Diving deeper into Jesus Christ as Mystery, the Catechism describes the deep mystery in the preparations for Christ’s coming—also known as Advent—as well as the mystery of his first coming in Christmas. Fr. Mike points to one of the last sentences of today’s readings—”Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us”—and reminds us that Jesus is the star of the story, not us. Our goal is to become children in relation to God. “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 522-526.
We’re so close to Christmas—will this year really be your best Christmas ever? Watch today’s video for a last minute checklist to make sure you have an incredible holiday! Watch the video!
2 Now John had heard in prison what Christ was doing and he sent his disciples to ask him, 3 ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to expect someone else?’ 4 Jesus answered, ‘Go back and tell John what you hear and see; 5 the blind see again, and the lame walk, those suffering from virulent skin-diseases are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life and the good news is proclaimed to the poor; 6 and blessed is anyone who does not find me a cause of falling.’ 7 As the men were leaving, Jesus began to talk to the people about John, ‘What did you go out into the desert to see? A reed swaying in the breeze? No? 8 Then what did you go out to see? A man wearing fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothes are to be found in palaces. 9 Then what did you go out for? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet: 10 he is the one of whom scripture says: Look, I am going to send my messenger in front of you to prepare your way before you. 11 ‘In truth I tell you, of all the children born to women, there has never been anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of Heaven is greater than he.
Today is a wonderful day. Our Lord tells us, “I sent my messenger ahead of me.” Who is that messenger? That would be you and me by virtue of our baptism. We are called to proclaim the coming of Christ. Christ is coming soon as we know. We celebrate Him at Christmas during this time of Emmanuel (God is with us). How do we prepare the way for Him? First, we prepare ourselves. We cannot give what we do not have. I cannot do carpentry work. Why? I can’t use power tools…I’m terrible at it. I don’t have that gift. But we all have the gift to be holy. We clean our souls and fill them with Jesus, and we bring that to other people. How do we tell people? How can the deaf hear us and the blind see us? By seeing Christ in us. We bring the news of Christ by our actions or lack of actions and not by our words. Nobody says, “Please forgive me.” They say, “Yeah, I’m sorry; you know that.”
There is a famous Irish saying, “You do not have to go to every fight you are invited to.” You don’t have to do that. What is deadly to our soul? Sin. Leprosy was a deadly disease back then…a slow killer as is the unrepentant evil in us. Read the Catechism. When we sin, we ask for forgiveness. Do not apologize. It is not a sign of weakness as television tells us. An apology is for using the wrong fork at dinner. I have only one set of forks in my house, so I’m good. However, you don’t have to be like Patsy Cline, “I’m sorry, so sorry.” Shut-up! You hear this all the time, “I misspoke.” No, you lied. You didn’t misspeak. You lied. Name it. Say it. Claim it. You hear all these what I call “moral theology weasel words.” Every sin has a name…so name it. I did pass the Moral Theology course. You ask for forgiveness. “I have sinned,” be it culpably, knowingly, or by omission and just being an ignorant jerk. “I have sinned, and I am sorry. Please forgive me.” This is how we preach the Gospel. You’d be surprised at the look you get on people’s faces.
We preach the gospel; I get to do it here because I’m a priest. But my preaching means nothing if I don’t show it in my actions. That’s what people see. Many times, in the hospital, people have asked me, “Father, will you visit so-and-so? They are dying.” Are they Catholic? “No.” So, I visit the patient and say the Prayer for the Dying Soul. Sometimes nurses will page me and ask that I pray for a patient who is dying. The patients aren’t Catholic. The nurses aren’t Catholic. But because I showed up and visited them they will call me. The rules have changed at Atrium and nursing homes, but I had a couple of moles and spies who would tell me who was sick. Now they can’t do that, but I’m working on a new deal. It takes time to get new sources. People will see you by your actions. We pave the way for the Lord by preparing ourselves first. By preparing our souls first, we prepare the way of the Lord outside of ourselves.
Father’s Reflections:
My first blessing this morning was that I had mince meat pie and jello for breakfast. I’m living every man’s dream. Such is life without a wife. Yesterday we had the funeral for Cornelius Waxmuski, and I told the family that I never knew his first name. We called him “Waxi.” The funeral director informed me that there was a problem at the cemetery and that they needed 10 extra minutes. So, the vehicle procession to the cemetery was slowed down to 10 mph through the city. Nobody beeped their horns. It was fun. We don’t have to wear seat belts in a hearse. So, you get fringe benefits at a funeral. One of the good things about being in a small parish for a long time….you get to know the town and its people. And that is a true blessing. I feel for those priests who have big parishes and fight fires all the time. They go from one explosion to another in what we called in the military, “Quick Reaction Force.”
How will you apply this message to your life? _________________________________________
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I think of some of the Christmases I have had, and I’ve had some pretty interesting ones, like the one when I would got into a vehicle with no seat belts and a loaded weapon with a round in the chamber. Because I have been sick, this Christmas hasn’t been a fairly pleasant one, but all in all, not bad.
We all think about Christmas and how beautiful it is. The elves have done so much work to make it so. My brother priests send me pictures of their churches. I do not send them a picture of ours, because I don’t want to hurt their tiny little feelings. Sissy boys! When I was a child, Christmas time was so beautiful. We helped serve at the Mass and were seated by the Red Cassocks. It was a step up from the regular action and was the closest I ever got to being Monsignor. Do you ever wish you had the time to reflect on the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child? To see again the wonder of God? What happened to that wonder? No matter the age in your reflections, you would have missed so much. That was just the beginning. Part of God’s revelation is that He draws you closer to Him to become part of His sacrifice, to receive His life thru the Sacraments, and to receive more knowledge and deeper love.
Your wedding day is not the same as your 50th anniversary. The 50th anniversary is supposed to be better. Different yes, but deeper. Change is not always bad. Change can be very good. Heraclitus, a 5th Century Greek philosopher said, “you cannot step into the same river twice.” And that’s true. You never do because there have been changes. We are called to change and to grow in love so that the Christmases we are called to now are felt deeper and are even more wonderful. There’s a way to do it but I’m all preached out and running out of energy. [Father Fitz is recovering from COVID-19.] But to have a deeper wonder and awe of a child. Scripture says, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). We are supposed to be true to that wonder and awe in the simplicity of love, to the resignation of ourselves to the Savior, and to be lost in that great gift of love…to be grateful and to experience it.
Each day we have the opportunity to grow in that love, and one day it will come to its fulfillment in the Kingdom of Heaven. Do not sell yourself short by wanting to go back to your childhood. Don’t. You will miss so much. If there have been intervening problems during the years from then and until now, that can all be fixed and done away with. God can restore the beauty and majesty of life. He has come to give the gift of Himself as promised by the Profits. The gift is His death and resurrection. Once we receive the fullness of it, we will finally enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
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.” They can also be found on Facebook by searching for “Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”
10 The angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I proclaim to you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For today in the city of David a savior has been born for you who is Messiah and Lord.
When a man is discerning his vocation, he enters minor seminary and earns a degree in philosophy. After that, he begins major seminary where he will study theology which is the science of who God is. God’s nature is love…He is love Himself. God is incarnate at Christmas in the sacraments. We can sit with our Lord everyday in church…with His body, blood, and divinity.
When I perform weddings, sometimes I tell the couple that this should be the saddest day of their marriage. Why? Because love grows, deepens, and becomes richer over time. As children, Christmas was a wonderful time for us, because we were not jaded by sin. As adults, it is still a wonderful time, but that’s because it is built on a deeper love for Him and greater joy.
From the time I was a child, all of my Christmases have been wonderful, even those spent in a war zone, because it is a celebration of God. I was home, because I was where I was supposed to be, and I had the joy of all Christmases past. What a blessing! Each Christmas gets better and better, because love builds on love…it grows and deepens.
Christ is our peace and joy as long as we let Him live inside us; but, when we sin, we boot Him out of our lives, and our anxieties return. He so much wants to share His love so that we can have joy, not just at Christmas, but everyday. I know that we all have our crosses to bear, but if you are having trouble finding joy, you are blind. Look around you! Joy comes from helping people have Christ in their souls. By giving love, we get love in return.
On Christmas day, I always go to the VA hospital, because nobody wants to be there. After that, I visit nursing homes. Why? Because, it’s the right thing to do and, while there, I get to experience bits of God’s incarnate love. This is where joy and peace can be found. What a gift!
We live in a violent country. But, we can end violence by accepting His peace and letting Him live inside us. Mother Theresa never started a bar fight. She was a symbol of love and compassion. She had peace and joy in her heart. She had Christ inside her soul.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you allow Him to live inside you and bring you peace and joy? Will you serve others by helping them find Christ?
In the town I grew up in, my brother’s house got a foot of snow. Darn! I really miss that! It has its own charm…that’s true, even on those cold and windy days. I remember a story that a friend of mine, Don, told me. Don, who has passed on now, was a historian in the city of Warwick. He was in his early 70’s when another friend of mine, Sara…who has also passed on, called him and asked for a ride to the hospital so that she could receive wound care. He said “Sure. I’d be happy to take you.” Both Don and Sara were great people. Sara was an exceptional woman….as all women are. She survived cancer, overcame alcoholism, and suffered from scoliosis or curvature of the spine. She had six operations along with radiation treatments and was in constant pain. She walked hunched over. Sara was on a steady diet of Vicodin and couldn’t drive herself. So, Don said he would drive her to the hospital.
They were in the car, and it was a really cold, grey November/December day. The sky was very grey, the wind was blowing, and the leaves were flying all over the place. Don was thinking, “This really bleeps!” But, Sara said, “Look Don! Look at how pretty the leaves are when they are dancing!” Although Don was miserable, he thought, “She is right…look how beautiful this is.” Don’s eyes were restored in that single moment.
Sara saw God’s love in His creation…even on what we would call a bleak New England day. He was able to see the vision of God’s love present. That vision of God’s love present and awe can be restored to us at any time. That wonder and joy can be ours…we never have to lose it…no matter our age or our condition, especially now as we approach the peace of Christmas. We can have that joy all of our days…a joy which is given by our good Lord. We can see His wonder and awe as we prepare for the celebration of the incarnation at Christmas. And, we can see the fullness of His love which was displayed on the Cross 33 short years later. We can see the wonder and awe of His love in each Mass, the Sacraments, and the feasts. It’s not that it is not there, we just don’t see it. But, it’s always there. Is it a struggle to see it sometimes? Sure it is. But it’s there, and our eyes can be opened to see God’s love. How beautiful and wonderful it is. Maybe, that’s a Christmas present you should pray for yourself and for your family this Christmas.
How will you apply this message to your life? Can you see the wonder and awe of God’s present love around you? If not, will you pray that your vision is renewed so that you can see the beauty and wonderment of His love?
Father’s Afterthoughts….I have to pass on some very important information. I cannot tell you how I learned it, because that would compromise sources and methods. But, I have been informed from a very reliable source that Santa and the reindeer are immune from COVID. So, everything is all set for Christmas.
