Together, with Fr. Mike, we have arrived at the conclusion and nugget day for the section on the sacrament of Confirmation. Fr. Mike reiterates the idea that, “What God has done in me cannot stop with me.” We receive God’s gifts at Confirmation, and it is now up to us to use these gifts. He also emphasizes the importance of having the desire for the sacrament of Confirmation when the sacrament is received. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1315-1321.
We continue our examination of the sacrament of Confirmation, specifically both who should receive Confirmation and who can act as the minister of the sacrament. Fr. Mike reiterates that every baptized person, not yet confirmed, should receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Without Confirmation, Christian initiation remains incomplete. He also emphasizes the importance of choosing someone who can help you grow in the Faith as a sponsor. Fr. Mike concludes with an examination of who the minister of Confirmation is, and how its minister ties us to the apostolic succession. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1306-1314.
We continue our examination of the sacrament of Confirmation, specifically the celebration and effects of the sacrament of Confirmation. Fr. Mike explores the different elements of the rite of Confirmation and the ways in which Confirmation increases and deepens our baptismal graces. He emphasizes, in particular, the special strength of the Holy Spirit that we receive to spread and defend the Faith by our words and actions. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1297-1305.
Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our examination of the sacrament of Confirmation, specifically the two Traditions and different signs of Confirmation. Fr. Mike unpacks the differences in the two Traditions, East and West, in the celebration of Confirmation. He also explores the different signs that oil and anointing in the sacrament of Confirmation can signify. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1290-1296.
We begin our examination of the sacrament of Confirmation. Fr. Mike emphasizes that the reception of Confirmation is necessary for the completion and strengthening of baptismal grace. He also highlights the vital importance of the reception of Confirmation because it gives us the power to be a witness to God’s grace on earth, just as the Apostles received that same power at Pentecost. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1285-1289.
The Catechism introduces the seven sacraments that Christ offers the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony. The Catechism highlights the fact that the sacraments are “by the Church” because the Church is “Christ’s action at work”, and they are “for the Church” because they “manifest and communicate to men…the mystery of communion with the God who is love.” Fr. Mike focuses on the fact that while ministerial priests administer many of the sacraments, their priesthood is at the service of the baptismal priesthood, into which all of the baptized are ordained. Today’s readings are from Catechism paragraphs 1113-1121.
In Latin, the word “Sacrament” means “mystery.” So, why does God give us the Sacraments? Through the Sacraments, He gives us the fruits of His suffering, death, and resurrection for the life of our souls. The Sacraments (Baptism, Marriage, Holy Orders, Last Rites, Confirmation, Holy Communion, and Confession) are given at various times. In Eastern Rite churches, Confirmation is called chrismation and is given at birth along with baptism. I prefer it that way. It’s like giving children all their shots early so they don’t get sick.
The Sacrament of Confirmation is a strengthening Sacrament and helps you fight temptations if you use it. To use it, you must practice your faith. . . . Mass on Sundays, Confession at least once a year, and prayer. Now, I am a man of no talent while my brother had many talents. I enjoy people who have talents, and I wish I had them. Frankie has a wonderful talent. She reads a foreign language called music. That is totally foreign to me. I took some music appreciation courses in college because they were easy A’s. To get as good as Frankie is, she had to practice constantly; otherwise, she would lose her talent. It’s just like your muscles; if you don’t use them, they atrophy. It’s the same for the grace God offers us for our souls. God gives you the gift of Himself to help you in this world and to keep you holy. By staying holy, you evangelize. For example, when you say to people, “I don’t do that” and they say “Why not? Everybody else does it.” And you say, “Because it’s not right. It’s not Christ-like.” That’s evangelization. That’s someone who has a Christian backbone and stands up to what’s not right. God gives you this grace which is fortified by prayer. You never lose it. If you commit a grave sin, it becomes dormant because sin drives God out of your soul. But He is always willing to come back. That’s the beauty of God’s love. He never writes any of us off. At the VA, I don’t ask patients if they want Last Rites because they are going to get it whether they want it or not. I’m not going to ask. They will have Last Rites because it’s a sign of God’s love.
God gives Himself to us so that we may have eternal life. When we receive the Sacraments for the first time like Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, and Marriage, it’s so exciting. However, after the first or second time, Confession kind of feels mundane or ordinary. But it’s not ordinary. Just because it’s not like the first time doesn’t mean it’s not as good or that you aren’t doing it right. In fact, it’s just the opposite. It means you are doing it right, because one grace from the Sacraments builds upon another and strengthens your will. Grace builds upon grace.
When you cooperate with the grace from the Sacraments, you grow in God’s love. A word of caution- when we draw closer to God, it catches the devil’s attention, and he will really come after us. Now, do you always feel yourself growing closer to God? No. For example, many of us are on blood pressure medicine. You really don’t feel it working, but it’s easy to find out by using a sphygmomanometer. Thunk! Just because you don’t feel it, doesn’t mean it’s not working. That’s a temptation of the devil. What that lack of sensory excitement means is that your love for God is becoming deeper and more ingrained. You know what the happiest day of a married couple should be? The day that one leaves to see Jesus. Not because you want to see Jesus – although that’s a good idea – and not because you are rid of them – till death do us part is not a hope and prayer. It’s because that love should have kept on building over all the years and becoming deeper. It is deeper because the love you have as a 40-year-old is not the same as when you were first married in your 20’s. It is deeper. Hopefully, you’ve changed by growing in holiness. Saying the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a lot different for me than it was 38 years ago when I was a young priest. I’ve said Mass in some unusual places. I got to say Mass at the cathedral with the bishop. Woo-hoo! But each Mass was deeper than the earlier ones. So, you mustn’t give into the devil’s temptation by saying, “Oh, I’m not getting anything out of the Sacraments.” Of course, you are. You may not feel it, but you are. Otherwise, you are denying His power. In the Gospel, Christ said, “And I will put my spirit within you.…” (Ezekiel 36:27). How does His spirit come within you? It comes through the Sacraments. So, if you say you’re getting nothing from the Sacraments, you are denying the Gospel. If you say, “I get nothing out of the Mass,” that’s okay – you aren’t supposed to. You come to give of yourself. You give yourself into my hands, and I, acting in the person of Christ, emulate with you Christ’s sacrifice on the altar as an offering to the Father. You are united to His suffering, and I give you back your life in Holy Communion.
I want to thank all the teachers who helped with Faith Formation this year. It was a wonderful year. It’s hard to do because we live in a very un-Christian society. I appreciate the sacrifice; I really do. Never think that your sacrifice goes unnoticed. You will be repaid for anything you do for the love of God. But you’ll never know when. He will reward you for any small act of love you do for Him. Give of yourself totally in the Mass. Everybody has problems and they bring them here. Make an intellectual prayer: “I offer myself totally to you.” And with that offering, you become part of Christ’s sacrifice. From that offering, you give back to yourself. More than that, He gives Himself to you.
Father’s Reflections . . . Yesterday was kind of fun. People were all dressed up for Confirmation although that’s not a requirement. They really looked good. Even Tom Adams looked like he was ready for Hartsell’s Funeral Home. Last night, we had 14 Confirmations and one First Communion. It was an interesting day. I administered five of the seven Sacraments. If I had performed a marriage ceremony, it would have been six Sacraments. The remaining sacrament is Holy Orders which only a bishop can administer. Finally, I am sad to announce that Ms. Dottie is retiring after almost 50 years of teaching Faith Formation. We’ll leave the light on just in case she changes her mind. She will be missed. 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.” Sermon Notes are also available on the church Facebook page at facebook.com/ola.catholic.church. Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.”
This is one of those days when we have First Communion which is wonderful. All this hard work is coming to fruition. It is works of love coming to fruition in the Sacraments. Your parents’ love they took in their wedding vows and baptism like their parents before them who brought their marriage vows to fulfillment and brought them to receive divine life in the Faith and the Sacraments. So, I want to thank the parents and teachers for their hard work especially during COVID. I also want to thank the kids. It was rather difficult. Things are always changing. If distance learning is the worst thing that ever happens to you, your life is going to be great. You have to be flexible in life because everything changes. This is a wonderful day. You all look so nice. Now you can come to church every Sunday like that. That would be great. I would love that!
Confirmation is an interesting sacrament. It is one of the three Sacraments you cannot repeat. You cannot repeat Baptism. You cannot repeat any of the three stages of Holy Orders. Confirmation also cannot be repeated. If Last Rites are given to someone and they recover, they can be given Last Rites again later. On this day these young people receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ in Holy Communion. This is not the first time they will have received Jesus. If you are thinking, “They are receiving Jesus for the first time.” No, they aren’t. That’s blasphemy. It denies the Sacrament of Baptism and Penance. When you receive the Sacrament, you receive the whole Body, and not just pieces of Him. When you receive the Holy Spirit at Confirmation, you receive Him in all the Sacraments. You receive the whole Body. But each Sacrament is different at each stage of life. There is the Sacrament of vocations such as marriage and Holy Orders. There is the Sacrament of Last Rites and of a new birth and baptism. Confirmation strengthens us so that we can carry our crosses and become like martyrs of the faithful in this world. This is a great Sacrament to strengthen the soul for the crosses people inflict upon us. All the names they call us – misogynists, homophobic, and blah, blah, blah. Really, is that the best you’ve got? I’ve got a sister who scares rugby players. I had a First Sergeant. You are not going to scare me by calling me names.
Today you receive Holy Communion and, like you did before when you received the Sacrament of Penance, you will receive the most precious Body and Blood of our Lord so that you will be strengthened. The gift of Holy Communion is not like belonging to a particular club where you get prizes. It is a Sacrament of longing – not belonging. Saint Pope John Paul II said, “understanding Holy Communion, a living Sacrament, brings you to the Sacrament of Penance.” Properly prepare for the Sacrament of Holy Communion. This too drives us on to greater love and to seek a greater union with Almighty God. This is why the law of the Church changed. Before, you were only allowed to receive Holy Communion at one Mass per day. But now the law has changed, and you can receive it at every Mass you attend up to three times per day. You want faith strengthened so that you don’t grow tired on this journey. Strength is found in the most Precious Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In Holy Communion the actual grace sustains our strength as we carry our cross every day as our Savior. If you sin, that can be fixed through the Sacrament of Penance which takes away and heals the wounds in our soul inflicted by sin. Christ offers you this grace within your soul. Now, you have to use the grace. Grace doesn’t come with its own powers…we have to cooperate. We have to take the necessary actions. For example, if you say, “Oh, I have a headache! God, please cure it.” God says, “Love to. Get up. Walk 10 feet to the bathroom. Take a couple of aspirin. You’ll be fine.” So, we need to cooperate. The same is true for God’s graces. If we cooperate, we can make those graces manifest. Will we always feel it? No. Will we always see results? No. But that doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Next week I’ll be on vacation, but you can go to Mass at Saint Luke’s and receive Holy Communion. Will it be different? Probably. You won’t have all the usual people around you. Will it be a little less sad? No. It will be different. Different is not always bad. Different can be good because you grow in love. Now kids, ask your parents, “Mom and dad, is your love greater today than when you first got married?” The answer should be yes. If not, come see me…we need to talk. But it is different. The love has deepened, and it has grown by the acts of God’s grace and through the prayers and sufferings of self-denial. The love of those who are 67 is different than when they were 21. It is deeper, and they have grown closer together. It is far better if they have done it right. The same is true for you with Holy Communion. Will you always receive spiritual thrills? No. Does that mean it doesn’t work? No. It always works. Each day I have to take a bunch of pills because I’m old. Do I feel each of those pills working? No. Do I know they work? Yes. How do I know they work? By using a blood pressure cuff. If I don’t take the pills…oops! Bad move. I know they work even though I don’t feel it. Just because you don’t feel something, doesn’t mean it’s not working. Let me ask you, “Do you feel or see your guardian angel?” I have once. His name is Bruce. God really has a sense of humor. You don’t feel it, but it’s always there. He/she/it…spirits have no gender. When you are away at school, do you feel your parents’ love? You see it. I saw it in a brown bag lunch and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I like peanut butter and jelly. I could always tell who made my sandwich by how much jelly was on the sandwich. Mom always put more than Dad. I always knew. So just because you don’t feel it, doesn’t mean it’s not working. Don’t ever say, “I’m doing something wrong. It’s not working.” That’s not true…it always works. Be confident and don’t let anything keep you away from the Sacrament. Come as often as you can, even during the week for extra credit. John Paul II said, “Penance prepares you for the Sacrament. And you will be happy.
Students, may I ask for a favor? Today, before you go home, thank your teachers and your parents for bringing you to this day because you don’t drive do you? Tell me you don’t drive. We have cops in the congregation…so please tell me you don’t drive. You can’t really get here on your own. And no matter how adorable you all think you are, there are times when you are less than adorable and have caused your parents and teachers great anguish. Thank them for their acts of love and sacrifice that they made to get you here today. The most important prayer you can ever say is the prayer of thank you.
How will you apply this message to 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.” Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by searching for “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”
“When a One Man Band Gets Hit in the Butt by a Beer Truck, the Music Stops“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
Holy Thursday – April 1, 2021
Gospel: John 13:1-15
Without the institution of the priesthood, the gift our Lord gave the apostles would have ended when He took the human nature He received from the Blessed Mother to Heaven on Pentecost. When a one man band gets hit in the butt by a beer truck, the music stops. He took the human nature of the apostles and made them into Christs. This was part of their ordination at the Last Supper….to continue the gifts of His love and the fruits of His sacrifice and to feed His people with His most Precious Body and Blood as they were fed. The hands that fed the apostles of Christ so too are the hands that feed you when the priest gives you Holy Communion. The priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, to feed you the exact same body and the exact same blood. Outward appearances vary, but it is the same Christ who feeds you. It is the same Christ who enters your soul through participation in the Sacraments. It was so great an honor for the apostles, that He reminded them when He washed their feet. Washing feet was a dirty, disgusting job that was left to slaves to do. But, Jesus showed them His humility and told them that they must do the same. “You have been given a great gift. I have chosen you; you have not chosen Me. I have chosen you for the possibility of cooperating with the grace of great teachers, healers, and evangelists of the world. But, to do so, you must be like Me who humbled Himself by taking the form of a slave. You, too, must be willing to do the work of a slave.”
This gift I have been given as a priest, which has been passed on from generation to generation, is not for me. It’s not a reward for my parents for raising a nice little boy. It’s not a reward for me for passing all my courses in seminary. I really did. My degree was not honorary, contrary to popular belief. I really earned it. This gift is not a reward because I could pass tests. It was given for you so that you may have Christ in you and the fruits of His death given to you. It was given so that you could receive the fruits of the Mass by being fed His body and blood. It was given so that your souls could be washed in His blood in the Sacrament of Penance. It was given so that you could be united in the Sacrament of Marriage, strengthened in Confirmation, and healed on the way to salvation by receiving Last Rights. In the past week, I have administered five. It’s been an interesting week. But, this gift is for you. The gift of priests is a gift to the Church. To bring salvation and the gift of the Real Presence of our Lord, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is our faith. I am vowed as a priest to protect it with my very life. Priests never talk about that vow. They talk about the promises they made, but they never talk about their vow to protect the Most Blessed Sacrament.
God loves you so much and wants to be with you to help you bear the crosses of this life so that you may have eternal life. That’s His great love. That’s why He gave these gifts to the Church. That’s why He instituted the priesthood – not for me so that I could have a fancy title before my name, but to administer His Sacraments, to teach, sanctify and lead people to Him. These gifts were given for you so that you may have life and have it to the fullest. And, one day after courageously bearing your crosses, and not only courageously bearing them, but getting back up after you’ve fallen, you will enjoy the fullness of His love. Pray for that last Sacrament to be given.
As Saint Simeon said, “Now let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled.”
31) When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32) If God has been glorified in him God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once. 33) Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34) I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35) By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
The Sacraments are Christ’s own gifts that provide us with His grace. The Sacraments build upon each other; for example, as children, we grow spiritually through our baptism, confirmation, penance, and first communion. The first time we saw Jesus was at our baptism which is when we became children of God and began preparing to receive the other Sacraments. Confirmation unites us closer to Him, because as we learn more about our faith, we understand just how much God loves us. His love enables us to bear our crosses and to profess our faith to others. You are a witness in the world by showing others how you bear your crosses. But, you must have fortitude (courage), because you will suffer for the faith. People will insult you….even so, you must carry your cross and bear the insults with grace. The Sacrament of First Communion strengthens us as we receive Christ’s body and blood. Holy Communion unites us even closer to Him.
Next month, I celebrate 35 years as a priest. Am I the same? No. I have less hair and more weight. When I eat carrots, am I happy? No. Are carrots good for me? Yes. We all got polio shots when we were young. Did I understand what the shot did? No. Did the shot help me? Yes. It is the same when we do God’s work…we may not feel good doing it, we may not understand it, and it may be hard, but it’s good for us.
Will you feel different next week now that you have been confirmed or received First Communion? Yes. Does that mean you will be happier? No. I have asked married couples if they are as happy today as they were on their wedding day. They say “No”…It is better, because they have grown in love…but, it’s different. Confirmation and First Communion are not stopping places in your Catholic life. You should grow in faith; otherwise, it becomes dusty and moldy. To grow in your faith and love for God, practice the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. Do good and avoid evil. God gives us the gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety and fear of the Lord. We will need those gifts in times of trouble. But His gifts are not overpowering….YOU must choose to use them.
Parents are the primary teachers of the faith. They are fulfilling their duties by bringing you up in the Catholic faith. Thank your parents, grandparents, and teachers. They have helped bring you to this day. Finally, pray a prayer of thanksgiving. Sadly, it is rarely said.
Thank you, Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits and blessings which you have given me, for all the pains and insults which you have borne for me. Merciful Friend, Brother and Redeemer, may I know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Saint Richard of Chichester (1198-1253)
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you use the gifts He has given us to grow in faith and love?
