, I cannot forgive you because you are attached to the sin.  So, you have now heard part of the penance course. 

Also in the gospel, and the main point I want to get at, is that the transfiguration took place about ten days before the Passion.  Our Lord showed us what the saints are like in Heaven.  They are recognizable, and they know the future because Heaven is the eternal now.  We are in time, but Heaven is not.  Our good Lord shows us what the saints would be like after the resurrection of the body and the General Judgement should we pass that final exam.  The questions come from Matthew Chapter 25… I’ll give you a heads-up so you can prepare for it.  He shows us what it will be like and how to get there.  He shows us that we will have a body and that it will be recognizable and that it can move through walls.  “It’s a ghost!”  No, it’s not.  It has physicality to it.  Touch my hand.  Touch my feet.  In the gospel, Jesus asks for food, and He ate it.  Now, we won’t need food in heaven, which I find quite disappointing. My mother has been gone for several decades, and I was looking forward to her apple pie.  Even her sisters say they can’t bake like my mother did.  Thanks, a lot!  So, there will be no food in heaven, but we know that we will have our body with us.

Heaven is a place.  A physical body needs a place in paradise to be in the presence of God.  Our Lord also teaches us how we can get there.  Probe the nail prints in My hands and the spear marks in My side.  Bishop Sheen said that God will judge us by the resemblance of His Son in us.  He will look at us.  He will look at the three parts of man having suffered with My Son for the admission of sin for the sake of others.  He will look at the body, soul, and spirit.  Not everybody will have physical suffering to the extent Christ had, but everyone will have emotional or spiritual sufferings.  Some suffer greatly depending upon the time, the place, and the person.  This is what our God the Father will look for – to see the marks of His Son.  This is how we become like Jesus, God’s resurrected Child. 

We will have our body reunited to our soul.  Remember, the soul and the body cooperated with Christ, therefore they both will receive the reward.  The soul and body cooperated in sin, so they both need to do the punishment.  Our Lord not only showed us what Heaven would be like, He also showed us how to get there.  As Saint John said in his epistle, “If we love Him, keep His commandments.”   A lot of people forget that one part.   If you love Him, keep His commandments.  After all, His commandments are not burdensome.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Do you love Him?  Are you keeping His commandments?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – Leprechauns Are Not Real

“Leprechauns Are Not Real“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

April 3 – 4, 2021

Gospel:  John 20: 1-9

How do you know someone is alive if you don’t see them?  I’ve taken a clue from the sheriff detective…there is fresh evidence.  For instance, you may not see a family member for a day, but you know they are alive, right?  You see dirty plates right where they left them. You see your husband’s dirty socks right where he left them.  I guess he figured the Molly Maid Service would come by and pick them up. You may not see the person, but you see fresh evidence that they’ve been there and that they are alive.  They may have left a note for you.  They may have cooked dinner for you.  You know they are alive even though you may not have touched them or laid eyes on them.  Likewise, we have not touched the resurrected Christ, but we know that He is alive.  We see the evidence. 

From the very beginning, the Chief Priests bribed Roman soldiers to lie and say that disciples stole the body of Christ.  That must have been one big bribe.  The Romans knew quite well what betrayal meant.  It meant instant death. The Romans did not refer anyone to defense counsel.  If you failed in doing your duty, you were duly executed in a very brutal way.  The Roman army did not play. No bail. No defense attorney.  You were executed.  So, it had to be a pretty big bribe.  Even back then, there was fake news.  “Christ wasn’t resurrected.”  “His body was stolen.”   You don’t steal a body after a couple days in Palestine.  Trust me on this one.  Ask any police officer or nurse.  Nobody steals a body after that length of time.  That’s fake news.  Sound familiar?  As scripture says, there’s nothing new under the sun.  All through the centuries, people have claimed that Christ is dead or He was just a nice guy or He was the same as Muhammad and Buddha.  None of them claimed that He was God.  They try to relegate religion to just old wives tales.  But, as much as they tried, the Chief Priests couldn’t keep a lid on the news of Christ’s resurrection even with the use of armies and the threat of persecution.  That’s because it’s true.  If it wasn’t, why would they spend all the time, money, and energy to say it’s not?

Why do people complain about the Catholic Church and its teachings?  It’s the message of Christ.  If it’s not true, why do they bother?  If it’s not true, why do they care?  They can go live their lives and do other stuff.  They complain, because they know it is true.  Our Lord proved Himself to all those detractors.  They are gone, but we are still here.  We have evidence through the centuries that Christ is still alive.  Look at what our Catholic Church has done.  We have built universities and hospitals.  These are the things we do best.  What was the cause of all those centuries of good works?  It was the love of Christ in us.  The living love of Christ is still evident today.  You know it’s true, because you are here today.  You have faith in the resurrection, and you have faith in Jesus Christ. You are here to be touched by the love of God and to draw closer to Him.  Is there some fear in all of us?  Of course there is, just as there was for the women at the tomb.  But, you overcome your fear through your faith.  That’s why you are here today.  By your presence, you proclaim the resurrection of Christ, and that He is not dead.  He’s not a footnote in history.  He wasn’t just some really nice guy.  By your faithful attendance at Mass and participation in the Sacraments, you are making your profession and belief in the resurrection and that Christ lives.  One day you will share His life.  Most of us won’t be around for the end of the world; as far as I know.. I haven’t gotten any phone calls.  On that day, we too will go to the tomb just like Mary Magdalene and the women did on Good Friday morning.

As you look through the history of the Church, God has never been unfaithful to His followers.  Never…not once. In seminary I learned a lot of stuff, well they think I did, but I was supposed to learn a lot of stuff.  We studied Thomas Aquinas and the five proofs of God.   I will prove to you that God exists and also how faithful He is.  I guarantee that if you pray for this it will happen on your way home.  Guaranteed.  Pray for patience. “Lord, I want to grow in patience, I want to be meek, humble, and understanding,”  Pray that prayer, and I guarantee that you will find five nitwits who will irritate the living heck out of you and try your patience on the way home.  Patience is an acquired virtue that you get by practice.  Ask for patience, and our good Lord will say, “Great!  You got it.”  He will send all those nitwits to help you grow in that virtue.  That’s the quickest way to prove that God exists.  The quickest proof that God listens to your prayers and answers them.  God is alive and active. We have 2,000 years of proof.  We see His results.  Do we see them as often as we’d like?  No.  He hides in our human nature. 

We believe in the resurrection of Christ.  If it wasn’t true, why have so many people for over 2,000 years kept saying it’s not true?  You can see that God is alive.  We do not see Him directly, but He is alive.  He is working in us. He is working through you.  He took the humanity that He received from the Blessed Mother to His sacred Passion and resurrection and then to Heaven.  He uses His humanity to make His love present and known to the world.  He does that for us.  Each of us, in our own vocation, are to prove to the world that God’s love is alive.  The grave could not hold Him.  God promised that we will imitate His resurrection. So, for those who follow Him, the grave will not hold us.  We will be like Him. We will suffer probably, in one way or another, and we will rest in our graves until the day of our own resurrection.  That is not defeat…that is victory.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Will you help prove to the world that God’s love is alive?

Father’s Afterthoughts…

Now part of my Irish cultural heritage is the belief that leprechauns are real.  I think it’s because we drank a wee bit too much ale.  You never hear anyone complain about leprechauns.  But, they don’t exist.  If you see any, I can get you some help.  I know people.  You will feel much better.

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page).  There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – The Face of Love

Good Friday – April 2, 2021

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

“The Face of Love“

Gospel:  John 18: 1-19:42

The temptation of the devil is fear.  Pontius Pilate was afraid. Really?  A Roman governor with a Roman army that had no objections to killing people? That was their job.  There were no cameras, no Miranda rights, and no defense attorneys.  He could have swept everything up, and nobody would have said anything, anytime.  He was afraid, although he didn’t realize why he was afraid.  He asked our Lord, “What is truth?” while he was looking at truth in the face.  The truth is a person – not an “it” but a “Who.”  Remember Philosophy 101: there is only one truth – not your truth – but THE truth.  Pilate said, “Ecce homo” – “Behold the man.”  In contrast, what did John the Baptist say when he saw Christ?  “Ecce Agnus Dei” – “Behold the lamb of God.”  John was not afraid. 

During His Passion, our Lord was scourged and was in absolute agony.  The Romans were very good at their job.  They had done this for centuries and knew how to prolong suffering.  So, no one can hear, no one can look at the crucifix, and no one can read accounts about the Passion and still say, “My sin doesn’t affect anyone. It only hurts me. It’s a personal sin.”  In one sense yes, but in another sense no.  “It’s just a small sin. It’s just a white sin kinda like a white lie.”  I studied theology, and I actually have the degree. The paperwork is somewhere.  When you look at the crucifix, you see the effects of sin.  But, you also see how much Christ loves us.  This is the face of love.  He suffered all of this just for you.  Not “you” in the general sense, but “you” in the particular sense.  “I suffered this just for you; that’s how much I love you.  My act of love is always before the Father for you.” This act of love never ends. This act of love is perfect, but can be even more perfect if we respond to it.  Follow Him and one day you will enjoy happiness in Heaven.

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Sermon Notes – “When a One Man Band Gets Hit in the Butt by a Beer Truck, the Music Stops“

“When a One Man Band Gets Hit in the Butt by a Beer Truck, the Music Stops“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

Holy Thursday – April 1, 2021

Gospel:  John 13:1-15

Without the institution of the priesthood, the gift our Lord gave the apostles would have ended when He took the human nature He received from the Blessed Mother to Heaven on Pentecost.  When a one man band gets hit in the butt by a beer truck, the music stops.  He took the human nature of the apostles and made them into Christs.  This was part of their ordination at the Last Supper….to continue the gifts of His love and the fruits of His sacrifice and to feed His people with His most Precious Body and Blood as they were fed.  The hands that fed the apostles of Christ so too are the hands that feed you when the priest gives you Holy Communion.  The priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, to feed you the exact same body and the exact same blood.  Outward appearances vary, but it is the same Christ who feeds you.  It is the same Christ who enters your soul through participation in the Sacraments.  It was so great an honor for the apostles, that He reminded them when He washed their feet. Washing feet was a dirty, disgusting job that was left to slaves to do.  But, Jesus showed them His humility and told them that they must do the same.  “You have been given a great gift.  I have chosen you; you have not chosen Me. I have chosen you for the possibility of cooperating with the grace of great teachers, healers, and evangelists of the world.  But, to do so, you must be like Me who humbled Himself by taking the form of a slave.  You, too, must be willing to do the work of a slave.”

This gift I have been given as a priest, which has been passed on from generation to generation, is not for me.  It’s not a reward for my parents for raising a nice little boy.  It’s not a reward for me for passing all my courses in seminary.  I really did.  My degree was not honorary, contrary to popular belief.  I really earned it.  This gift is not a reward because I could pass tests.  It was given for you so that you may have Christ in you and the fruits of His death given to you.  It was given so that you could receive the fruits of the Mass by being fed His body and blood.  It was given so that your souls could be washed in His blood in the Sacrament of Penance.  It was given so that you could be united in the Sacrament of Marriage, strengthened in Confirmation, and healed on the way to salvation by receiving Last Rights.  In the past week, I have administered five.  It’s been an interesting week.  But, this gift is for you.  The gift of priests is a gift to the Church.  To bring salvation and the gift of the Real Presence of our Lord, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is our faith.  I am vowed as a priest to protect it with my very life.  Priests never talk about that vow.  They talk about the promises they made, but they never talk about their vow to protect the Most Blessed Sacrament. 

God loves you so much and wants to be with you to help you bear the crosses of this life so that you may have eternal life.  That’s His great love.  That’s why He gave these gifts to the Church.  That’s why He instituted the priesthood – not for me so that I could have a fancy title before my name, but to administer His Sacraments, to teach, sanctify and lead people to Him.  These gifts were given for you so that you may have life and have it to the fullest.  And, one day after courageously bearing your crosses, and not only courageously bearing them, but getting back up after you’ve fallen, you will enjoy the fullness of His love.  Pray for that last Sacrament to be given. 

As Saint Simeon said, “Now let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled.”



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Sermon Notes – It’s Not a Spectator Sport

“It’s Not a Spectator Sport“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 13 – 14, 2021

Gospel: John 3: 14-21

Jesus said that the Son of Man will be lifted up.  He also said, “When I am lifted up from the Earth, I will draw all men to myself.”  And, He does.  However, He doesn’t draw people up to Him on the cross just for them to say, “Gee, that must hurt.”  This is not a spectator sport.  Rather, our good Lord reaches down from the cross and says, “Take My hand and come up to Me, because this is the way to salvation. Join Me on the cross.”  Paul finally learned that lesson.  He wrote, “Now, I rejoice in sufferings for Your sake, and in my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the Church.”  Our sufferings, all the crosses we carry and the crosses we carry for others are redemptive.  They are not only for ourselves, but for others.  We join Christ in the sacrifice like the good thief on the cross.  We unite ourselves to Him, so that He will raise us up. You do that when you make your Morning Offering: “I offer you my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day.”  All those crosses God allows us to carry…Ugh.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not crazy about mine. 

We also join Christ in the sacrifice during the Mass by true and active participation.   So, what is true and active participation?  It’s not those who sing the loudest, pray the loudest, or run a ministry. Whatever that is.  The term “ministry” really means nothing.  It only applies to Holy Orders, but it has been so overused, it means nothing now.  True and active participation is the giving of your human nature to the priest who acts in the person of Christ on the altar.  He takes your human nature in the offertory, immolates them, and makes them one with the sacrifice of Christ.  He immolates them on the altar as part of the sacrifice of God’s love for us.  That is true and active participation.  This is how we unite ourselves and become one with the sufferings of Christ just as the Blessed Mother, Saint John, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala did at the foot of the cross…especially the Blessed Mother…her human nature was suffering for Him.   For us, it’s only intellectual, so it doesn’t matter whether you feel it or not.  That has nothing to do with its effectiveness.  However, it’s only when you do that you are one with Christ on the cross. 

There will always be temptations from the cross.  Just as Christ was tempted many times to come down from the cross, we will be too.  What were the first three temptations?  “All religion is just a show.”  “If you have good music, a praise band or whatever, people will come.”  Our Lord says this is not a show.  This is an act of love.  “Well, you know with religion, you gotta give people food and stuff.”   “Everybody will be happy if they take your stuff and give it to somebody else.” “It’s all power.”  “It’s all Socialism.”  “True religious charity is just giving them bread…they will be fine.”  How many fat people are there in prison?  A lot.  It’s not that they lack food.  Their problem is that they practice evil.  Now, there are a lot of people outside of prison who practice evil, but they haven’t been caught yet.  It’s all about power.  “Well, if we had fairer laws, then we wouldn’t have any problems.”  That’s not true.  We have more laws than lawyers know about.  Oh, by the way, drugs are illegal.  Did you know that?  Apparently, a lot of people don’t.  Read the sheriff’s blotter report, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. 

Another temptation is to deny the divine message.  You see, we are much brighter in the 21st Century.  We know better, because we are so enlightened and so highly educated.  We can’t write in cursive, but we are really educated.  We know what God’s word truly means.  Before, they weren’t too sure, because they were all stupid.  When Christ proclaimed that marriage was between one man and one woman unless separated by death, everyone left Him except the 12 apostles.  People didn’t like that.  Also, when Peter tried to sway Christ from going to the cross, He called Peter, “Satan.”

The third type of temptation is the Eucharist. “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.”  “Oh, He didn’t really mean that.”  That’s what He said, and He meant it.  The words really mean that.  Everyone left Him except the 12 apostles.  The last temptation was, “Come down from the cross, and we will believe in you.”  In His heart, Christ was saying, “You don’t understand.  You’ve forgotten your education.”  “If the Church changes its laws, everyone will come back.”  Really?  We have Mass in English.  We have Mass in Spanish (Spanglish).  We have Mass on Saturdays at 5 pm.  We have Mass on Sundays at 9:30 and 12:15.  We have confessions face-to-face, although not here, because it’s not safe for the priests anymore.  So, where is everybody? 

Temptations in one form or another will assail us.  “Am I doing something wrong because I’m tempted?”  No, you are doing something right, because you are tempted.  Our Lord says, “Come up to Me. Come up. I am trying to give you eternal happiness. I am trying to give your soul peace.”  So, we have a tug of war with Christ on the cross.  He wants to pull us up, and we want to pull Him down.  Instead, we can unite ourselves in the sacrifice of Christ in the Morning Offering prayer, resignation to our exterior and interior crosses, and resignation of the will…the most difficult cross.  In the midst of temptation, the good thief on the cross accepted the suffering for his sins, and was united with Christ.  What did Christ tell him?  “Today, you will be with Me in paradise.”

How will you apply this message to your life?  Will you unite yourself in the sacrifice of Christ by saying the Morning Offering prayer?  Will you accept your interior and exterior crosses and join Christ in His suffering?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page).  There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – The Law of Physics

The Law of Physics

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

March 6 – 7, 2021

Gospel:  John 3: 14-21

A lot of people quote scripture in their arguments, and that’s very good.  It’s what you should do.  However, when you do, you have to know and understand scripture.  You have to be accurate, because good intentions can lead to very bad things.  People say, “The death penalty is immoral, because in the Old Testament it says, “Thou shalt not kill.”  So, we cannot have capital punishment, and we cannot go to war?  Look at the laws of Israel; they had the death penalty on the books.  So, you are saying that they got it wrong from the time of Moses for a 1,000 or so years before Christ came?  They went to war all the time.  “But, God said, “Thou shalt not kill.”  He said thou shall not murder or take life unjustly.  Under the 4th and 5th Commandments, you have an obligation.  Under the 4th Commandment, you have the right to self-protection, and under the 5th Commandment you have a moral obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves.  If you want to get the living you-know-what beat out of you, be my guest.  Be a conscientious objector…it’s your right.  However, you have no right to aggregate that right to someone else.  “Oh, I don’t believe in violence, so I’m going to watch you get the living you-know-what beat out of you.”  No, no, no.  That’s a grave sin. 

Now, I have lulled you into a false sense of security, I’m going to give you a pop quiz.  What makes this building special…besides the collection?  It’s not a “what” that makes it special; it’s a “Who.”  Who resides in this place that makes it so special?  It’s the physical presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament.  That’s what makes this place special.  This is His house.  He is physically present here.  This is where God resides in every Catholic Church which is the new temple.  The temple is the Presence of God and the Holy of Holies. We are blessed, because when we come here, we can speak to God face-to-face like Moses did…as one person speaks to another.  At the old temple, the Arc of the Covenant, inside the Holy of Holies, only a priest at a certain time could go in there.  Jesus said, “You have forgotten what this place is. Yes, you have the sacrifice as required by law. But, you didn’t have to bring it inside the temple.”  That defiled the temple. That’s why our good Lord went crazy and decided to do a little church renewal.  I heard someone say that Jesus preached nonviolence.  I don’t think so.  He kicked behind.  He went in to the temple and drove out a lot of people. He said, “Get out of My House.  My house is a house of prayer.”  Our souls, too, as much as the temple was, and the Church is, are meant to be God’s house of prayer.  And, until God is present in our souls, we will never be happy. 

Jesus preached violence against sin.  Remember when He said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away….And, if your right eye offends you, pluck it out.”  Yes, that’s hyperbole.  However, we are called to use violence on our souls.  We are not called to maim ourselves like having an extra piece of chocolate cake…you don’t need it.  That would be a sin against both the 4th and.5th Commandments.  However, we are supposed to use that same level of violence to protect from defiling the temple that we carry within us which is our souls.  Oh, by the way, now you know why I ‘shush’ people who are talking in church, chewing gum, using their cell phones, and everything else. The Presence of God is here.  This is His resting place.  This is where He wants to come to us.  We are supposed to do violence to anything that would impugn or impede His presence in us and drive Him from our souls…whether a person, place, or thing…the three sources of temptation.  We are supposed to do whatever is necessary to rid of ourselves of anything that threatens His presence in our souls.  

The Law of Physics says that two objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time.  So, God cannot abide in our souls at the same time sin is there or the attraction or affection for sin. We are supposed to use violence against ourselves to preserve the beauty of our souls.  Not physical violence, although that has been done.  Saint Francis of Assisi was tempted by impurity, so he rolled himself down a hill of thorns.  So grave is the abhorrence of sin, that he went to that extreme.  So be violent against sin.  Realize the great gift of His presence that we have.  If you are having trouble with that, come see me in Confession, and I’ll get rid of that stuff for you, and you’ll be all set. 

People complain about so many things in the world.  “Oh, people don’t have a computer.”  “Oh, people don’t have this or that.”  You know, it’s been that way since the beginning of time.  What people need is God.  Mother Teresa didn’t have a computer.  She had one change of clothes.  She seemed like a pretty happy woman, didn’t she?.  She had nothing else except God in her soul.  Our souls are meant to be ready for God’s presence.  Like the temple in the Old Testament and like our beautiful church which is a testimony, by the way, of your great love.  Everything here is your love for our good Lord made present.  We must do what is necessary to make our souls a resting place for Him to come and dwell within us.  Realize the gift of Him that dwells in your soul.  The same Him who dwells in the Blessed Sacrament.  The same Him who dwells in the temple.  The same Him who dwells in Heaven.  And, when you realize that gift, and achieve the constant realization of that gift, you will do anything to preserve it.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Will you rid your soul of whatever hinders God from residing there?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page).  There is also a search box if looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – How Did They Know?

“How Did They Know?“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

Feb 27-28, 2021

Gospel:   Mark 9: 2-10


We’ve heard this Gospel proclaimed year after year.  But, have you ever wondered how Peter, James, and John knew it was Moses and Elijah?  There were no pictures or artists that could paint them; there was no Facebook, no Tic-Toc, and no selfies.  So, how did they know?  You ever ask yourself that?  Remember, Moses and Elijah died a thousand or so years before the apostles showed up.  So, how did they know?  In the transfiguration, our good Lord gave the apostles, Peter, James, and John, a taste of what Heaven would be like…just a little taste.  They saw the glorified bodies of Moses and Elijah.  They knew it was Moses and Elijah.  They saw them with their eyes. They saw Heaven, and the people there were talking to God.  You will know people in Heaven…if you get there.  If you are concerned about that, come see me, and we can work it out.  But, you will know people in Heaven, and you will be able to talk to them about future events.  In Heaven, everything is now, because God is the Eternal Now and not the past, present, or future.  He is the Eternal Now.  He is present always.  So, you will know and be enlightened. 

There is forgiveness after death – in purgatory.  Moses was in the Promised Land; he was right outside Jerusalem.  God told Moses that he would never enter the Promised Land because he had sinned.  But he did.  So, there is forgiveness after death.  Our good Lord, in this vision, lowered the veil of His humanity to show the apostles part of His divinity.  They saw Heaven on Earth.  He gave them this great revelation of what Heaven is like to prepare and strengthen them for the scandal of the Passion which would happen in less than two weeks.  After all of the miracles they had seen, this was their final gift.  Now, all of us would like to receive consolation and great gifts from God.  We pray for them.  We look for them, and if we get one, we want more.  What are the gifts of consolation?  First of all, they don’t come as often as we’d like.  They usually come before our great trials or afterward as consolations. 

Heaven is only meant for after this life and not during, just as it was for the apostles.  Most of us would like to say, “If I had such a dramatic experience with God, I would have no problem believing and would never doubt the faith again.  I would go to confession more often.  I might even go to daily Mass occasionally.  I just need to be convinced.”  But, scripture is contrary to those statements.  Jesus had three years of public ministry.  How many people did the apostles see raised from the dead?  At least three.  Scripture says that not all of the miracles Jesus performed were recorded.  He fed 5,000 people, walked on water, cured lepers, and the apostles cast out demons.  The apostles saw all sorts of miracles, because they were there.  Yet, where were they ten days later? 

We are like the apostles.  We have these great gifts.  “Oh, I will never doubt again.”  Yes, you will.  We all do.  This is the struggle we have.  We are tempted to be disconsolate.  The devil will say, “Well, if you were better; if you were doing what you are supposed to do, what your Lord said to do,  you would always feel good.”  Blah, blah, blah.  That’s a bunch of spiritual fertilizer.  It’s not true.

Our Lord does not distance Himself from us.  He is always with us, we just can’t see Him.  I was driving up to the VA the other day.  I was doing 60 mph in a 55 mph zone, so I was cool.  From out of nowhere, this van comes up right behind me and passes.  Then, all of a sudden, I see the blue light special.  I didn’t see the trooper, but he was there.  You don’t see God, but He is always there. Your Guardian Angel is always with you.  Just because you don’t see Him, doesn’t mean He isn’t there.  You look for Him.  “I cannot find Him.”  But, He is there.  

You might look at someone, and tell them they look great.  But, a doctor might look at that same person, and tell them they don’t look so good.  The doctor has the eyes of a physician.  I have the eyes of a bozo.  My eye doctor says I’m not ready for a stick and a seeing eye quite yet.  But, it’s how we see it. 

Our Lord is always with us.  He is always giving us signs of His love and His presence.  Sometimes, we overlook consolations, because we are too busy to see them, or we are looking the other way.  Our Lord gives us great consolations. Maybe not as many as we would like, but as many as we need. They come and they go as our Lord sees fit.  Look for small consolations, because He is there.  Make sure you do not give up hope, and do not give in to despair.  You may worry and ask Him, “Lord, have you forgotten about us?  Do you see what is happening?”  Yes, I am here.  You cannot see Me, but I see you, and I am with you. 

How will you apply this message to your life?  Are you overlooking the signs of His love and His presence?

Father’s Afterthoughts…

While I was at the VA, I saw a nurse practitioner I know.  I said, “Doc, can I ask you a question?  She’s a medical professional.  She said, “Sure!”  “Doc, does this mask make me look fat?”  You have to make your own fun at the VA.

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of the page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – Maximizing the Minimum

“Maximizing the Minimum“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 20 – 21, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 1: 12-15

How can you love God more?  How can you experience more of His love?  The answer is really very simple.  By loving yourself less.  God is love Himself.  He has no need of our love and is totally self-sufficient.  But, God wants to give us His love.  Unfortunately, God, being the perfection of all virtues, including politeness and courtesy, won’t break into our souls.  We have to open our souls up to Him.  If our souls are closed off by self-centeredness, He cannot come in.  He wants to give us His immense love and to fill our souls completely with Himself. 

We can grow in the love of God by taking on little penances and pious practices.  Doing so will help, but two things are important.  They have to be small, and they have to be practical.  Too often, people say they will grow in the love of God by doing a lot of grandiose things.  But, it’s impractical, because they won’t do it.  Instead, take little steps.  The first step to take is to realize that we need to improve.  That’s actually a big step, because many people are satisfied with maximizing the minimums.  “Father, I go to Mass on Sundays and Holy Days.”  “I go to confession once a year.”  “I don’t eat meat on Fridays during Lent.”  “I obey the Ten Commandments.”  “I don’t rob banks.”  Okay.  But, there’s a lot more in the book our Lord tells us to do.  You know that, right?  We tend to maximize the minimums.  “Father, I am good.”  Well, I don’t know about that.  The Lord said not to call anybody “good.”  We are called to be perfect.  That’s in the black part of the Bible, not the white part.  Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.  “I’m here at Mass.”  You are physically here but is your mind?  Look! Squirrel.  Distraction during prayer is normal; just come back to it. 

Giving yourself totally over to God, to overcome self-centeredness is what we always must work toward.  Our first parents disobeyed God, and we continue to do the same thing.  “I won’t let God in until I need Him.”  “I will only go to church if the Mass is in English, or Spanish, or Latin, and only if it’s at 12:00 on my day off, if I’m not too tired, or if it’s over by 5:30 because I have dinner reservations somewhere.” We use all these stipulations, and the Church has unfortunately bought into to it.  “I will only go to confession if there are reconciliation rooms.”  So, parishes have spent thousands of dollars creating reconciliation rooms.  Come on!  I hear confessions…I wish I heard a lot more. 

We must take up our cross every day and follow Him. The ego is a terrible thing and destroys people.  In any 12 Step program, you must have ego deflation at depth. Where did they get that I wonder.  From the Catholic Church?  Go figure.  How do we overcome our ego and self-centeredness?  By doing little things. “I need to pray more.”  Well, then pray more.  Say the rosary.  By the time you get to Coy’s laundry mat or to the court house, you have plenty of time to say a decade of the rosary. There are five stop lights, so you have plenty of time to say it.  You have to sit there anyway.  You can’t zip right through the traffic lights, although they made it less likely to be caught when they have moved the police station.  My point is that you have plenty of time to do little things.  “I want to lose weight and to eat better.”  Then do it, one step at a time.    

God has no limit on His love.  We are the ones who limit His love with our self-centeredness.  We determine our salvation.  God says, “I will give you the way to salvation if you let Me into your soul.”  We say, “I’ll get back to you.  Thank you very much.  Appreciate the offer.”  We want to cling to ourselves.  One of my good friends who recently passed away, a judge, used to say, “I’m not much, but I’m all I think about.”  I deserve to speed, because I’m important.  I have business to attend to.  That would be me.  However, I should mention that a lot of cops are not Catholic.  We want what we want when we want it.  That’s what we all have to fight…our self-centeredness.  “You can’t tell me what to do. “I deserve this.”  That kind of thinking shuts God out.

We have to be humble.  In fact, we are commanded to be humble.  The 4th and 5th Commandments command us to obey our physicians and caregivers.   You don’t go to your physician’s office and say, “Oh, what the heck do they know.”  Doctors are very intelligent, so listen to them and do what they tell you.  That’s humility.  “I don’t want a colonoscopy.”  That’s humility, especially when I had mine. I know everyone in that department.  I work there.  I knew them all.  Having a colonoscopy is not a side of me they wanted to see, but what the heck…if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  As Saint Therese de Lisieux said, when you are humble, you are small and safe.  As long as you continue doing small acts of penance, day after day, you are growing in God’s love and opening the door to your soul so that He can come in.  God will not force his way in.  He does not need our love.  God is self-sufficient.  But, He wants to give His love to us, because that is His nature.  We are the ones with selfish self-centeredness and close the door on love.  But, if we focus on the little things, we will grow spiritually and gradually open the door more and more to allow the love of our good Lord into our souls.

The Law of Physics says that two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time.  If our souls are full of ourselves, God cannot get in.  God isn’t going to push us aside. He isn’t going to make us love Him.  We have to decide to love Him by renouncing ourselves and our attachment to things.  You will discover that once you become detached from things, you will have far more joy and pleasures than you ever could have imagined.  Saint Augustine and Saint Thomas both said that if there is any labor involved, love is no labor at all.  It’s all a joy.  Each sacrifice is a joy.  Each sacrifice makes a way for greater enjoyment and greater love.  It creates a way for a greater union with the Almighty and, therefore, a greater union with one another.  So, we are the ones who determine how much we will love.  The secret of loving God and experiencing His love is really easy.  We just have to love ourselves a heck of a lot less.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Are you maximizing the minimum?  Will you fight to overcome self-centeredness and make room for God in your heart and soul?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of the page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – Stump the Chump

“Stump the Chump“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 13-14, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 1: 40-45

On occasion, as I go about my day, I have people come up and say, “Father, may I ask you a question?” Sure!  Sometimes, people have very good questions.  Now, these questions generally fall into one of two categories.  The first category includes the faithful who are seeking understanding.  This happened on Tuesday when someone asked me, “Father, why do we call you father?  I never really knew why.”  The first good reason is my mother told me to, and if you don’t obey her, you know what happens.  The second reason is scriptural.  Paul said in his epistle: “I am your spiritual father.  I beget you in Christ. I baptized you and gave you spiritual life.”   Then, there is this other group of people who try to see if I’m the village idiot.  I’m not, but I qualify for the top ten.   I call this game “stump the chump.”   “Father, where does it say in scripture that we are supposed to kneel?”  Well, that’s easy enough… Matthew 27, Psalm 95, Romans 14, and Revelation just to name a few.  I mean, come on!  Really?   I’m not the brightest bulb on the circuit, but that’s an easy one.  They are trying to get me to prove that Catholicism is wrong.  That or try to convert me.  I already know I’m not going to convince them to become Catholic.  “Have you ever heard about the precious blood?”   You know…I believe I have.  I stayed awake that day at seminary.  These are all “gotcha questions. 

How do you tell people about Christ? The best way to evangelize is not by giving someone a bunch of information.  They could get that online or look in the Catechism of the Catholic Church…it’s all in there.  So, how do you tell people about Christ?  Do we tell them to read the book?   Well, the book doesn’t contain everything about Jesus Christ.  The book is a “what” not a “Who.”  But, we can pass on the “Who” to people by telling them what Jesus has done for us.  If giving people a book brought people to Christ, we could give everyone a copy of the Catechism and fill the church with converts.  But that doesn’t happen.  If that worked, we could all read a medical book and be the epitome of health.  We have to tell people what’s in the book and bring it to real life.  We have to tell them about God’s grace and what He has done in our lives. Today’s gospel shows us how to evangelize.  Jesus cured that leper from a death sentence.  He went away and could not stop telling people how Jesus had restored his life.  Like the leper, we also have to tell people what God has done for us. 

We see proof of God’s love so often that sometimes we become immune to it and ungrateful.  Each time you go to Mass, you receive the Most Precious Body and Blood just like the apostles did at the Last Supper.  You can come to church during the day and speak to our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament as one person speaks to another.  But, because we have become so accustomed to the gift of His love, we forget to be thankful.  I’m thankful for a lot of things.  I’m thankful for indoor plumbing.  I’m thankful for clean clothes.  I’m thankful that McDonalds is open 24-7.  I’m thankful about not having to go outside in a rain storm to take a shower.  That’s nice and a big change.  I’m thankful for many things even those that are unpleasant like the COVID test.  I get it every week, so I don’t want to hear any whining.  “Oh!  That’s terrible!”  Well, thank God we have that test.  “But why, Father?”  We could have the Chinese test instead.  Come on!   We are also grateful for the geniuses who have worked tirelessly night and day to develop these tests and vaccines so that we can maintain our health and delay what will eventually come. 

God has given us our life, and when we lose it by sin, He gives it back to us.  This is how we tell people about the truth and meaning of our faith.  Not in an obnoxious way, but by telling them what the Lord has done in our lives and the great gift He has given us…the gift of Himself.  Not that we deserve it, but because He loves us.  He brought me back to life through my baptism.  He feeds me the Precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion.  When my soul is dead with sin, and I may lose Heaven if those sins are not forgiven, He gives my life back to me through the Sacrament of Penance.  He forgives and He forgets.  My soul is washed in His blood. 

The Blessed Mother was the first to be washed in His blood.  She was standing beneath the cross and was spattered with it.  When they took Him down from the cross and laid Him on her lap, she was covered with His blood.  Once you are dead, your blood stops coagulating. So, Mary was covered with the blood of Christ.  “Why do you honor Mary?”  She was the first human being to be covered in the Precious Blood.  She was also the first to receive a miracle.  Remember the wedding at Cana?  That was a direct intercession of God.  “Son, they have no more wine.”  Boom.  And, there was wine.

This is how we tell people about our faith.  We don’t use obnoxious evangelization techniques when we talk to them.  We just tell them about what God has done for us.  But, we keep trying to reinvent the wheel.  If we do it differently, will things be better?  No.  We do what works.  What happened when God performed His miracles?  The recipients of those miracles told others.  And, what happened?  Look at the last line in today’s Gospel.  Jesus went to deserted places, but people kept coming to Him from all sides.

How will you apply this message to your life?  Are you grateful for His love or have you become immune to it?  Will you tell others what God has done in your life?

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of the page).  There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.

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Sermon Notes – You Cannot Judge Someone’s Insides by Their Outside

“You Cannot Judge Someone’s Insides by Their Outside“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

February 6 – 7, 2021

Gospel:  Mark 1: 29-39

A number of years ago, I was vacationing at my now dead brother’s house.  My sister-in-law is very nice, and she let me stay there.  Why she married my brother is a mystery to me.  In my bedroom was a fireplace. This is a four bedroom house with two fireplaces, and I had one of them.  I was looking around at all of their pictures…I love looking at people’s pictures.  I saw a picture of my sister-in-law’s brother.  He was a good looking officer dressed in his Army Class-A uniform.  I asked my sister-in-law if he had ever served in Vietnam, and she said yes.  Did he ever tell you anything about the ribbons on his uniform?  She said no.  Well, I wouldn’t expect him to, but I’ll tell you this, because I think you need to know.  You might want to ask him about this top ribbon.  The highest award always goes on top. That is the Distinguished Flying Cross which is usually a downgraded Medal of Honor. You should know about that.  A few years later, he and I were sitting in the ICU while my brother was on his journey to Heaven.  He told me about some of his travels while he was in Vietnam.  I can’t tell you about them, because they are all classified, but, he did some pretty impressive things.  Now, he looks like a retired old man.  You just never know what people have done…about the good they have done.

When my brother was laid out in the box, he had all of these badges on his uniform.  He was a fire captain and assigned to fire and rescue.  I didn’t understand what the badges meant, so I asked a friend of his, Mike Scallion.  Mike said, “He never told you?”  No.  “Well, these are for the people he saved… he saved a lot of lives.”  But, my brother never told us.  People would come up and ask him to loan them money.  He’d say, “Sure!”  To my brother, it was a gift.  He never loaned money. You never know the good things people have done.  I still hear stories about my brother when I go home.

Conversely, you never know about the crosses people were given to carry by our good Lord.  There are the crosses we bear from birth that God gives us all.  Some change throughout our lives and come with age.  There are the crosses we have because of our sins which we have acquired on our own.  There are also the crosses that other people have given us.  Perhaps we didn’t have perfect parents.  I see a lot of those crosses in the Gated Community I visit.  People with those crosses have a harder shot at life than most of us.  You never know the crosses people are called to carry.  But, they have made their choices, and their crosses are mostly because they avoid God and choose to do evil.  The habit and attraction of sin carries its own cross.  Finally, there are the crosses we bear for our family, friends, and others. 

Now, when you leave here, you will probably encounter people who will irk the living you-know-what out of you.  Somehow, they find a way to stumble across our path.  They may cut us off in traffic. They may take our buggy in Harris teeter or Walmart.  They’ll do something, and you may want to go charismatic on them.  We might do that to people too, believe it or not, some of you might irk other people…I don’t know.   My First-Sergeant had a very effective counselling technique.  He was charismatic and laid hands on people.  We used to call it “wall-to-wall counselling,” and it usually solved the problem in one short session.  If it’s not strangers that irk us, it’s our family.  Those are the ones who can irk us the most.  My cousin calls me and always wants to Face-Time.  The last time he called me, I was hearing confessions when all of a sudden the theme from the “Godfather” starts playing – that’s my ring tone.  My phone showed that it was Jim, and he wanted to FaceTime.  Hey Cuz – I don’t do Face-Time. Learn it.  God allows people in our lives for a number of reasons, not just to irk us, but to teach us patience.

You obviously want to be holy, because you are here.  But, being here is only a part of becoming holy.  You have to go out and practice what you receive here.  All of those rosaries do no good if we don’t use them.  All the great Catholic books in the world and all the crucifixes do no good if we don’t put them into practice.  It’s nice when people say, “Father, that was a great sermon.”  Thanks. Take a copy of the sermon notes; I’ll even autograph it for you.  But it does no good unless you put the message into practice.  So, God sends people into our lives to remind us to pray for others and to help them carry their crosses. He puts these people in our lives to help us learn patience along with suffering.  We don’t know what crosses people are carrying.  We all would like for people to be considerate and compassionate toward us, but how can we be considerate and compassionate toward them?  By praying for them and helping them carry their crosses, whatever those crosses are.  They may be helping to carry someone else’s cross…you never know.  You cannot judge someone’s insides by their outside.

I ask patients how they are doing. Some will say, “Fine!”  But, you are in Hospice care.  Do you know what fine means?  I think we need to talk.  I wouldn’t be putting in menu orders for tomorrow if I were you.  We don’t know what’s going on inside of people. But, if they are like us, and yes, they are all like us, some better…some worse, but generally, we are all the same.  We can help them carry their crosses.  If they are irksome and obnoxious to us, it may be because you have called upon them when they were struggling or having a bad day, or maybe they had just gotten some bad news.  There are all sorts of reasons, culpable and inculpable, but we are called to pray for them all.  By doing so, you are helping them carry their cross.  Even if we do something nice for them, and they don’t thank us…boy, that ticks you off, doesn’t it?   You do something nice for someone, and they don’t thank you?  Oh, baby!  I need a thank you note for that dinner or that Christmas gift!  But, be thankful to have been found worthy to suffer for Him.  Say, “Thank you, Jesus for allowing me to suffer for the sake of your name.” 

Father’s Afterthoughts…

Alcohol is very good for COVID, but only if used externally

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.  From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories.”