Tag: Bishop Fulton Sheen

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Sermon Notes – January – 14, 2024 – “Heart Speaking to Heart”

“Heart Speaking to Heart”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 13 – 14, 2024

Gospel: John 1:35-42

 I visit a lot of different groups.  Remember the song, “The In Crowd”?  We’re all old enough to remember that song, right?  I have two different groups that I’m “in” with . . . the shut-ins and the lock-ins.  This sermon has been approved by my lock-ins at the gated community whom I saw on Wednesday.  In the gospel, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John; you will be called Cephas” – which is Greek and translated as Peter” or “Rock”  (John 1:35-42).  This was a big deal.  Go back to the Old Testament when God called Abram.  What did God do?  He said, “You will be called Abraham, and you will be the father of My holy people.”  God wasn’t like me who gives people nicknames.  This was a dramatic shift.  However, He had reasons for changing people’s names.   

 What is the secret to prayer?   In the Gospel, Samuel said, “Speak Lord for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).  That is the whole secret to prayer.  I am guilty of speaking so quickly that most times my mind has to catch up with my mouth.   I don’t often see a prayer like the one to Saint Jude for hopeless causes.  Sometimes I read in the newspaper that if you pray a certain prayer nine times for nine days, you’ll get what you want.  Over the four years of seminary, I was probably sick for a day or two.   But I never heard about celestial extortion.  Really?  “I’ve got the secret to prayer. Light a candle and put on a prayer shawl.”   Why?  Are you cold?    Do you honestly think God doesn’t know what we need?  He knows what we want and desire.  But He keeps us alive by saying “no” sometimes to our prayers even if they are perfect.   If He gave us everything we want, we might not stay close to Him.  Probably the reason I haven’t made Monsignor after 40 years is to keep me humble.  Well, that didn’t work.  We come with our prayers and rattle them off.  Of course, I say mine very quickly, and I have a whole laundry list of things to tell God.  Whew!  I’m done with my prayers.  But apparently, God isn’t listening because I asked Him about this yesterday, and it’s still not done.  He has fallen down on His job.  Maybe He forgot.  I know He’s busy but come on!  I’m a busy guy too, and I have things to do!   If He would just do what I ask, things would be so much better.  It’s good to get all these things off our souls by telling Him what we need, what we want, and what we think He should do.  He laughs.  You have to admit when we tell God what He needs to do, with His divine sense of humor, it cracks Him up.  “Oh, I hadn’t thought of that.  Thanks a lot; I really appreciate it.” 

 So, what is prayer?  Bishop Sheen said prayer is heart speaking to heart.  Prayer is not a monologue.  It is not a one-way conversation.  It is two-way communication.  You can’t communicate with someone who won’t shut up.  Hey!  Zip it!  We must listen, and listening is the hardest part.   Listening takes different forms through meditation, quietness, and being interiorly open.  We need quiet inside and out.  Do you know who is perfect at listening?  Nobody; not even monks and religious sisters.  It takes a lot of practice.  We may be sitting there with our minds racing.  Look! Squirrel.  But let the other heart speak to you on the other heart’s terms.   God speaks to us in ordinary ways at His choosing, in His way, and in His own time.  When you tell God what you want, He says, “Thank you very much, Sir.  I’ll get right on that order.”  No.  You’ve got the flow chart on how it works all wrong.   It’s a conversation.  We should sit and listen, which is the hardest part.  It takes time.  When you go to Mass at other churches, they may have a prolonged silence after the readings.  You know, they didn’t go to school, and if they did, they need to get their money back.  A good and proper meditation takes 20 minutes.  We did that in seminary.  We had nowhere else to go, so why not?  We must learn how to quiet ourselves and to listen.  It’s tough because we are all so busy.  Sometimes when we listen, we really don’t like the answers.  However, He knows what is best for everyone, and He loves us more than anyone.  When you receive an answer, be sure to authenticate it because satan will tell us stuff just to make us go off the deep end.  “Well, God told me to do this.”  Uh-Huh.  A friend of mine was a chaplain at a prison in Louisiana.  One of the inmates told him that God had called him to preach.  Really?  Aren’t you the guy who sexually abused his granddaughters?  You might want to rethink that.  You always have to make sure the answer is coming from God.  He does not contradict Himself or what He revealed in Jesus Christ. 

When you come to church, be like the French farmer.  Saint John Vianney was the pastor of a church in a small town in France.  He came to the church to hear confessions.  He saw this little guy sitting there in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  Oh good!  He heard some confessions and when he came back, the guy was still sitting there.  Priests are trained to notice the unusual.  So, Saint John asked the man, “My son is everything okay?”  The man answered, “Yes, Father.”   Saint John said, “My son you’ve been here for hours. What are you doing?”  The man answered, “I am looking at God and God is looking at me.”

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.”



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Sermon Notes – December 25, 2023 – “He Did Not Leave“

“He Did Not Leave“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 24 – 25, 2023

Gospel: John 1:1-18

 I thought we would have a bit of scriptural study today.  Joseph “had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus” (Matthew 1:25).  You might think, “Joseph could have had relations with her afterward.”  But you are presuming facts not in evidence.   Just because it didn’t happen before the birth doesn’t mean it happened afterward.  You are reading into scripture to prove a point. 

What is love?  Love is our Savior in the manger.  It is also our Lord’s presence in the Tabernacle.  But the greatest act of love happened on the Cross.  These are the three greatest acts of love by God.  About Christmas Day, Bishop Sheen said, “On this day, a man no longer has to look up to Heaven to see God.  He can look down at the manger to see Him.”  The Wise Men and shepherds came so that they could look down at God.   You could today, and every day you come to church, replace their faces with a picture of yours because you come here to be in the presence of God Himself. 

Now, you keen observers in the parish may have noticed that we have new figurines for our crèche (manger scene).  The idea of a crèche was created by Saint Francis over 800 years ago.  Here’s a fun thing you can do when you see non-Catholics with a crèche.   You can say, “Oh, I see that you are Catholic.”  “I’m not Catholic!”  “Well, that’s a Catholic symbol.  Saint Francis of Assisi is the guy who came up with the idea.  You know – the guy who liked birds.”  Oops!  So, what is a crèche?  It is visible scripture. When Saint Francis came up with the idea, many people couldn’t read but they could see.  In our creche, we have beautiful, hand-carved wood figurines.  Notice that everyone has their attention on the Savior.  A short distance away, we have the three Wise Men.   They aren’t at the manger yet but will finally arrive in a few weeks to see the infant Jesus.  Have you ever noticed that a lot of people are late for church?  

Who do you find around our Lord whether it’s at the manger or the foot of the Cross?  You find the very holy – the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph.  You also find those who know that they don’t know anything.   The Wise Men were very educated and had achieved the fruits of their education.  What are the fruits of an education?  You discover that you don’t know everything.  The Wise Men had learned that.  The shepherds already knew that they knew nothing.  Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been in pastures walking around sheep dung in the middle of a Palestinian night.  I’ve been there, and it is very, very cold.  You don’t want to be out there.  It’s 40 degrees, but when the temperature drops from 80 to 40 in a couple of hours, you freeze.  So that’s who you will always find around our Lord.  And when you come here to be with our Lord, you have a choice of which to be…educated or uneducated.  But either way, we come to adore our good Lord.

Christ is coming into the world and made manifest to us all.  But Christ has never left the world.  “Father, didn’t He ascend to Heaven?”   Well, His human nature which He took from the Blessed Mother and with which He taught, healed, suffered, and rose from the dead went to Heaven.  But He has always been in the world.  He is there in the Blessed Sacrament.  His divine nature in the form of consecrated bread and wine is in the Tabernacle.  He did not leave.

At Christmas, Jesus is made manifest to the world in human form.  He was already in the world nine months before that in the womb of His mother.  Now He is made manifest to the world so that all can come see the beginning of the greatest gift of all.  This is the beginning and not the end.  That comes 33 years later which shows the fullness of His love.   I am sure that I will be meditating today on all the gifts my parents gave me.  I’ll meditate about their love, patience, and all the wonderful things they did as parents by God’s grace.  This may be why I became a priest. 

Catholics can celebrate Christmas all year long.  Every day is your Christmas.  Every day you are the shepherds and the Wise Men who came to be in the presence of our Lord.  When you are here, you take their place.  Our Lord shows the greatness of His love, not by taking a human nature upon Himself, but by suffering at the hands of His own creatures and being put to death by His own ungrateful creatures on the Cross.  Mary Magdalene, Mary of Clopas, Saint John, and the Blessed Mother stood at the foot of the Cross.  You take their place at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass by being with Christ during the Mass.  As they were there during His original suffering which is always before the Father and made present during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, you take their place.  So, when you come to Mass, when you come into the presence of our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament, you are a part of that. 

God is with us and not just in the spiritual sense.  He is physically here.  But it was not enough for Him to come into the world; what He wants most is to come into our souls.   We can experience His incarnation.  Today, if you catch me in a good mood, I’ll hear your confession so that Christ can come into your soul and remove your sins.  By the way, I’m running a 3 Hail Mary Special from now until New Year’s Day. 

I hope you all have a crèche at home.  If not, we have them in the bookstore.  Put your family’s faces over the faces of the shepherds and Wise Men.  That’s what we are called to be and what we will be in Heaven.  

Father’s Reflections . . . I was thinking back on the Christmases that I’ve enjoyed.  Some of those overseas, I wouldn’t want to repeat, but that’s the roll of the dice you take.  The gift of love that was given is still unfolding.  I’m still a young man – Hah! –  and I’m still working to understand the gifts of love that were given.  They all have a deeper meaning, not only on a human level that includes your family and friends but also on a spiritual level. 

“Father, we should have a Mass at dawn.”  Really?  I want to see the guy who can get up to do the Mass at dawn after doing the Vigil Mass at 5 p.m. and then the Midnight Mass.  That ain’t me.  I’m getting too old for that.  We have priests in the diocese who are in their 80’s, and I don’t see them celebrating Masses at midnight.  My days are getting shorter on that too.  But like any real man, my mind writes checks my body can’t cash.  I still think I’m 18 with a big red “S” on my chest and able to bend steel with my bare hands.  Uh no. 

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.”

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Sermon Notes – October 9, 2022 – “His Gifts Can Have Many Forms”

“His Gifts Can Have Many Forms”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 October 8 – 9, 2022

Gospel:  Luke 17:11-19

11 Now it happened that on the way to Jerusalem He was travelling in the borderlands of Samaria and Galilee.  12 As He entered one of the villages, ten men suffering from a virulent skin-disease came to meet Him. They stood some way off 13 and called to Him, ‘Jesus! Master! Take pity on us.’ 14 When He saw them He said, ‘Go and show yourselves to the priests.’ Now as they were going away they were cleansed.  15 Finding himself cured, one of them turned back praising God at the top of his voice 16 and threw himself prostrate at the feet of Jesus and thanked Him. The man was a Samaritan. 17 This led Jesus to say, ‘Were not all ten made clean? The other nine, where are they?  18 It seems that no one has come back to give praise to God, except this foreigner.’  19 And He said to the man, ‘Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved you.’

 
Do you know why the Good Lord gave the gift of healing to the ten lepers?  Because they asked for it and because He loved them.   He made them out of love and sustained them out of love.  When they asked for the gift of that love to cure them, He didn’t ask if they had tithed, given to the Priest Retirement Fund, or volunteered at the church.  He gave it to them freely because He loved them and He wanted to show His love.  One of the lepers was a foreigner. . .a Samaritan who the Jews hated.   But love gives without regard.  Love gives outside of itself never seeking reward.  Our Lord blesses us with so many gifts when we ask for them and even when we don’t.  Some of those gifts are very good and some are even better.  In some, you recognize the good and in others not so much. 

Do you remember Bishop Fulton Sheen?  He was that very handsome man on television with grey hair.  Bishop Sheen was very photogenic . . . the camera loved him.  He had a series on television, he was a wonderful speaker, and he was very talented.  He had two doctorates – I mean the guy was a genius!  He was really blessed.   But do you know what his diet consisted of?  He lived on boiled chicken, milk, and soggy graham crackers.  That was his diet because his stomach was so bad that was all he could keep down.  That was all he could eat, but you would never know it.  That was one of God’s gifts to him, and it was a blessing because it kept him small.  Indeed, some of our crosses are our greatest blessings.   It kept Bishop Sheen humble and relying on God.  I say that because he’s about to be canonized as a saint. 

The same thing is true with all the gifts God gives us.  There are so many gifts beyond counting.  While you are saying your nightly prayers and the Act of Contrition, it is a good spiritual habit to think of at least five or ten gifts God has given you.  And the next night, think of new ones.  Also think of the gifts that are your crosses and infirmities.  He gives us those so that we can share in His Passion and become more reliant on Him than on ourselves.  They are a great blessing because they keep us humble and small.  They may seem like a punishment for our sins. . . and they could be.   I’m not God, and I don’t know why God allows it, but He does.  It’s also a chance for us to give gifts of love to others and to God.  We can offer them for sacrifices and penance for our sins and those of others.   Through our sufferings we can reach out to others who are suffering and give them the same hope we have.  As Saint Paul said, “I make up with my body what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ.”  We join our sufferings with Him on the Cross.  Those sufferings can be His greatest gift to us.  Our sufferings can be not only physical ailments but also mental and spiritual sufferings.  We all have them.  Usually, the most gifted people have the most crosses so that God can keep them humble. 

God does not give us gifts because we have earned them.  Do your children have to earn your love?  You still love the ones who have gone off the reservation.  It happens in every family.  You don’t give your children gifts because they’ve earned them.  You give them gifts because you love them.  That’s what God does for us.  God loves us and He will never stop.  He hopes that these gifts of love will cause people to turn their hearts back to Him.  That’s what God does.  He will always give us blessings, but His blessings can have many forms.

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” then “Menu” and then “Categories”