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The Catechism wraps up its overview of the Eucharist by reminding us that the sacrament of Holy Communion is a foretaste of what is to come in heaven. Fr. Mike exhorts us to prepare our hearts here on earth so that they might be conformed to God, ready to unite with him forever in heaven. The Eucharist is a most excellent path to such unity. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1402-1405.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/5GBhLnoyjqA
From the 1950s until now, readers of countless backgrounds and beliefs have been mesmerized by The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion. The name of J.R.R. Tolkien is known even to those who have no taste for fantasy literature.
Despite his fame, many fans of this literary genius are unaware that he was a devout Roman Catholic whose faith profoundly influenced his work. It was, in fact, Tolkien’s faith and frequent reception of the Sacraments that sustained him through the trials of personal life, the darkness of two world wars, the disappointment and suffering inflicted by members and leaders of the Church, and the scandal caused by destruction of the sacred liturgy.
I recently discovered a letter he wrote on November 1st, 1963 to his son Michael to provide encouragement in a time of upheaval. It is an astonishing letter, most especially because it feels as though it had been written today in the wake of egregious sins committed by some of our Catholic clergy.
We can benefit from the wisdom of this humble professor, who was a devout son of the Church. The advice Tolkien shared with his son is applicable to any century. It will always be relevant.
So, using this letter, I’d like to “interview” Tolkien. I’m going to write questions and, using Tolkien’s letter to his son, allow him to “answer” in his own words.
Note: Tolkien’s italics are his—I have bolded some of his words to highlight their importance. I have also used two paragraphs from other letters to his sons.
Today’s Interview with Professor J.R.R. Tolkien
Professor Tolkien, these are grave times for the Church. When the atrocities committed by certain clergy members were made known in the summer of 2018, it scandalized many and caused some to abandon the Church. Even the faith of well-catechized Catholics is sagging. What would you say to those who are struggling to overcome despair?
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien: You speak of ‘sagging faith’…In the last resort faith is an act of the will, inspired by love. Our love may be chilled and our will eroded by the spectacle of the shortcomings, folly, and even sins of the Church and its ministers, but I do not think that one who has once had faith goes back over the line for these reasons (least of all anyone with any historical knowledge). ‘Scandal’ at most is an occasion of temptation—as indecency is to lust, which it does not make but arouses. It is convenient because it turns our eyes away from ourselves and our own faults to find a scapegoat…
I suppose the devil takes advantage of such scandal to keep us distracted by the sins of others, and to disturb our faith in Christ. What about our personal faults? Should we examine our own hearts, to see if we are striving to uphold the teachings of Jesus in our daily lives?
JRRT: The temptation to ‘unbelief’ (which really means rejection of Our Lord and His claims) is always there within us. Part of us longs to find an excuse for it outside of us. The stronger the inner temptation the more readily shall we be ‘scandalized’ by others. I think I am as sensitive as you (or any other Christian) to the ‘scandals’, both of clergy and laity. I have suffered grievously in my life from stupid, tired, dimmed, and even bad priests; but I now know enough about myself to be aware that I [would] not leave the Church (which for me would mean leaving the allegiance of Our Lord) for any such reasons: I [would] leave because I did not believe…I [would] deny the Blessed Sacrament, that is; call Our Lord a fraud to His face.
So what you’re saying is, each and every one of us has the capacity to turn against Our Lord if we don’t humbly accept His grace. What would you say to someone outside the Catholic Church, who accuses Christ and His Church of fraudulence?
JRRT: If He is a fraud and the Gospels fraudulent—that is: garbled accounts of a demented megalomaniac (which is the only alternative [to not believing Christ is truly God]), then of course the spectacle exhibited by the Church…in history and today is simply evidence of a gigantic fraud. If not, however, then this spectacle is alas! only what was to be expected: it began before Easter…
Meaning, it began when Judas Iscariot, one of the Apostles and someone who was called by Christ to follow Him, betrayed the Son of God to His enemies…even though he knew Christ was innocent. And yet we are supposed to have faith and hope even when confronted with such scandal?
JRRT: [I]t does not affect faith at all—except that we may and should be deeply grieved. But we should grieve on Our Lord’s behalf and for Him, associating ourselves with the scandalizers not the saints, not crying out that we cannot ‘take’ Judas Iscariot, or even the absurd and cowardly Simon Peter, or the silly women like James’ mother, trying to push her sons.
There are still scholars who insist that Christ never existed—that He is a fictitious character invented by religious fanatics. I think they will find this the easiest time to say to Catholics, “See! I told you so! The Church is a corrupt human institution, and Jesus was not a real person!”
JRRT: It takes a fantastic will to unbelief to suppose that Jesus never really ‘happened’, and more to suppose that he did not say the things recorded of him—so incapable of being ‘invented’ by anyone in the world at that time: such as ‘before Abraham came to be I am‘ (John viii). ‘He that hath seen me hath seen the Father’ (John ix); or the promulgation of the Blessed Sacrament… : ‘He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life’. We must therefore either believe in Him and in what he said and take the consequences; or reject him and take the consequences. I find it for myself difficult to believe that anyone who has ever been to Communion, even once, with at least right intention, can ever again reject Him without grave blame. (However, He alone knows each unique soul and its circumstances.)
These certainly aren’t days that permit lukewarm Catholicism. It now requires an extraordinary amount of courage and zeal to witness to our faith, as I’m sure you know personally.
JRRT: I know quite well that, to you as to me, the Church which once felt like a refuge, now often feels like a trap. There is nowhere else to go! (I wonder if this desperate feeling, the last state of loyalty hanging on, was not, even more often than is actually recorded in the Gospels, felt by Our Lord’s followers in His earthly life-time?) I think there is nothing to do but to pray, for the Church, the Vicar of Christ, and for ourselves; and meanwhile to exercise the virtue of loyalty, which indeed only becomes a virtue when one is under pressure to desert it.
What would you say to those who are leaving the Catholic Church and joining other churches?
JRRT: I myself am convinced by the Petrine claims, nor looking around the world does there seem much doubt which (if Christianity is true) is the True Church, the temple of the Spirit dying by living, corrupt but holy, self-reforming and rearising. But for me that Church of which the Pope is the acknowledged head on earth has as chief claim that it is the one that has (and still does) ever defended the Blessed Sacrament, and given it most honour, and put it (as Christ plainly intended) in the prime place. ‘Feed my sheep’ was His last charge to St. Peter; and since His words are always first to be understood literally, I suppose them to refer primarily to the Bread of Life.
And what advice do you have for Catholics who are sad, weary, discouraged, and struggling to keep faith?
JRRT: The only cure for sagging or fainting faith is Communion. Though always Itself, perfect and complete and inviolate, the Blessed Sacrament does not operate completely and once for all in any of us. Like the act of Faith it must be continuous and grow by exercise. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals…
It has been an honor to speak with you, Professor Tolkien. Thank you for your time. Do you have any parting words for our readers?
JRRT: Out of the darkness of my life, so much frustrated, I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament…There you will find romance, glory, honour, fidelity, and the true way of all our loves on earth…eternal abundance, which every man’s heart desires.
J.R.R. Tolkien’s cause for canonization, though not officially underway, has been initiated. A Mass was celebrated in the Oxford Oratory in 2017 for the intention that his cause for beatification be opened.
This article was originally published by Catholic Company Magazine in 2019. © All rights reserved.
Pope Pius X is perhaps best remembered for his encouragement of the frequent reception of Holy Communion, especially by children.
The second of 10 children in a poor Italian family, Joseph Sarto became Pius X at age 68. He was one of the 20th century’s greatest popes.
Ever mindful of his humble origin, Pope Pius stated, “I was born poor, I lived poor, I will die poor.” He was embarrassed by some of the pomp of the papal court. “Look how they have dressed me up,” he said in tears to an old friend. To another, “It is a penance to be forced to accept all these practices. They lead me around surrounded by soldiers like Jesus when he was seized in Gethsemani.”
Interested in politics, Pope Pius encouraged Italian Catholics to become more politically involved. One of his first papal acts was to end the supposed right of governments to interfere by veto in papal elections—a practice that reduced the freedom of the 1903 conclave which had elected him.
In 1905, when France renounced its agreement with the Holy See and threatened confiscation of Church property if governmental control of Church affairs were not granted, Pius X courageously rejected the demand.
While he did not author a famous social encyclical as his predecessor had done, he denounced the ill treatment of indigenous peoples on the plantations of Peru, sent a relief commission to Messina after an earthquake, and sheltered refugees at his own expense.
On the 11th anniversary of his election as pope, Europe was plunged into World War I. Pius had foreseen it, but it killed him. “This is the last affliction the Lord will visit on me. I would gladly give my life to save my poor children from this ghastly scourge.” He died a few weeks after the war began, and was canonized in 1954.
Reflection
His humble background was no obstacle in relating to a personal God and to people whom he loved genuinely. Pius X gained his strength, his gentleness and warmth for people from the source of all gifts, the Spirit of Jesus. In contrast, we often feel embarrassed by our backgrounds. Shame makes us prefer to remain aloof from people whom we perceive as superior. If we are in a superior position, on the other hand, we often ignore simpler people. Yet we, too, have to help “restore all things in Christ,” especially the wounded people of God.
//Franciscan Media//
“Oh, how painful it is to Me that souls so seldom unite themselves to Me in Holy Communion. I wait for souls, and they are indifferent toward Me. I love them tenderly and sincerely, and they distrust Me. I want to lavish My graces on them, and they do not want to accept them. They treat Me as a dead object, whereas My Heart is full of love and mercy. In order that you may know at least some of My pain, imagine the most tender of mothers who has great love for her children, while those children spurn her love. Consider her pain. No one is in a position to console her. This is but a pale image and likeness of My love.”— Diary of St. Faustina Kowalska, 1447
//Catholic Company//
“If we could comprehend all the good things contained in Holy Communion, nothing more would be wanting to content the heart of man.”
— St. John Vianney
//Catholic Company//
“That 3 in 1 and 1 in 3 Thing”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
May 22 – 23, 2021
Gospel: John 20:19-23
Today, Holy Mother Church celebrates the Solemnity of Pentecost which is when the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles. It’s also the birthday of the Church. Now, let me ask you a question. When did you first receive the Holy Spirit? At Baptism. Remember, when I baptize you, it is done in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When is the next time you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit? At Confession. After that? Holy Communion. Now, you may be thinking, “You also receive the Holy Spirit at Confirmation.” Yeah, you do. You receive Jesus, and you receive God the Father. That 3 in 1 and 1 in 3 thing. You receive the fullness of the Spirit. In each Sacrament, you receive the whole God.
The Sacraments are given for different purposes depending on your particular mission in the Body of Christ. At Baptism, you were given the gift of God Himself. In each Sacrament, you get the gift of the whole God…not just a slice of Him. You get the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Baptism, Christ asked for, and you, through your parents, gave Him your human nature. The human nature He took from Mary in the body He was born with, taught with, healed with, suffered with, and redeemed us with is now in Heaven. So, how does He continue His mission to teach, heal, and sanctify the world? It goes on through us by living a good Catholic life. In whatever part of the Body of Christ He has assigned us, we work for His glory and the salvation of souls. So, if you are in hell, you are a self- made man.
Christ takes our human nature at Baptism, so, we are part of His new body which is the Church. Each of us has a place in the body of Christ to do the work of bringing Him to the world. Through the gifts of the Holy Spirit, He helps us accomplish that mission. There are seven gifts (wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord) and 12 fruits (charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, long-suffering, humility, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity). The whole purpose of giving us the Holy Spirit through the Sacraments is to bring God’s love to the world and to make that love manifest in whatever part of the Body we are in. The graces of the Holy Spirit strengthen us so that we can carry out that mission.
Part of my job as a priest is working at the veterans’ hospital in Hospice. Hospice is a part of the hospital where people who are very sick and in the last six months of their lives are cared for by specially trained doctors and nurses. They have all sorts of terrible diseases. We had one patient who had Progressive Supranuclear Palsy which is a rare disease that the patient contracted while working as a doctor in Vietnam. His brain turned into jelly, and there is no treatment. It’s so sad. The hospice staff try to make their patients as comfortable and pain-free as possible. A few years ago, there was a nice area with a kitchen and dining room where hospice patients could come out of their rooms and eat together. Other veterans from across the hospital would come down and have lunch with them. It was so much fun to laugh and talk with them. I would pick up trays and do whatever I could for them. You know what a sign of God’s love looks like? There was a hospice patient at the luncheon who couldn’t feed himself…he was that sick. Another man who, after this incident died about two weeks later, was also at the luncheon. But, instead of eating his own lunch, he spent that time feeding the patient who couldn’t feed himself. One would think that if you’re dying, it would be all about you. But, this is what God’s love looks like. This was an act of the Holy Spirit. The staff would have fed that patient, but he did it. He didn’t have to do it, but he wanted to. He made sure that man ate before he did. That is a sign of the Holy Spirit in action and God’s love is in the world.
Another thing they have done in Hospice, and hopefully will do again once COVID is over, is that when veterans are actively dying and don’t have family members there, volunteers come and sit with them all night and all day so that they don’t have to die alone. Usually, the veterans are very old and don’t have anybody. But, a veteran should never die alone. In the military, you never leave a fallen comrade. I’ve always thought that this is a sign of Christ, along with their guardian angel, being with them as they leave this life. You see the love of Christ in those volunteers. They don’t need to teach us…their actions teach us everything. It’s all through the promptings of the Holy Spirit who moves and works within us – not always the way want; otherwise, I’d be a monsignor!
I’ll tell you a story about the nursing staff. Don’t let this get back to them. World War II veterans are very old, and when they are nearing the time of their passing, all of the memories of what they had to do during the war come back. Mine will come back too when it’s my time. It’s just part of what we went through. It comes back for a lot of the men who saw combat. Many times, it was their wives who helped them keep it all together, and if their wives are no longer with them, it’s a real hardship for them. I remember this one man who was in his nineties and about to leave us asked the nurse if she would hold his hand until he fell asleep. The memories had come back, and his wife had done that for him. That’s not in any nurse’s job description. But, she sacrificed her own time to sit with that man while he faced his nightmares. I’ve sat with veterans as they were passing from this life…that’s what we do. We offer spontaneous acts of love. I’ve seen you do it. Your acts of generosity are acts of the Holy Spirit. You are showing Christ’s love. If you ask anyone why they do it, they would probably say that they don’t know, but it felt like the right thing to do. Do they get paid for it? No. It was just the right thing to do. These are the actions of the Holy Spirit using our human natures to show Christ’s love to the world. But, so that we can repeat these acts of love, we must be refreshed in the Holy Spirit by frequently participating in the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion.
What is so beautiful about these acts of love is that you do it without thinking. It’s just a normal response. You don’t stop and think about what you should or shouldn’t do…you just do it. That’s the action of the Holy Spirit letting the Spirit work in you to bring the love of Christ to the world. And, believe it or not, someone will see and be taught God’s word simply through your acts of love
How will you apply this message to your life? Refresh yourself in the Holy Spirit by frequently participating in the Sacrament of Penance and Holy Communion
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.” From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of page). There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.
“Whenever that sacrifice of Christ is memorialized in the Church, there is an application to a new moment in time and a new presence in space of the unique sacrifice of Christ Who is now in glory. In obeying His mandate, His followers would be representing in an unbloody manner that which He presented to His Father in the bloody sacrifice of Calvary. After changing the bread into His Body and the wine into His Blood: He gave it to them (Mark 14:22). By that communion they were made one with Christ, to be offered with Him, in Him, and by Him. All love craves unity. As the highest peak of love in the human order is the unity of husband and wife in the flesh, so the highest unity in the Divine order is the unity of the soul and Christ in communion.”— Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, p. 401-2
//The Catholic Company//
“And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being ‘in Christ’ or of Christ being ‘in them’, this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts—that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body. And perhaps that explains one or two things. It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion. It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution—a biological or superbiological fact. There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.”— C.S. Lewis, p. 64
//The Catholic Company//
“If angels could be jealous of men, they would be so for one reason: Holy Communion.”
— St. Maximilian Kolbe
//The Catholic Company//
“Stump the Chump“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
February 13-14, 2021
Gospel: Mark 1: 40-45
On occasion, as I go about my day, I have people come up and say, “Father, may I ask you a question?” Sure! Sometimes, people have very good questions. Now, these questions generally fall into one of two categories. The first category includes the faithful who are seeking understanding. This happened on Tuesday when someone asked me, “Father, why do we call you father? I never really knew why.” The first good reason is my mother told me to, and if you don’t obey her, you know what happens. The second reason is scriptural. Paul said in his epistle: “I am your spiritual father. I beget you in Christ. I baptized you and gave you spiritual life.” Then, there is this other group of people who try to see if I’m the village idiot. I’m not, but I qualify for the top ten. I call this game “stump the chump.” “Father, where does it say in scripture that we are supposed to kneel?” Well, that’s easy enough… Matthew 27, Psalm 95, Romans 14, and Revelation just to name a few. I mean, come on! Really? I’m not the brightest bulb on the circuit, but that’s an easy one. They are trying to get me to prove that Catholicism is wrong. That or try to convert me. I already know I’m not going to convince them to become Catholic. “Have you ever heard about the precious blood?” You know…I believe I have. I stayed awake that day at seminary. These are all “gotcha questions.
How do you tell people about Christ? The best way to evangelize is not by giving someone a bunch of information. They could get that online or look in the Catechism of the Catholic Church…it’s all in there. So, how do you tell people about Christ? Do we tell them to read the book? Well, the book doesn’t contain everything about Jesus Christ. The book is a “what” not a “Who.” But, we can pass on the “Who” to people by telling them what Jesus has done for us. If giving people a book brought people to Christ, we could give everyone a copy of the Catechism and fill the church with converts. But that doesn’t happen. If that worked, we could all read a medical book and be the epitome of health. We have to tell people what’s in the book and bring it to real life. We have to tell them about God’s grace and what He has done in our lives. Today’s gospel shows us how to evangelize. Jesus cured that leper from a death sentence. He went away and could not stop telling people how Jesus had restored his life. Like the leper, we also have to tell people what God has done for us.
We see proof of God’s love so often that sometimes we become immune to it and ungrateful. Each time you go to Mass, you receive the Most Precious Body and Blood just like the apostles did at the Last Supper. You can come to church during the day and speak to our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament as one person speaks to another. But, because we have become so accustomed to the gift of His love, we forget to be thankful. I’m thankful for a lot of things. I’m thankful for indoor plumbing. I’m thankful for clean clothes. I’m thankful that McDonalds is open 24-7. I’m thankful about not having to go outside in a rain storm to take a shower. That’s nice and a big change. I’m thankful for many things even those that are unpleasant like the COVID test. I get it every week, so I don’t want to hear any whining. “Oh! That’s terrible!” Well, thank God we have that test. “But why, Father?” We could have the Chinese test instead. Come on! We are also grateful for the geniuses who have worked tirelessly night and day to develop these tests and vaccines so that we can maintain our health and delay what will eventually come.
God has given us our life, and when we lose it by sin, He gives it back to us. This is how we tell people about the truth and meaning of our faith. Not in an obnoxious way, but by telling them what the Lord has done in our lives and the great gift He has given us…the gift of Himself. Not that we deserve it, but because He loves us. He brought me back to life through my baptism. He feeds me the Precious Body and Blood in Holy Communion. When my soul is dead with sin, and I may lose Heaven if those sins are not forgiven, He gives my life back to me through the Sacrament of Penance. He forgives and He forgets. My soul is washed in His blood.
The Blessed Mother was the first to be washed in His blood. She was standing beneath the cross and was spattered with it. When they took Him down from the cross and laid Him on her lap, she was covered with His blood. Once you are dead, your blood stops coagulating. So, Mary was covered with the blood of Christ. “Why do you honor Mary?” She was the first human being to be covered in the Precious Blood. She was also the first to receive a miracle. Remember the wedding at Cana? That was a direct intercession of God. “Son, they have no more wine.” Boom. And, there was wine.
This is how we tell people about our faith. We don’t use obnoxious evangelization techniques when we talk to them. We just tell them about what God has done for us. But, we keep trying to reinvent the wheel. If we do it differently, will things be better? No. We do what works. What happened when God performed His miracles? The recipients of those miracles told others. And, what happened? Look at the last line in today’s Gospel. Jesus went to deserted places, but people kept coming to Him from all sides.
How will you apply this message to your life? Are you grateful for His love or have you become immune to it? Will you tell others what God has done in your life?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to https://annunciationcatholicalbemarle.com/ and clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes. From a cell phone, click on “Blog” then “Menu” and then “Categories” (located at the end of the page). There is also a search box if you are looking for a specific topic.