“You Will Know Them by Their Fruits”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
December 14 – 15, 2019
Scripture: Matthew 11: 2-11
Pop quiz: What time is Midnight Mass? Midnight!
Yesterday, I had a flashback from my time in the military. My old glasses had broken, so I went to Walmart to buy designer glasses for my new Clark Kent look. The cost? $9 (NTGFF – Nothing Too Good for Father). While I was at Walmart, I encountered lots of women hustling about with their shopping carts full of packages….zipping in and out, here and there…and I had no bodyguard. Oh my gosh! I felt safer in Iraq!
I want to thank the Misfits who have worked extremely hard on the 2nd floor of the rectory. When I came back from the VA on Thursday, I watched a parade of Misfits leaving the house, male and female, all dusty and dirty; they looked like they had been in a pig pen. They had cleaned out the 2nd floor, pulled up the carpet, sanded the floors, and put in insulation….it was really dirty work. I really thought we might find Jimmy Hoffa up there. The Misfits are really doing some incredible work, especially for what we pay them; it’s amazing. And, since the Misfits did all of that work upstairs, my allergies are much better, and I’m not using nearly as much tissue…a small expense, but it adds up.
Right after WWII, a young girl named Agnes began to discern a vocation, and she started taking care of the sick. Other women began to join her, and over the years, a new Order was formed. One of the amazing things about the Sisters of Charity is that they never ask for money and they don’t hold capitol campaigns. These Sisters work with the sickest of the sick including lepers whose flesh is decaying on their bodies that has a stench you would not believe nor soon forget. Even so, Agnes continued to attract more and more women to join her in the care of the sickest of the sick, to bring God’s love to them, and to pass on the faith. They continue to do that work today all over the world. Know what Agnes’ full name was? Saint Theresa of Calcutta, and the Order she founded is huge today. The Lord tells us to judge people and that we will know them by their fruits.
The Sisters of Charity spend hours each day before the Blessed Sacrament. While I was in Gitmo, I worked with the Sisters. I remember one in particular, Sister Magda, who had been a medical doctor in Spain, but gave it up to join the Sisters of Charity. She liked Gitmo, because it was an upgrade from Haiti. The Sisters owned two outfits…one that they wore and another that they washed by hand in a barrel. Even though the Sisters had diplomatic status and were afforded every luxury, they refused. They wouldn’t eat the food sent from the General; instead they chose to eat what Gitmo’s “guests” were eating. That is the power of what we have…the power of our faith.
Our parish is small and barely a blip on the diocese’s radar; except when they don’t receive their check on time. Then they go ballistic and know exactly where we are. Look at our Knights of Columbus…the numbers are few and older. Yet, they are distributing bags of groceries to 50 families at Christmas. Thank God for them. Look at our Misfits….we don’t pay them, but they love working in the muck and yuck. That’s a fringe benefit for them. They also work on a lot of charity projects. So, where does that spirit …that motivation to work hard and to get dirty, come from? It comes from our faith.
I’ll tell you another story about the power of our faith. Once, when I was covering Mercy Hospital, all of a sudden there was a Code Blue…an emergency call. Father Cal Bryon who was in his 80’s was very sick and a patient at Mercy. There was not much left to him; in fact, you could stand him in front of a window to take an x-ray. When Father Bryon heard the Code Blue called, he immediately got off his sick bed to go answer it. Father Bryon was walking down the hall in his hospital gown to answer the call when the nurses grabbed him under each elbow and told him that there was another priest on duty that day. Where does this come from? You will know them by their fruits.
The gifts of our Lord… the blind can see; cripples are able to walk and Christ will help carry their crosses; the deaf will hear the Word of God and His call – hope is given by the teachings of Christ and salvation through His love. The dead will rise from their sins and their souls healed through the Sacrament of the Eucharist. G.K. Chesterton, a famous author, converted from Anglicanism, and in England that was not a cool thing to do. When he was asked why he converted, Chesterton said, “I wanted my sins forgiven not just explained away.”
I went to the hospital today, and I didn’t know the hospital chaplain was out. The nurses told me that the guy in Room 12 was close to dying. So, I went down there, the guy was Catholic, but the week before he didn’t want to see anyone. But today, because of his disease and the drugs they were giving him, he was more amenable to having me give him Last Rites and yesterday I said the Prayers for the Dying…he is probably gone today. You have to time these things just right. So, do nurses tell me when someone is about to pass because I’m a great guy? No. It’s because they see the works of God in me; not that I can do it myself; it’s God working in spite of me. This is the hope we give. You will know them by their fruits.
Do we have people who do not live up to the gift of their Baptism? Yes. Do they cause scandal? Oh, yes. Does that mean we change the faith because people refuse to live it? No. People don’t follow the speed limit; should we change it? Oh, heck no!. People have fallen short of every goal that has ever been made. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers …every profession, all have fallen short. But the transformative power of God’s grace allows people to see His goodness in us which allows us to pass on the faith.
We all endure sufferings, some of us endure many, some visible, some not so much. Through our faith, we can see a reason for them…there is a purpose to our suffering. It is to show the world the beauty of our faith and how we are able to carry our crosses and help others with theirs. In the old days, Catholic hospitals had lots of sick people come in and sick people go out. Often, the bills were “forgotten about”, “lost” or written off. We had great schools too. Back then, they were affordable, and non-Catholics begged to get their kids in to Catholic schools. Today, Catholic schools have become expensive prep academies for the rich, but they do have a football team. The Church has gone through crises like the Reformation; we are men and not angels. Yet, I know of three chaplains who were Medal of Honor recipients, and two who received a Purple Heart. Finally, do you know who gives more money to HIV patients around the world? The Catholic Church. You can judge for yourself if the Catholic Church has the fullness of faith and truth. The Lord said you will know them by their fruits.
How will you apply this message to your life? Can people see the beauty of our faith in you? Do your fruit trees need pruning?