Tag: Faith

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Sermon Notes – The Mystery of Our Faith

“The Mystery of Our Faith”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

June 13-14, 2020

Scripture: John 6: 51-58

On Saturday afternoon, I was on my way to make a house call to an 88 year-old man who has cancer. So, I’m driving out in the country, and I see a hearse coming the other way. Hmmm…maybe I should have called first. He is fine.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Every priest and bishop in the world has heard, “Father, the Church has too many rules; why can’t it get rid of some of them?” You know, that’s a fair question, and it could be true; however, it comes to mind that Jesus gave us a few rules too and so did the apostles. We are just following what they taught. “But, why do we have to follow all these rules?” First of all, if you don’t, I’ll break your knee caps…that’s from the Italian School of Instruction. Boom! What are rules? Rules are the teachings of the Church. What is the purpose of these rules? They are designed to focus our attention on the core of our faith…that Christ is physically present in the Most Blessed Sacrament and that He offers Himself to us…the most precious body and blood at Holy Communion. The mystery of transubstantiation is the same one as in the Upper Room. We are fed by the hand of the bishop or priest the same Holy Communion, body, blood, soul, and divinity, as the apostles. There is no difference. The sacrifice that He offers us from the cross before the Father is given everyday by every priest throughout the world. This is the central mystery of our faith.

You see references to John 3:16 a lot around the county. If they read further in the gospel, they would know that our Lord said, “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. …” (John 6:53). “Well, they meant something else.” But, that’s not what the original version says. It uses the word “masticate” which means we must chew and take it inside ourselves. That’s the meaning of the original Greek word. That’s what we do, and that is the mystery of our faith. When the apostles received Holy Communion, did they taste the flesh and blood? No, and neither do we. I don’t taste the drugs when I take my meds. Do you? All these rules are there to guide us and remind us of the central mystery of our faith. They help us focus on the truth.

The rules the Church teaches were not made up out of thin air. Rules about showing respect when you enter the church include genuflecting, no eating or drinking one hour before Mass, no gum chewing, this is not a cafeteria, no cell phone use, and being quiet in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament. You’ve heard me say “Shhhh” a few times. What is the purpose of showing respect? It points to the central mystery of our faith. The most precious body, blood, soul, and divinity is here in the Real Presence of our dear Lord. Every rule we have focuses on that central mystery of our faith. The sacrifice of our Lord comes down to us, is given to us and is present for us in the most Blessed Sacrament. This is the central mystery of our faith. Everything in the Church points to that. “Well, Father, why can’t other people, non-Catholics and those not practicing the faith, receive Holy Communion…It’s the most loving thing to do.” Saint Paul says we aren’t supposed to do that. Now, if you think you are greater than Saint Paul, be my guest. However, I’m going with what Saint Paul said.

We follow and profess the Real Presence and have since the beginning. This is the true body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Unless you eat and drink from it, you may not have eternal life. We have believed this from the beginning. Christ Himself, the apostles, and the Doctors of the Church down through time have remained unchanged. This is our faith. You know, I took four vows: Poverty, Chastity, Obedience, and a vow to protect the Blessed Sacrament with my life. This is why I don’t let lay people give communion. “I’m a Eucharistic Minister…I want to take communion home to my wife.” Uh, no. I’m going to hurt your feelings real quick. No. Are you a priest? “No.” Then, too bad. We practice what we believe. All of our so called “rules” point to the one central mystery. Do you think I like going “Shhh” to people? Well, yeah, I do, but besides that….I’m trying to do better…but besides that…Everything we do here points to our Good Lord. The beauty of our church, the beauty of the vestments, and the beauty of the sacramentals all point to what we believe. This is the central mystery of our faith. So, all of those rules that you see being taught…I know, like you, I don’t like to be taught, because I think I know everything…they all point to the central mystery of our faith. The mystery of our faith is what? Well, I’ll give you credit, because the question is unfair. You get extra credit if you realized that. The mystery of our faith is a “Who.” It is Jesus Christ, and it is He who has given us the divine nature and appearance of the most precious body and blood for centuries. People say they want to receive Holy Communion like it’s an “it.” Holy Communion is not an it. Holy Communion is a “Who.”

How will you apply this message to your life? Do you follow the rules of the Church?

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Sermon Notes – Lord, Increase Our Faith

“Lord, Increase Our Faith”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

July 11 – 12, 2020

Scripture: Matthew 13: 1-23

I hear a lot of complaints from people about all the things they cannot do during this pandemic. Well, I’m a law breaker, actually, because at Harris Teeter, I intentionally went up the wrong aisle. I fought for my country, so I’m going this way! I hear people complain about this and that…but, all of those are inconveniences at best. When we don’t get what we want when we want it, we think that’s an inconvenience. When I go to the VA Hospital, I visit patients in their rooms. So, I get all masked up and go in like Darth Vader. Everyone has to do that, because we cannot touch the patients. All of those old veterans are in solitary confinement…they cannot leave the unit; they are trapped in there. But, even in prison, inmates in solitary confinement get recreation time every so often. The patients at the VA don’t get that, because they are sick and feeble. This quarantine is so hard on them, and you can see their cognitive, spiritual, emotional, and physical capacities decline. So, these are the people who are truly suffering. I am not allowed to go in to Spring Arbor or Taylor House. Sometimes, I‘ll call and I’m told, “Oh, they’re gone.” Oh, okay. Feel sorry for these people. You have to go and get take-out food…oh, my heart bleeds for you…really! That’s a wealth problem. You have money to order take-out. Maybe, you need to expand your mind…consider it a picnic. Go to the lake or somewhere to have fun. You have to make your own fun. My goodness! Everything we have is convenient. But, that’s not true for everyone. It’s not true for those people who are trapped in nursing homes and hospitals. So, pray for them.

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen

In the old Rite of Baptism, parents would bring their children to church, and the priest would ask them, “What do you ask of the Church?” The parents would say “faith.” That is the correct answer, because you are asking for a gift from God. God gives us the gift of faith in the Sacraments. In the Sacrament of Baptism, He infuses the three theological virtues into our soul: faith, hope, and charity. It’s a free gift from God based on a request by the parents. God wants everyone to come to Him, to know Him, to love Him, and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him in the next. He gives us this gift, and He offers to us freely the way in which to increase the virtues of faith, hope and charity…by reception of the Sacraments. The beauty of that gift is that it never goes away. God gives us many gifts, but time, nature, and our inattention can destroy them. If we have a talent for sports, it’s going to fade away if not practiced. God gives us muscles that, if not exercised, will atrophy. However, the gift of faith never will. Many people have tried to rid themselves of faith. They’ve left the church, and they’ve sinned greatly. We have all sinned greatly…let’s be honest. But the gift of faith is always there. It gets beaten up a bit, but it never goes away. It’s always there saying to us, “life is tough; it’s tougher when you’re stupid… had enough?” I run in to people who ask if I’m a Catholic priest, and I say yes. They’ll say, “I used to be Catholic.” Okay, I still am, so what happened to you? I always ask them that question, and they don’t like it. But, that’s their faith speaking to them…sort of an internal conference. ”Well, I used to be Catholic.” Sounds like you are really happy about that. Their infused faith is always prompting them to come back to the Church. One day, I was doing my visitation at the hospital. I walked up to a patient and introduced myself as the Catholic chaplain for the Medical Center. This patient said, “Whoa…whoa…whoa! I used to be Catholic. I’m not Catholic anymore.” Okay. Most people just say “Hello, Chaplain or Father.” But if you want to be a real jerk, go ahead. I almost told that veteran my first name, by the way, is “Major.” Lose the attitude, dude. What’s wrong with you! You’d think they would be grateful for a visitor stopping in and breaking up the day. But, what happened is that I touched his gift of faith. That’s Christ in me, because I’m a priest. You neglected it, you turned away, and you beat it up, but is your faith dead? No. Your faith is still alive. During the early 1900’s, Saint Therese de Lisieux had been praying right up to the end for a convict who had received the death penalty in France. Just before the guillotine fell, he screamed “The cross..the cross!”

We have all been given the nature of faith. All of us, by our sins, have neglected and beaten it up a bit. But, that’s why we are at church. You demonstrate your faith by coming here. We increase our faith by receiving the Sacraments. Living the faith doesn’t increase it; instead, it is purified. Our faith is tested by all of our temptations, sufferings, and inconveniences like COVID. Although our faith is constantly being tested, we can increase it by reception of the Sacraments. Faith is not a virtue we get by doing it…that’s a habitual virtue. A habitual virtue is gotten through practice. For example, if we pray, “Lord, please increase my patience.” Pray that, and I guarantee when you walk out that door, you will get behind every blue haired driver in Stanly County on a 2-lane road, driving 15 mph under the speed limit, and have no way to pass. I did once and …well, that doesn’t matter! So, you get better at a habitual virtue by doing it. How do you get better at baking? By doing it. Baking is not an infused virtue. You get better at baking by doing it. Faith is an infused virtue that grows through our increased reception of the Sacraments. You have faith, because you are here. You are purifying it by wondering if Father is ever going to stop preaching!! That’s faith, hope, and charity. You increase your faith through the Sacraments. As a priest told me at my first Mass, “Spend less time on your toes and more time on your knees.” Lord, increase our faith.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you increase your faith by receiving the Sacraments as often as possible?

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The Bible in a Year – Day 157 – Following Jesus

https://youtu.be/y4cNqGtHgy4

The Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz – Day 157: Following Jesus. Fr. Mike emphasizes that following Jesus as his disciples requires remarkable humility, faith, purity of heart, and courage. Today’s readings are Mark 7-8 and Psalm 23. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children – parental discretion is advised.