“He is Speaking to You…Can You Hear Him?”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 7-8, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 17:1-9
The gospel today took place 10 days before our Lord’s passion. Our good Lord showed the three apostles a particular vision of His nature, of His true nature, and what that would be like. It was also to strengthen them for the coming scandal of the cross. I think all of us would really like to have one of those momentous moments of seeing the miracle of the manifestation of God. We would really like that. You may think that it would really solidify your faith after that. That’s a wonderful and pious thought, but reality is different. Look at the apostles…these three in particular. Over the course of three years, they saw many miracles. They saw three people raised from the dead…Lazarus being one. After three days in a tomb, there would be a stench. Lazarus was truly dead. Think of all the miracles of our good Lord that they witnessed…not all were not recorded in scripture. Yet, when Christ’s time came, they ran away like sissy boys. Real men, and they ran away. So, a great spiritual experience does not translate into being set. That’s true in our own lives. Just look at all the people who have left the Church. “Well, if I only had a great spiritual experience I would stay.” Remember the joy of your first communion? I’m sure your parents do and that they have pictures. Remember your confirmation, your wedding, and the baptism of your children? Where are all those people now? We have our own great spiritual experiences. Our Lord still comes and gives us spiritual experiences, because He knows how frightened we are no matter how tough we might think we are. Our Lord knows that we still get lonely and afraid. The most common verse in scripture is “do not be afraid.” Our Lord would not have said that if He didn’t think we were afraid. The worse punishment for anyone is being alone or in solitary confinement in prison. We need consolation, and we need to know His divine presence. Our Lord always comes to us, but sometimes we are too busy to see Him.
I was making my rounds in the Emergency Department at the VA Hospital on Thursday. I was talking to this one man who won’t be leaving. I walked out of his room to ask the nurse a question. I always ask the staff questions. I read training magazines and farming magazines, because I want to learn. So, I asked the nurse about the lump on the side of this patient’s jaw. He said, “what lump.” The nurse went into the man’s room to check on him, and when he came back, he said that the lump hadn’t been seen earlier, because it wasn’t significant, and we didn’t catch it. Even a nurse who is so experienced didn’t see it.
We overlook our God’s timely providence. He knows when we have something extraordinary in which to rid ourselves. Some little girl spits up green soup, and right away we think it’s satan. Oh my gosh, she’s possessed! I get a lot of calls about exorcism; sometimes our imaginations run wild. We are watching way too many movies. Our Lord comes to us, but we are too busy with our cell phones and other distractions to hear Him. He is always trying to talk to us, trying to give us little messages. I am here and I hear your prayers.
A few months ago, I was walking, and I was very upset because of the death of my twin brother. So, I was letting God know that I was really torqued and using some official military language. I was by myself and nobody could hear me. This was official, government-sanctioned, military language. I was using some good Anglo-Saxon terms not used in polite company. I was really p’oed. Later, as I continued walking, I saw a penny and picked it up. It was a wheat penny, and the date on the coin was 1953…the year my brother and I were born. I was thinking how odd to find that penny in the middle of nowhere in Stanly County. How many pennies exist with the year 1953? It’s just odd.
I remember I was doing the funeral for Mr. Hudson, a World War II veteran of the Army Air Corps. We did puzzles together; he passed a few years ago. Mr. Hudson had been stationed in Japan and flew in a B-17. When bombs got stuck, it was his job to go to the bottom of the B-17 and, without a safety harness, kick the bombs that were stuck out the back door of the plane. He was an interesting man and a funny guy. I asked him one time if he ever got air sick; he said no, but he did get seasick. He came home from the war by ship. While crossing the Indian Ocean, he was fine; the Mediterranean…fine; the Atlantic…not fine. For the next seven days he didn’t eat. But, at least the ship was headed in the right direction…toward home. Anyway, he asked me to do his funeral even though he wasn’t Catholic. As I was enroute to the funeral, I stopped to get a cup of coffee at a convenience store. I happened to look down at the ground and saw a puzzle piece. I picked up the puzzle piece, and when I had finished the ceremony and walked over to the wall where his ashes were to be interred, I placed the puzzle piece on top of his ashes.
God talks to all of us. I’m not special. In fact, God probably loves you more than me, because you deserve it more. I have a lot of explaining to do about my permanent record when I see Him face-to-face. God does talk to you, and He desperately tries to get your attention, but in subtle ways. Throughout our lives, more frequently than we can imagine, God tries to tell us He is present and that He cares.
How will you apply this message to your life? He is speaking to you…will you stop to listen?