“Our Gifts Belong to God”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
October 25 – 26, 2025
Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14
When I talk to other priests, they can make me feel a little inferior. These men are extremely gifted. Some are exorcists. I can’t tell you who they are because if I did, I’d have to kill you. Nothing personal; it’s just business. One priest is a Dr. of Canon Law, and another who has a Ph.D. is a professor of Homiletics. Some know multiple languages, and others have been missionaries. I don’t have the intellectual achievements or accomplished the great things they’ve done in their lives. I have only one real gift – I’m a good hospitalist. I don’t get sick in hospitals. However, a lot of my brother priests are not very comfortable in hospitals.
Why does God give us gifts? Does He have to? No. He gives us gifts because He loves us. The gifts He gives us may seem small, but they are all large. They are sufficient for helping us achieve our salvation and to help others achieve theirs. I’ve worked in a trauma center and in military hospitals overseas. No problem; I have a strong stomach. Doctors would let me watch medical procedures. Watching the doctors at work was really cool, although it does help to have a strong stomach. There are smells you would not believe, and neither Lysol nor Vicks Vapor rub helps to dissipate them. God gave me the ability to endure the smells so that I can do the work of a hospital chaplain.
There was a gentleman in Hospice who asked to speak with me. I had talked to him once before, but he was back at the hospital, and his cancer was very much advanced. He told me that it was his fault because he was supposed to come back to have his colon checked and he never did. The cancer had spread from his colon to his brain and had become external. External cancer is a real treat for the senses. I had been visiting with this patient for about 10 minutes when a nurse came into the room and sprayed a whole can of Lysol. I appreciated the thought, but the Lysol didn’t touch the smell. But I sat there and listened to this man because it was important to him. Was it important to me? Yes, because it was what I was supposed to do. I was using my talent. I could stand the smell of that dying man. A lot of priests could not do that. God gave me that talent, and I thank Him for it. I am not very good at many things, and I’m terrible at a lot of them. I’m not a good administrator, ask anybody. I thank God for the good people of this parish who are great at all the things that I am not because it makes me look barely competent. The gifts God gave me are for the good of others. They are not for me.
I baptized a man in Hospice. His wife told me that her husband, who was nearing the end, had never been baptized. Really? I asked him if he wanted to be baptized, and he said “yes.” His wife belonged to a church that had to vote on the people to be baptized. So, I said if their church voted in favor of his being baptized, that I would baptize him there at the VA. When I returned the following week, I asked the wife how the vote went at her church. The wife said the church voted for her husband to be baptized. Okay. So, I baptized him right there. “Oh, but he wasn’t Catholic!” We’ll let God sort it out since he will be with Him. My goodness! Stop pole vaulting over mouse droppings. This guy was just about ready to meet his Maker, and he wanted to put on his baptismal garments, so I was going to help him. God gave me the gift of being there for this patient at that time.
I am very grateful for God’s gifts, and I remind myself that those gifts are to be used for His people. They are not for me or my ego. I am humble because I wish I could do more, but I can’t. I’ve done very little for the sake of our God. I miss my work at the hospital, and I miss the patients, but I can’t do it anymore. I’m too tired. Like any old man, my mind writes checks my body can’t cash.
The gifts I have belong to God. He gave them to me so that I could help His people on their way to salvation. The same is true for all the gifts that God has given you. At the end of the day, thank Him for the gifts He has given you, whatever they may be, and realize that we are just conduits of His love.
Father’s Reflections: A few years ago, I had an appointment with my doctor. It was during Covid, so to check in, I had to sit in my car and send a text to the staff to let them know I was there. The staff would then send a form to my phone to complete. On the form was this question: “In case of emergency, who should we notify?” My appointment was with a dermatologist. Really? How bad can this be? So, I wrote: “In case of emergency, contact “Dr. House.”
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
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