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Sermon Notes – August 6, 2023 – Busy is Not Your Friend
Busy is Not Your Friend
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
August 5 – 6, 2023
Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9
In today’s Gospel, the transfiguration happened about 10 days before our Lord’s Passion. The Lord gave Peter, James, and John this great gift to show them His power so that they would be strengthened and fortified for the scandal of the Cross . . . the Passion. He showed them who He was. . . true God and true Man. Our Lord lowered the veil of His humanity to show them His divinity. His face became like the sun. The three apostles had a foretaste of Heaven. They saw Moses and Elijah there. And it begs the question . . . How did they know it was Moses and Elijah? This happened thousands of years before Facebook, and there were no pictures. So, how the heck did they know? Their minds were enlightened in the presence of God. Moses, Elijah, and others were discussing with our Lord events that were still to come so we will have knowledge of the future. Remember, Heaven is outside of time. There is no time in Heaven. Everything is in the present at once because God is. They heard the voice of God the Father call out, a theophany or the manifestation of God. “This is My beloved Son. Listen to Him.” Peter offered to build three shelters – one for Moses, one for Elijah, and one for the Lord. Peter said he wanted that moment to go on forever, but it didn’t. Do you know what is interesting? If you go back to the Old Testament, Moses disobeyed God when he struck the rock two times. And the Lord said, “You are not entering the Promised Land.” And where was Moses that day? He was in the Promised Land which means there is forgiveness after death. So, Moses made it to the Promised Land.
The great spiritual consolations our God gives us are never lasting even though we want them to be. They only last in Heaven. Now this is a grave thing about the spiritual life or spiritual direction. I was thinking about laypeople who say, “I’m a Spiritual Director.” Uh-huh. I’m Doctor House because I have watched every show. That qualifies me, right? If you say this prayer and do this, you will always be happy. Really? Check with a qualified medical professional about adjusting your meds. We are never always happy. Remember in the Book of Acts, the apostles were thrown into prison. Prisons back then were very different. One, they didn’t have cameras; and two, guess what happened to them . . . they got what we call “an attitude adjustment.” They had the living you know what beat out of them. But they rejoiced because they were found worthy to suffer for the Lord. Our Lord said, “You will suffer for Me.” He prophesied that we would have many trials and tribulations. Look at Saint Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He was shipwrecked three times, stoned, and scourged. “Hey God, if this is the way you treat your friends, it’s no wonder you have so few!” He did not have an easy time of it, but he kept going.
There is a great temptation when our time to suffer comes and everything seems to go bad. We don’t feel our prayers, we aren’t being listened to, and it’s the same darn thing day after day. So, the spiritual life is not always marvelous. It is more like “Oh, if only I could see God.” How many of the apostles were in the Garden of Gethsemane? Only one was at the foot of the Cross. Yet, in three years they saw all the miracles – at least three risen from the dead. Think about all the miracles our Lord did. “Oh, if I had just one big spiritual moment, I’d never doubt again.” That’s not true. We are no better than the apostles. Our good Lord’s consolations to us, His appearances to us, and His gifts to us come not when we want them, but when our Lord decides we need them or as a free act of love to let us know He is always there. But we tend to forget. We get wrapped up in our daily lives and events, and the crushing work of staring at the coffee pot and microwave willing them to work faster. Sometimes, we are so busy that we overlook the obvious. “I didn’t see the police officer sitting there.” It’s a big black car marked “State Police.” How could you miss it? We have tunnel vision while driving. Father Adrian van Kaam reminds us in his book that many times we are too busy and tend to overlook our Lord’s consolations. Our Lord reminds us of His presence and His care in the ordinary, mundane, and trivial events in our lives. That’s why it’s so important at the end of the day to do an examination of conscience. Take some time to look back over the day, not to see what you did right or wrong, but to see what our Lord is trying to say. “Hi. I love you! It’s Me. I’m here.” We overlook it all.
A couple of years ago, I was going out to visit someone in the hospital. As I was walking upstairs, a nurse was coming down them. She asked, “Are you a priest?” Yeah. “I was just going to call you.” Well, I saved you a dime. “There is someone upstairs in ICU who is dying.” I told the family that it was just by chance that I was in town and that I was in the stairwell when I met the nurse. God loves this person who was passing so much that I just happened to be there to give them Last Rites. It’s tiny little things like that which show how much God loves us, but we are so busy that we overlook them.
God gives those moments to us because He knows how fragile we are. The apostles were always filled with fear, and we are no different. God always gives us reminders of His love. Not huge ones because that would scare the you know what out of us, but tiny, little reminders and consolations that we often overlook. Consoling moments sometimes just show up when we least expect them. God speaks to us about the most ordinary things. Thank Him for them. He is aware of our strengths, our pain, and our fear. He has not left us.
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.”
Saint of the Day – August 1 – Saint Alphonsus Liguori
Saint Alphonsus Liguori’s Story (September 27, 1696 – August 1, 1787)
Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly nourished by Scripture, and show the nobility of the Christian vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit in charity for the life of the world. Alphonsus, declared patron of moral theologians by Pius XII in 1950, would rejoice in that statement.
In his day, Alphonsus fought for the liberation of moral theology from the rigidity of Jansenism. His moral theology, which went through 60 editions in the century following him, concentrated on the practical and concrete problems of pastors and confessors. If a certain legalism and minimalism crept into moral theology, it should not be attributed to this model of moderation and gentleness.
At the University of Naples, Alphonsus received a doctorate in both canon and civil law by acclamation, at the age of 16, but he soon gave up the practice of law for apostolic activity. He was ordained a priest, and concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular parish missions, hearing confessions, and forming Christian groups.
He founded the Redemptorist congregation in 1732. It was an association of priests and brothers living a common life, dedicated to the imitation of Christ, and working mainly in popular missions for peasants in rural areas. Almost as an omen of what was to come later, he found himself deserted after a while by all his original companions except one lay brother. But the congregation managed to survive and was formally approved 17 years later, though its troubles were not over.
Alphonsus’ great pastoral reforms were in the pulpit and confessional—replacing the pompous oratory of the time with simplicity, and the rigorism of Jansenism with kindness. His great fame as a writer has somewhat eclipsed the fact that for 26 years he traveled up and down the Kingdom of Naples preaching popular missions.
He was made bishop at age 66 after trying to reject the honor, and at once instituted a thorough reform of his diocese.
His greatest sorrow came toward the end of his life. The Redemptorists, precariously continuing after the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773, had difficulty in getting their Rule approved by the Kingdom of Naples. Alphonsus acceded to the condition that they possess no property in common, but with the connivance of a high Redemptorist official, a royal official changed the Rule substantially. Alphonsus, old, crippled and with very bad sight, signed the document, unaware that he had been betrayed. The Redemptorists in the Papal States then put themselves under the pope, who withdrew those in Naples from the jurisdiction of Alphonsus. It was only after his death that the branches were united.
At 71, Alphonsus was afflicted with rheumatic pains which left incurable bending of his neck. Until it was straightened a little, the pressure of his chin caused a raw wound on his chest. He suffered a final 18 months of “dark night” scruples, fears, temptations against every article of faith and every virtue, interspersed with intervals of light and relief, when ecstasies were frequent.
Alphonsus is best known for his moral theology, but he also wrote well in the field of spiritual and dogmatic theology. His Glories of Mary is one of the great works on that subject, and his book Visits to the Blessed Sacrament went through 40 editions in his lifetime, greatly influencing the practice of this devotion in the Church.
Reflection
Saint Alphonsus was known above all as a practical man who dealt in the concrete rather than the abstract. His life is indeed a practical model for the everyday Christian who has difficulty recognizing the dignity of Christian life amid the swirl of problems, pain, misunderstanding and failure. Alphonsus suffered all these things. He is a saint because he was able to maintain an intimate sense of the presence of the suffering Christ through it all.
Saint Alphonsus Liguori is the Patron Saint of:
Theologians
Vocations
Saint of the Day – July 31 – Saint Ignatius of Loyola
Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s Story (October 23, 1491 – July 31, 1556)
The founder of the Jesuits was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Because there were no books of romance on hand during his convalescence, Ignatius whiled away the time reading a life of Christ and lives of the saints. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began. Having seen the Mother of God in a vision, he made a pilgrimage to her shrine at Montserrat near Barcelona. He remained for almost a year at nearby Manresa, sometimes with the Dominicans, sometimes in a pauper’s hospice, often in a cave in the hills praying. After a period of great peace of mind, he went through a harrowing trial of scruples. There was no comfort in anything—prayer, fasting, sacraments, penance. At length, his peace of mind returned.
It was during this year of conversion that Ignatius began to write down material that later became his greatest work, the Spiritual Exercises.
He finally achieved his purpose of going to the Holy Land, but could not remain, as he planned, because of the hostility of the Turks. Ignatius spent the next 11 years in various European universities, studying with great difficulty, beginning almost as a child. Like many others, his orthodoxy was questioned; Ignatius was twice jailed for brief periods.
In 1534, at the age of 43, he and six others—one of whom was Saint Francis Xavier—vowed to live in poverty and chastity and to go to the Holy Land. If this became impossible, they vowed to offer themselves to the apostolic service of the pope. The latter became the only choice. Four years later Ignatius made the association permanent. The new Society of Jesus was approved by Pope Paul III, and Ignatius was elected to serve as the first general.
When companions were sent on various missions by the pope, Ignatius remained in Rome, consolidating the new venture, but still finding time to found homes for orphans, catechumens, and penitents. He founded the Roman College, intended to be the model of all other colleges of the Society.
Ignatius was a true mystic. He centered his spiritual life on the essential foundations of Christianity—the Trinity, Christ, the Eucharist. His spirituality is expressed in the Jesuit motto, Ad majorem Dei gloriam—“for the greater glory of God.” In his concept, obedience was to be the prominent virtue, to assure the effectiveness and mobility of his men. All activity was to be guided by a true love of the Church and unconditional obedience to the Holy Father, for which reason all professed members took a fourth vow to go wherever the pope should send them for the salvation of souls.
Reflection
Luther nailed his theses to the church door at Wittenberg in 1517. Seventeen years later, Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society that was to play so prominent a part in the Catholic Reformation. He was an implacable foe of Protestantism. Yet the seeds of ecumenism may be found in his words: “Great care must be taken to show forth orthodox truth in such a way that if any heretics happen to be present they may have an example of charity and Christian moderation. No hard words should be used nor any sort of contempt for their errors be shown.” One of the greatest ecumenists was the 20th-century German Jesuit, Cardinal Augustin Bea.
Saint Ignatius of Loyola is the Patron Saint of:
Retreats
Saint of the Day – July 30 – Blessed Solanus Casey
Blessed Solanus Casey’s Story (November 25, 1875 – July 31, 1957)
Barney Casey became one of Detroit’s best-known priests even though he was not allowed to preach formally or to hear confessions!
Barney came from a large family in Oak Grove, Wisconsin. At the age of 21, and after he had worked as a logger, a hospital orderly, a streetcar operator, and a prison guard, he entered St. Francis Seminary in Milwaukee—where he found the studies difficult. He left there, and in 1896, joined the Capuchins in Detroit, taking the name Solanus. His studies for the priesthood were again arduous.
On July 24, 1904, Solanus was ordained, but because his knowledge of theology was judged to be weak, he was not given permission to hear confessions or to preach. A Franciscan Capuchin who knew him well said this annoying restriction “brought forth in him a greatness and a holiness that might never have been realized in any other way.”
During his 14 years as porter and sacristan in Yonkers, New York, the people there recognized Solanus as a fine speaker. James Derum, his biographer writes, “For, though he was forbidden to deliver doctrinal sermons, he could give inspirational talks, or feverinos, as the Capuchins termed them.” His spiritual fire deeply impressed his listeners.
Father Solanus served at parishes in Manhattan and Harlem before returning to Detroit, where he was porter and sacristan for 20 years at St. Bonaventure Monastery. Every Wednesday afternoon he conducted well-attended services for the sick. A co-worker estimates that on the average day 150 to 200 people came to see Father Solanus in the front office. Most of them came to receive his blessing; 40 to 50 came for consultation. Many people considered him instrumental in cures and other blessings they received.
Father Solanus’ sense of God’s providence inspired many of his visitors. “Blessed be God in all his designs” was one of his favorite expressions.
The many friends of Father Solanus helped the Capuchins begin a soup kitchen during the Depression. Capuchins are still feeding the hungry there today.
In failing health, Solanus was transferred to the Capuchin novitiate in Huntington, Indiana, in 1946, where he lived for ten years until needing to be hospitalized in Detroit. Father Solanus died on July 31, 1957. An estimated 20,000 people passed by his coffin before his burial in St. Bonaventure Church in Detroit.
At the funeral Mass, the provincial Father Gerald said: “His was a life of service and love for people like me and you. When he was not himself sick, he nevertheless suffered with and for you that were sick. When he was not physically hungry, he hungered with people like you. He had a divine love for people. He loved people for what he could do for them—and for God, through them.”
In 1960, a Father Solanus Guild was formed in Detroit to aid Capuchin seminarians. By 1967, the guild had 5,000 members—many of them grfrom bearing the burdens of the people who visited him. “Long since, he had come to know the Christ-taught truth that pure love of God and one’s fellowmen as children of God are in the final event all that matter. Living this truth ardently and continuously had made him, spiritually, a free man—free from slavery to passions, from self-seeking, from self-indulgence, from self-pity—free to serve wholly both God and man” (The Porter of St. Bonaventure’s, page 199).ateful recipients of his practical advice and his comforting assurance that God would not abandon them in their trials. Solanus Casey was declared Venerable in 1995, and beatified on November 18, 2017.
Reflection
His biographer James Patrick Derum writes that eventually Father Solanus was weary from bearing the burdens of the people who visited him. “Long since, he had come to know the Christ-taught truth that pure love of God and one’s fellowmen as children of God are in the final event all that matter. Living this truth ardently and continuously had made him, spiritually, a free man—free from slavery to passions, from self-seeking, from self-indulgence, from self-pity—free to serve wholly both God and man” (The Porter of St. Bonaventure’s, page 199).
Saint of the Day – July 29 – Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Saints Martha, Mary and Lazarus’ story (c. 1st century)
Martha, Mary, and their brother Lazarus were evidently close friends of Jesus. He came to their home simply as a welcomed guest, rather than as one celebrating the conversion of a sinner like Zacchaeus or one unceremoniously received by a suspicious Pharisee. The sisters felt free to call on Jesus at their brother’s death, even though a return to Judea at that time seemed to spell almost certain death.
Martha’s great glory is her simple and strong statement of faith in Jesus after her brother’s death. “Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world’” (John 11:25-27).
No doubt Martha was an active sort of person. On one occasion, she prepares the meal for Jesus and possibly his fellow guests and forthrightly states the obvious: All hands should pitch in to help with the dinner. The Lord recognizes that Martha is “worried about many things,” also noting that Mary, who has spent the preparation time at Jesus’ feet listening to his words “has chosen the better part.” John 12:1-8 describes Mary’s anointing of Jesus’ feet at Bethany, an act which he praised highly.
Immediately after we are told that the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus “because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Lazarus was the one of whom the Jews said, “See how much he loved him.” In their sight Jesus raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.
Legends abound about the life of Lazarus after the death and resurrection of Jesus. He is supposed to have left a written account of what he saw in the next world before he was called back to life. Some say he followed Peter into Syria. Another story is that despite being put into a leaking boat by the Jews at Jaffa, he, his sisters, and others landed safely in Cyprus. There he died peacefully after serving as bishop for 30 years.
It is certain there was early devotion to the saint. Around the year 390, the pilgrim lady Etheria talks of the procession that took place on the Saturday before Palm Sunday at the tomb where Lazarus had been raised from the dead. In the West, Passion Sunday was called Dominica de Lazaro, and Augustine tells us that in Africa the Gospel of the raising of Lazarus was read at the office of Palm Sunday.
Reflection
In its 2021 decree on combining veneration of Mary and Lazarus with Martha, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments said, “In the household of Bethany, the Lord Jesus experienced the family spirit and friendship of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and for this reason the Gospel of John states that he loved them. Martha generously offered him hospitality, Mary listened attentively to his words and Lazarus promptly emerged from the tomb at the command of the one who humiliated death.”
Saint Martha is a Patron Saint of:
Cooks
Homemakers
Restaurant servers
Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are Patron Saints of:
Siblings
A Glimmer of Light Within the Darkness
Daily Catholic Wisdom – Christ’s Baptism
12 Promises of the Sacred Heart
June is the month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. It is the perfect time to rekindle this devotion in our own hearts and to review the great graces He desires to give us:
- I will give them all the graces necessary in their state of life.
- I will establish peace in their homes.
- I will comfort them in all their afflictions.
- I will be their secure refuge during life, and above all, in death.
- I will bestow abundant blessings upon all their undertakings.
- Sinners will find in my Heart the source and infinite ocean of mercy.
- Lukewarm souls shall become fervent.
- Fervent souls shall quickly mount to high perfection.
- I will bless every place in which an image of my Heart is exposed and honored.
- I will give to priests the gift of touching the most hardened hearts.
- Those who shall promote this devotion shall have their names written in my Heart.
- I promise you in the excessive mercy of my Heart that my all-powerful love will grant to all those who receive Holy Communion on the First Fridays in nine consecutive months the grace of final perseverance; they shall not die in my disgrace, nor without receiving their sacraments. My divine Heart shall be their safe refuge in this last moment.
Daily Reflection – Most Problems are Caused by a Single Idea
