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Saint of the Day – Saint John the Baptist -August 29
Saint of the Day – Saint Augustine – August 28
Sermon Notes – September 1, 2024 – “Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”
“Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
September 1, 2024
Gospel: Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
I’m a part-time hospital chaplain, so I deal with a lot of sick people. Sometimes I come across patients in the emergency room who are hooked up to a banana bag. That’s a yellow IV bag shaped like a banana. I’ll say, “Coming off the booze, are we?” And they’ll say, “How did you know?” This is not my first rodeo. From the drugs and alcohol, they smell like burnt cork. People who are addicted and in the hospital are not at all happy. I always ask them, “Have you had enough? As much fun as this is, you are not going to be enjoying the next three days. No matter how much stuff they give you, I guarantee it’s not going to be pleasant.” Some will actually say, “Father, I don’t want to do this anymore. How do I stop?” That’s a great question, and I can give you an answer. You have to change one thing. “Oh, what’s that, Father?” Everything.
We are all addicted to something – alcohol, drugs, pizza, fish–no, cucumbers-probably not, chocolate cake, and sin – that’s why we are all here. The first thing you have to do is change yourself. “Do you mean I have to make new friends?” Did I say that? “Well, I was living in a really bad place, so I moved here.” But you are still overdoing it with drinking, drugs, and pizza – if that’s even possible. However, that’s a theological question I’ll work out later. But you’re still doing it; the geographical cure isn’t working. You have to change. Saint John the Baptist said, “I must decrease; He must increase” (John 3:30). “Well, I’ll move and get some new friends.” That won’t work because you haven’t changed. No, you’ll just move to another place and befriend the same type of people. You are just substituting places and people. You haven’t changed anything. The change cannot happen by simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. The change must be in you. Recovery happens when you establish a relationship with God. We all have to change if we want to grow closer to Christ. We must die to self by renouncing our opinions and ideas. It’s a long, slow process, but it always works. I’ve never known it to fail. We have to listen to our Teacher and do what our Lord asks us to do.
I think the Church is gravely, almost culpable, of spiritual malpractice because they do not tell people about the means for salvation. Some of you may remember Monsignor Showfety. He used to fill in for me when I did Reserve duty. He once told me, “We need to make reconciliation rooms so people can talk to you face to face.” No, that ain’t happening. I don’t like them that much. The Church spent a lot of money on them, and finally, Rome said “no” to reconciliation rooms. The confessional is there for the protection of the priest and not the comfort of the penitent. We deal with spiritual granola – fruits, flakes, and nuts. That’s why there must be an impenetrable screen between the priest and the penitent. That’s the rule. “Oh, but if we had Mass on Saturday and Sunday nights, we’d have more people.” Mass attendance has been going down. “If we had Mass in all the languages of the world, we’d have more people.” Uh no. “Well, the Mass on Sundays at 12:15 is in Spanish, so I don’t go.” Really? It’s not in Spanish. “What do you mean, Father?” It’s in Spanglish. I don’t speak Spanish, alright? They tell me I speak Spanish with a French accent. My second language is French, okay? “Well, if we translated the Bible generally, people wouldn’t be offended by sexist words, and we’d have a lot more people.” Well, the English language is sexist, and the translations, especially the new ones, are horrible. They are not Scripture. The transliteration is horrible. If you want a non-sexist language, go back to the original Latin or Greek. They are better translations and are absolutely correct.
We try to change everything except what we are supposed to change – ourselves by using the tools God gave us. “I don’t want any medical tests; they are degrading.” Being degraded or winding up in Hartsell’s Funeral Home – it’s your choice. I once had a patient in hospice who was dying of Colon Cancer. He was from this area. So, we were talking, and the guy said, “This is my own fault.” I said, “Really?” He said, “I didn’t follow directions. The doctor told me to go home and do certain things and then come back to see him.” Well, he never did, and as a result, he cut his life shorter than was necessary. By the way, if you are going for a colonoscopy, I don’t care how cute you think you are from that angle; you aren’t. I’ve been doing hospital work for 40 years; nobody is that cute. If you’ve got a body part I haven’t seen, I’ll pay you for the privilege of seeing it. Nobody is that cute. “But I don’t like it.” What would you rather have – a little shame or a dirt nap? What’s your choice?
Instead of changing the Sacraments that our good Lord gave us, we can use them to change ourselves. Otherwise, we are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. “Oh, if we just had (whatever), things would be great!” Really? How has that been working out for the last 60 years? Not well. My parish growing up, which doesn’t exist anymore, is now a Catholic high school. We had Mass in Latin, so I had to learn Latin to serve the Mass. When we began doing Mass in English, it was really difficult. Know why? Our priest was French Canadian, and we had no idea what he was saying. “The Lord be with you, eh.” Let’s use the faith to change us instead of commenting about it like a sports commentator. “I don’t like this.” You are just looking for reasons not to do it. The real reason is we don’t want to. Do you know which of the vows I took when I was ordained are the hardest? Both obedience and chastity are difficult, but obedience is the most difficult. The interior sins are the hardest part of spiritual life, but we must trust Him that everything will work out okay. He must increase, and we must decrease. And that’s hard. We have to change ourselves. Don’t worry about anything else. “Oh, it’s really bad out there.” Not really. There are tons of good people and good things out there. I see it all the time. Once we change our perspective, the outside will change too. We have to change instead of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Father’s Reflections . . .
On Monday, September 2, our church will officially turn 90 years old. Catholic churches are not dedicated; they are consecrated. During the Mass at the consecration of the church, the bishop anoints the four walls of the church with sacred chrism. Theoretically, those walls should be marked with candles, but in our case, the priests before me did not do that. So, I put the candles where I thought they should be. Only two days of the year are they lit – the day the church was consecrated, September 2, and on our feast day – Our Lady’s Annunciation, the patroness of this parish. Just a bit of trivia about our history.
How will you apply this message to your life? ____________________________________
Sermon Notes – August 25, 2024 – “This is Where Truth Resides”
“This is Where Truth Resides”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
August 24 – 25, 2024
Gospel: John 6:60-6
60 After hearing it, many of His followers said, ‘This is intolerable language. How could anyone accept it?’
62 What if you should see the Son of man ascend to where He was before?
61 Jesus was aware that His followers were complaining about it and said, ‘Does this disturb you?
63 ‘It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh has nothing to offer. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
64 ‘But there are some of you who do not believe.’ For Jesus knew from the outset who did not believe and who was to betray him.
65 He went on, ‘This is why I told you that no one could come to Me except by the gift of the Father.’
66 After this, many of His disciples went away and accompanied Him no more.
67 Then Jesus said to the Twelve, ‘What about you, do you want to go away too?’
68 Simon Peter answered, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life,
69 and we believe; we have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’
I have dealt with many people, and I like doing so. I can always tell which people used to be Catholic. Do you know how I can do that? Am I gifted? No. I can because they tell me. They say, “I used to be Catholic.” Oh really? I’m still Catholic. What happened to you? Did you find a better way to Heaven? When they tell you they are no longer Catholic, they are unhappy. I have never met a priest who left the priesthood and was happy. Never. And I’ve been around for a long time. Usually, after priests leave, they realize they made a big mistake, but it’s really tough to come back. Bishop Curlin was really good at bringing priests back, but nowadays that ain’t happening.
Why would anyone leave? We have the words of spirit and life. We have the truth. You know the truth when you hear it because it touches your soul. We all want to hear, “Hey Father. Pizza and bacon are really good for your heart.” I would love to hear that, but I’m not going to, am I? Probably not. “Hey, Father. Cucumbers are good for your health.” Then I am going to die because that’s not going down this throat! I barely do fish, and that’s a penance. But we all want to hear that it’s okay to eat and do what we want. “Oh, I have a kidney condition that alcohol is good for.” Really? Do you mean stupid? “Smoking is good for you.” I’ll let you know about that too. We all want to hear those words because it gives us an excuse to do what we want which may not be what Christ wants. We have the truth of everlasting life. Jesus gives us that truth. Because of our fallen nature, the sins we’ve committed after our baptism, and the sins of others committed against us, it is hard to follow that truth. Sometimes, it is hard to see the love of God. When our good Lord took my mother, my father, and both of my brothers from this world, I was not exactly pleased with Him, okay? But bad things happen, so we have to trust.
From whom do you hear, “I absolve you of all your sins.” “Behold the lamb of God.” You won’t hear that anywhere but here. This is where truth resides. The fullness of truth helps us carry our crosses and deal with all the things that try to take us away from Him, the sorrow that we all experience, the temptations, our faults and failures, the crosses that have been given to us, and the crosses we take on for others to help them. Only here do we have peace and consolation. We can go somewhere else, but no one finds that peace except here. I have 71 years of experience and 40 years of that as a priest – If anyone can enlighten me, I’m always open to verifiable knowledge, but I have yet to see it or read about it. Only here in the fullness of Christ will we find peace. When G.K. Chesterton became Catholic, he said, “I want my sins forgiven, not explained away.” He also said, “If you believe Protestantism, you’ll believe anything.” Growing up, all Christians had a basic set of morals. Now, “to whom shall we go? He has the message of eternal life.” We are men and not angels, so we all struggle with our crosses. We come here for our Lord’s help, healing, and strength.
How will you apply this message to your life? _______________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and 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.”
Saint of the Day – Saint Jeanne Elizabeth des Bichier des Anges – August 26
Saint of the Day – Saint Louis IX – August 25
Saint of the Day – Saint Bartholomew, Apostle – August 24
Saint of the Day – Saint Rose of Lima – August 23
Sermon Notes – August 18, 2024 – “If You Believe Scripture, You Have to be Catholic”
“If You Believe Scripture, You Have to be Catholic”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
August 17 – 18, 2024
Gospel: John 6:51-58
6:51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever: and the bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
6:52 The Jews, therefore, strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you.
6:54 Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
6:55 For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed.
6:56 He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him.
6:57 As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me.
6:58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
Do you know what the most common vocation in the Catholic Church is? Ministers. You wouldn’t think so. If you are a minister at a Protestant church, you are making a 6-figure salary plus benefits. Are you going to toss all that away? The reason ministers come is because they read Scripture in the original language. “Unless you eat My flesh and drink My blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). The original text means just that, “to chew, masticate and consume into your stomach.” That’s exactly what the original text says. Another meaning of the word “eat” is “to take within your very self.” They realized from the Gospel of John that they had to become Catholic. Read any part of scripture, and you have to become Catholic. Read the Gospel of Matthew, and you have to become Catholic. Read any parts of Scripture, and you have to become Catholic. If you believe what Scripture says, you have to become Catholic. Holy Communion in the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which we receive His Most Precious Blood gives us eternal life. This is the only way we can take our good Lord into ourselves, and it is how we can have life and have it to the fullest.
This morning, I was talking to a couple in marriage preparation class, and I remembered this story from many years ago when Atrium was Stanly Memorial Hospital. I used to see this young lady in the left wing at Bethany Woods. She was a profoundly disabled woman. Her room was caged off, and she had all her playthings. They took such wonderful care of her. When I visited people there, I would look in on her. One day, I was making some calls over at Stanly Memorial, and I saw her in a room where the staff was working on her. I got a chance to talk to her mother while the doctors were busy with her. She told me her story. They are from Mt. Gilead, the land that time forgot and where the Feds stash their witnesses. That’s true. She told me when she became pregnant, the doctors told her that the child would be profoundly disabled, and they advised her to have an abortion. She said, “No.” She gave birth and brought the child home. She, her friends, and her neighbors took care of that child. Children with profound physical disabilities usually have internal problems too. I looked for her after that, but I never saw her, and I assumed she had passed. When I drive through Mt. Gilead, I think of that mother and daughter. And in my mind, they have a special place in Heaven. “Why, Father? Did they know Jesus?” Maybe, although I’m not sure about that. But this I am sure of . . . they took care of Jesus.
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and 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.”