“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? ________________________________________
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