Tag: Ecclesiology

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Sermon Notes – January 4, 2026 – “A Spiritual Autopsy”

“A Spiritual Autopsy”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 3 – 4, 2026

Gospel: John 1: 1-18

When does the Christmas season end?   It ends with the celebration of the Baptism of our Lord.  So, the Christmas season is not over until next Sunday, January 11th.   Now, here we have the crèche, or nativity scene, which was given to us by Saint Francis.  This particular nativity is an expensive one, thanks to your generosity.  The nativity is more than a decoration; it is a marvelous representation of Scripture and a handbook of Theology.  Inside the nativity, the figures represent: Mariology – the study of Mary, the Mother of Jesus; Soteriology – the study of redemption; Christology – the study of Christ; Ecclesiology – the study of the Church; and Eucharistic theology.  

Let’s do a spiritual autopsy.  If you look at the people in the nativity, who do you see?  You see the very holy, Mary and Joseph.  You also see the very learned and the very unlearned.  Both the learned and the unlearned know the same thing.  They know that they do not know everything.   The shepherds knew they didn’t know everything.  You would not find a Mensa card in their wallets.  The Wise Men were learned, but their education taught them that they didn’t know everything.   The Wise Men, who were not Jewish, followed the star and came to see the source of all knowledge – Christ.  This is the Church.  We are all one in Christ.  Paul said there is no Jew or Gentile.  In the nativity, Christ unites everyone.  He is the Savior for all people, everywhere.   

When did Christ first use the word ‘Church’ in Scripture? He used it when He made Peter the pope.  “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church” (Matthew 16:18).   The Greek word for ‘rock’ is ‘Cephas.’   In the old days, Jewish people called themselves ‘qahal,’ a Greek word meaning ‘assembly.’  However, our Good Lord used the word ‘ecclesia,’ which is also Greek.   Christ didn’t say He was going to write a book.  No, He said, “I will build My church,” My new Body.  Before Paul joined the Church, he was not among those who had read the book.  Christ appeared before him and said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4).  The Church is His Body.  Who makes up His Church?  It’s all there in the nativity.

Now, when I look around the church, I see another manger scene of those who make up the Church.   I see people of all family origins.  We have doctors, firemen, cops, and we have lazy people like me.  We have all sorts of people here.  We have people of all nationalities.  We even have Yankees here.  God forbid.  I need to ask the ushers to check IDs at the door more thoroughly.  We have people who are well-off and people who are not.  We have retirees and young people.  We have all sorts of people.  We are the Church and the Body of Christ.   Christ does not divide.  Yes, it can be a problem not having Mass in every language.  Gosh, I miss the Latin Mass.  It was a lot easier for me.  I cannot learn everyone’s language.  If you think I can, you are wrong.  

Catholicism is not a hyphenated faith.  There is not a different Redeemer depending on your ancestry or the melanin in your skin.   Christ’s offering and teaching are the same for everyone.  Sin divided us, but Christ unites us in Him.   There are no hyphenated Catholics, and saying otherwise is blasphemy.  Hyphenating Catholics using their family of origin divides the Body of Christ.  Four generations on my father’s side are from Ireland, and two generations on my mother’s side are from Canada, but I am not an Irish-French-Canadian Catholic.  I’m just Catholic.  We are all one in Christ.  One Lord.  One faith.  To make up anything else, to hyphenate the faith according to ancestry, would be to deny who Christ is.  There is not a different Lord for each family of origin.  The message doesn’t change.  He came to be the Savior for all, with one message: Himself. 

One of the greatest soldiers I served with was a Sergeant First Class.  I called him “Homie.”  His wife, however, was a pain in the keister, so we had to send him home.  Homie was a flight medic, and we crossed paths on several occasions during our careers.  We were having a Cuban cigar, which was legal to buy where we were.  I wanted to get smoking a Cuban cigar off my bucket list, but it was the most God-awful thing I have ever had.  If I hadn’t been around a real man, I would have thrown up.   But I had to smoke it because Homie gave it to me.  While we were smoking our cigars, Homie said, “Sir, can I ask you a question?”  Anything, Homie.  He said, “Do you marry people of different races?”  I said, “No.”  Homie gave me a strange look, so I said, “I do not marry anyone who isn’t a member of the human race.  If the marriage is between a man and a woman, I’m good.  But that’s where I draw the line because it is how God created us.”   

I will tell you one more story before we move on.  I spent a month in the field in Louisiana, and a week later, I was on a plane headed to Guantanamo in Cuba, where I spent three months.  I just love government-paid vacations; they are always fun.  So, how many words in Spanish do you think I could speak in 1994?  Zero.  How many words in Spanish do you think I can speak in 2026?  Zero.  Anyway, we were lodged in a camp with Cuban refugees.  We stayed in the best available accommodations, but it was not Motel 6.  We had regular Army Military Police who were locked and loaded.  The Protestant chaplains were in awe of Catholic chaplains, as they should be, right?   They were all surprised at how much the people loved us.  “You come here, and they all love you.  You aren’t Cuban, and you don’t even speak the language!”   I said, “We are their priests, and we bring them Christ.”  In the Army, it was the same thing.  Chaplains couldn’t understand why people loved their priests.  If you looked at our congregations, we had people from all over the world.  We are all God’s children, and we are one in Christ.  

So, when you see the nativity, you can reflect on Who the Church is.  It is not a ‘what’.  Remember that.  The Church is a ‘Who.’  It is the Body of Christ.  We are all part of the Church with one Lord and not a hyphenated Lord.  Our Lord didn’t make a different deal with the Polish than He did with the Americans.  The same deal goes for everybody.  It is the manifestation of God’s love. 

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.”

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Sermon Notes – January 5, 2025 – “A Tour of the Nativity”

“A Tour of the Nativity”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 4 – 5, 2025

Gospel:  Matthew 2:1-12

As you can see, and as promised, the Wisemen made it.  They always do.  The creche will be up for another week.  Do you know why?  The Christmas season doesn’t end until next week, which is the Baptism of our Lord.  I’m kind of a traditionalist, so we are keeping it up until then.  Saint Francis is credited for creating the first nativity scene in the 13th Century.  The nativity or creche is a portrait of the Church and a small book on Catholic theology, so I’m always amused when non-Catholics have one.   You display Catholic icons, and you’re not Catholic?  Really? 

The creche is the Church and is one of the first of many manifestations of Christ in the Gospel.  Inside the creche, you see Christology – the study of Christ; Ecclesiology – the study of Who the Church is; Soteriology – the study of redemption; Hagiography – the study of the saints; and Eucharistic theology, the study of doctrine regarding the Eucharist.  There are a lot of ‘ologies’ present in the creche and, in the interest of time, I’ll make just a few points about each.

In Ecclesiology, you learn that the Church and its people are always gathered around Jesus just as we are now – He’s right there in the Tabernacle.   In the creche, you find who makes up the Church.  Who makes up the Body of Christ?  That’s an interesting question.  In the creche, we see the very holy – the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph were both born without original sin.   You also see the very learned and the very ignorant.  Do you know why they are there?  The ignorant – the shepherds – know that they don’t know anything.  They were not the sharpest knives in the drawer, but they knew enough to be obedient.  They responded to the voice of an angel, and they saw the Savior.  The Wisemen are educated and know they don’t know everything, which is the goal of education.   They took the shoe leather express across the desert, which would not have been fun.  What do the Blessed Mother, Saint Joseph, the Wisemen, and the shepherds have in common?  Obedience.  If you read the Gospels, obedience did not always come easy.  The Wisemen walked across the desert or rode on camels, neither of which would be pleasant.  And yes, I have ridden on a camel.  I haven’t eaten one, but I’ve heard they taste like chicken.  But if you walk across the desert during the day, it’s not pleasant, and it’s not much better at night.  During the day, the temperature is about 70 degrees, but at night it drops to about 30 degrees.   The Wisemen were out there in the desert, and they were freezing.  Their trip across the desert was both brutal and dangerous.   But they were obedient, and they won the prize for obedience . . . to see the Savior and be in His presence.   We will, too, if we are obedient and achieve Heaven.   

In the creche, the Savior is lying in a manger, which reflects Soteriology.  In 33 years, the wood of the manger would become the wood of the Cross.  So, His suffering, death, and resurrection are already forecasted in the nativity. 

Christology is also reflected because of the gifts the Wisemen brought:  gold because He is a king and frankincense because He is God.   A lot of non-Catholics say, “Using incense is terrible.”  Why?  It’s used in Scripture.  Christ didn’t throw it out, did He?   The Blessed Mother didn’t say, “Get this crap out of here,” did she?  In fact, incense is used in the presence of God.  Read Revelation 8:3-5.  Incense is the prayers of God’s people rising.  If you want to be biblical, use incense.  The Wisemen also brought myrrh which forecasted Christ’s sacrifice.  Myrrh is a burial spice similar to formaldehyde or embalming fluid.  I’m sure the Blessed Mother wasn’t exactly thrilled about that gift.  The first two gifts were pretty cool, but that last one, not so much.  There is no sense in Scripture that she knew her Son would die.  But that is why He came.  In 33 years, the reason He came would be fulfilled . . . to suffer in death and to be resurrected so that we would have the means to eternal life.   

Finally, Eucharistic theology is reflected in the creche because Christ laid in a manger where the animals ate, and He became for us the Bread of Life.  His flesh would become the food of life for all of us.  Christ said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).   For the non-Catholics, He is saying that His flesh is real food, and His blood is real drink. 

The Epiphany is a wonderful meditation about the truths of our faith.   I always liked the sheep and wished I could be like them.  Know why?  They realized they had no brains, but they had great humility, and they were there.  They kept our Savior warm.

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.”

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Sermon Notes – January 7, 2024 – We Have Lots of “ologies”

We Have Lots of “ologies”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 6 – 7, 2023

Gospel: Matthew 4:12-17, 23-25

Next week the Christmas season ends. At some point in the near future, the nativity will disappear. I do not have an exact date yet. That is echelons above my pay grade. But as you heard in the Gospel, the nativity scene is not quite accurate because the Magi (Wise Men from the East) came to the “house” to see Jesus. The stable is not a house. So, when Saint Francis created the idea of a nativity, he compressed the house into a stable. In the nativity you see Scripture. You see the promises God made to His people and fulfilled (Genesis). He sent us a Savior.

The crèche is a marvelous lesson on Theology. We have all these “ologies.” There is Soteriology which is the study of redemption. Jesus came as the Redeemer. There is also Christology which is the study of who Christ is. True God and true Man. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man. The Wise Men brought Him frankincense because that was a gift given only to God. They brought gold because He is a king. Lastly, they brought myrrh because of the reason He came. He came to die. How many of you ladies who have had a baby shower received embalming fluid as a gift? Thanks a lot! You want your children to live, but He came to die. The manger He was laid in became the wood of the Cross 33 years later. Our good Lord was laid upon straw in the manger which was food for the oxen. Our Lord became our bread for life. Without that bread of life, we would have no life within us. He came to die for us and to open the gates of Heaven so that we could live with Him forever.

Another “ology” is Ecclesiology which is the study of the Church. The nativity is a picture of the Church. What is a common characteristic of everyone in the nativity? They were humble. The Wise Men knew that they didn’t know everything, and the shepherds knew they knew nothing. Mary and Joseph were holy, and they always said “yes” to Jesus. With all these people gathered around Jesus, you have a picture of the Church. That is who you still find in the Church. Regardless of their degrees, titles, and letters after their names, if they are truly educated, they are here. Like the shepherds, some people have been educated by the School of Hard Knocks. The Church is Christ’s body. Remember what Christ said to Paul in Acts, “Paul why are you persecuting Me?” (Acts 9:4). He didn’t say “organization.” He said “Me.” We are His body and have been throughout time. You always see Mary, Joseph, the Wise Men, and the shepherds gathered around Jesus. They represent not just the Jews but all people throughout time. The nativity represents a whole course on Theology. It is not something that we trot out once a year for a few weeks and then put back in the closet. The nativity is a wondrous thing on which to meditate.

The diocese is very diverse. We have hyphenated Catholics, and there are many offices for them. That is theologically foreign and absolutely blasphemous. “Father, are you Irish-Catholic?” No, I’m Catholic. We do not have a different Savior. There is one Savior for everyone. If you took a mirror and looked out at the congregation, you would see what I see. We are all one in Christ. Paul said, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28). We are all one in Christ. We each have different jobs in the Body of Christ that’s for sure. But there are no hyphenated Catholics.

Hagiography is the study of saints. Which saint was the first to hold God incarnate? Think back on your labor and delivery classes. It was Saint Joseph. My question is why we aren’t having venerations for the first human being who held God in his hands and who was the first to look down at God instead of up. I hope you will meditate on that tonight.

Father’s Reflections: A couple of months ago, I had to get the flu vaccine. I’m not a big believer in vaccines, but I’m living proof that vaccines work. When I was in the Army at Fort Bragg, I was forced to get a series of shots because I was deployable. One of those shots was for Typhoid. It definitely worked because that night I was in the hospital with Typhoid. Perfect! I went to the doctor, and he said, “You’re sick.” No kidding! I bet you went to medical school.

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 – January 8, 2023 – “The Little Church”

“The Little Church”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

January 7-8, 2023

Gospel:  Matthew 3:13-17

13 Then Jesus appeared: He came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptised by John.  14 John tried to dissuade Him, with the words, ‘It is I who need baptism from You, and yet You come to me!’ 15 But Jesus replied, ‘Leave it like this for the time being; it is fitting that we should, in this way, do all that uprightness demands.’ Then John gave in to Him.  16 And when Jesus had been baptised He at once came up from the water, and suddenly the heavens opened and He saw the Spirit of God  descending like a dove and coming down on Him.  17 And suddenly there was a voice from heaven, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved; my favour rests on Him.’

Today is the Epiphany which is a Greek word that means manifestation and revelation.  There are many of them in Scripture.  Next week we will commemorate another epiphany – the baptism of our Good Lord.   Today is also called the “Little Christmas” because this is when gifts were given to Christ.  It is also a day in which people start taking down their Christmas decorations although some people probably have already taken them down.  The Sacristans will soon remove the Manger, but the poinsettias will stay for a while until they start dropping petals which really drives me nuts.  But it’s sad when they take all that stuff away, especially the Manger or the creche because it calls to mind a lot of things.   However, the highest act of love did not happen on Christmas.  It happened at His Passion, death, and resurrection.  And that is why He came. 

Church is a “what” but it is also a “Who.”   Remember in the Book of Acts, Christ said, “Paul, why are you persecuting Me?”   He didn’t say, “Paul, why are you persecuting the people who tithe and who helped build the buildings.”   He said, “Why are you persecuting Me?”   The Church is Christ.   Therefore, the Manger is the “Little Church.”   By the way, according to Scripture, the family lived in a house. They were not poor – they had a house.  The Manger scene is visible scripture and visible theology.  Because Christ is present, it is Christology (the study of Who Christ is).   Because the Manger is the Little Church, it is also Ecclesiology (the study of what the Church is).  It teaches us about the Church. 

More is revealed through the gifts given by the Magi (the wise men and kings from the East).  They gave Him gold because He is king.  They gave Him frankincense because He is God.  Remember the Jews used incense at the altar in the temple.  In Revelation, incense is present before the throne of God.  So, using incense is scriptural.  I use it sparingly and not like in a military gas chamber.  But if you have a cold, get near the incense and it will clear you right up.  Incense portrays that our Lord is visibly present.  And finally, the Magi gave our Lord myrrh, a burial spice, because of why He came. 

Who do you find around Jesus?  They were all gathered around and looking at Jesus.  They weren’t talking about the latest political scandals.  They prostrated themselves…they didn’t stand and pray… they prostrated themselves as you do before God.  Their faces were in the dirt.  But who was there?  You find the pure – the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph who are pure of heart.  You find the simple – the shepherds who knew they were ignorant and knew nothing.  They were humble and followed God’s directions like Saint Joseph did.  And you find the wise men who were astrologers and kings from the East.  They were truly educated.  What is the best fruit of an education?  Is it having a bunch of initials after your name?  Is it having a Mensa card in your wallet?  The best fruit of an education is realizing that you don’t know everything.  Even with everything you have learned in the past, there is so much more to learn.   You have just scratched the surface.  The more you learn the more you realize how ignorant you are.   The wise men realized how ignorant they were, and that’s why they came.  They came to be in the presence of Christ.  And that is who you will always find around Christ – the holy, the simple, and the wise.

The Manger is the Church, and it is a beautiful thing to have in your home. Everything is right there in the Manger and very teachable.  So, as you put the Manger scene away for the next 48 weeks or so, remember that you have a beautiful library stashed away.   It is a beautiful meditation on what our Faith is.

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.”