“Everything that exists is a gift from God. Yet oftentimes we look to the things and creatures created by God for a satisfaction and fulfillment that only God Himself can provide. When the soul wraps itself around the things and the people of this world, looking for satisfaction or fulfillment that only God can give, it produces a distortion in itself, and in others as well. Many spiritual writers call the process of unwinding this possessive, self-centered, clinging, and disordered seeking of things and persons ‘detachment’. The goal of the process of detachment is not to stop loving the things and people of this world, but, quite to the contrary, to love them even more truly in God, under the reign of Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit. Things and people become even more beautiful and delightful when we see them in this light. There are almost always painful dimensions to this process of ‘letting go’ in order to love more, but it’s the pain of true healing and liberation. Christian detachment is an important part of the process by which we enter into a realm of great freedom and joy.”— Ralph Martin, p.205
When we exist in a world of gift, in which we ourselves are given, then our own labors must be gifts to those around us. To refuse that possibility is to refuse the thanksgiving to which we are properly called. Or, to put it another way, if we are not willing to see our lives and the creation as gifts, then we are not able to properly acknowledge our debts. Being so free, we then feel as though it is in our right to say that others owe us. Thus we can easily sell our labors, without any sense of obligation that perhaps we really owe them. That some should give their labors freely is then, properly, the response of those who owe what cannot be repaid—which includes us all.
One of the best gifts you can give is the gift of joy. And it’s one of the best gifts you can receive, too. But where does it come from? True joy can’t be found on the shelves of any local stores. It can’t be found while online shopping. It’s found in a personal relationship with God. Developing a habit of daily prayer is the surest way to find joy in your everyday life.
The key to a happy death is not a long and fulfilled life—it’s a life of gratitude for the time given.
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We often forget that this life isn’t owed to us. Every breath we take is a gift from God, who is holding us in existence at this very moment. Once we start to think that this life is owed to us, that in some way we deserve it, we will become ungrateful for the time that is given, even if we’ve lived a long and happy life.
Today, Father Mike explains how to fill your life with gratitude, and how that will prepare you for a happy death.
“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.”
A lot of people quote scripture in their arguments, and that’s very good. It’s what you should do. However, when you do, you have to know and understand scripture. You have to be accurate, because good intentions can lead to very bad things. People say, “The death penalty is immoral, because in the Old Testament it says, “Thou shalt not kill.” So, we cannot have capital punishment, and we cannot go to war? Look at the laws of Israel; they had the death penalty on the books. So, you are saying that they got it wrong from the time of Moses for a 1,000 or so years before Christ came? They went to war all the time. “But, God said, “Thou shalt not kill.” He said thou shall not murder or take life unjustly. Under the 4th and 5th Commandments, you have an obligation. Under the 4th Commandment, you have the right to self-protection, and under the 5th Commandment you have a moral obligation to protect those who cannot protect themselves. If you want to get the living you-know-what beat out of you, be my guest. Be a conscientious objector…it’s your right. However, you have no right to aggregate that right to someone else. “Oh, I don’t believe in violence, so I’m going to watch you get the living you-know-what beat out of you.” No, no, no. That’s a grave sin.
Now, I have lulled you into a false sense of security, I’m going to give you a pop quiz. What makes this building special…besides the collection? It’s not a “what” that makes it special; it’s a “Who.” Who resides in this place that makes it so special? It’s the physical presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament. That’s what makes this place special. This is His house. He is physically present here. This is where God resides in every Catholic Church which is the new temple. The temple is the Presence of God and the Holy of Holies. We are blessed, because when we come here, we can speak to God face-to-face like Moses did…as one person speaks to another. At the old temple, the Arc of the Covenant, inside the Holy of Holies, only a priest at a certain time could go in there. Jesus said, “You have forgotten what this place is. Yes, you have the sacrifice as required by law. But, you didn’t have to bring it inside the temple.” That defiled the temple. That’s why our good Lord went crazy and decided to do a little church renewal. I heard someone say that Jesus preached nonviolence. I don’t think so. He kicked behind. He went in to the temple and drove out a lot of people. He said, “Get out of My House. My house is a house of prayer.” Our souls, too, as much as the temple was, and the Church is, are meant to be God’s house of prayer. And, until God is present in our souls, we will never be happy.
Jesus preached violence against sin. Remember when He said, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away….And, if your right eye offends you, pluck it out.” Yes, that’s hyperbole. However, we are called to use violence on our souls. We are not called to maim ourselves like having an extra piece of chocolate cake…you don’t need it. That would be a sin against both the 4th and.5th Commandments. However, we are supposed to use that same level of violence to protect from defiling the temple that we carry within us which is our souls. Oh, by the way, now you know why I ‘shush’ people who are talking in church, chewing gum, using their cell phones, and everything else. The Presence of God is here. This is His resting place. This is where He wants to come to us. We are supposed to do violence to anything that would impugn or impede His presence in us and drive Him from our souls…whether a person, place, or thing…the three sources of temptation. We are supposed to do whatever is necessary to rid of ourselves of anything that threatens His presence in our souls.
The Law of Physics says that two objects cannot occupy the same place at the same time. So, God cannot abide in our souls at the same time sin is there or the attraction or affection for sin. We are supposed to use violence against ourselves to preserve the beauty of our souls. Not physical violence, although that has been done. Saint Francis of Assisi was tempted by impurity, so he rolled himself down a hill of thorns. So grave is the abhorrence of sin, that he went to that extreme. So be violent against sin. Realize the great gift of His presence that we have. If you are having trouble with that, come see me in Confession, and I’ll get rid of that stuff for you, and you’ll be all set.
People complain about so many things in the world. “Oh, people don’t have a computer.” “Oh, people don’t have this or that.” You know, it’s been that way since the beginning of time. What people need is God. Mother Teresa didn’t have a computer. She had one change of clothes. She seemed like a pretty happy woman, didn’t she?. She had nothing else except God in her soul. Our souls are meant to be ready for God’s presence. Like the temple in the Old Testament and like our beautiful church which is a testimony, by the way, of your great love. Everything here is your love for our good Lord made present. We must do what is necessary to make our souls a resting place for Him to come and dwell within us. Realize the gift of Him that dwells in your soul. The same Him who dwells in the Blessed Sacrament. The same Him who dwells in the temple. The same Him who dwells in Heaven. And, when you realize that gift, and achieve the constant realization of that gift, you will do anything to preserve it.
How will you apply this message to your life? Will you rid your soul of whatever hinders God from residing there?
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 looking for a specific topic.
The gift of the Holy Spirit must be accompanied by our free choice to follow His inspiration and guidance. If we do not choose to resist sin, the Spirit cannot help us, for He will not violate our freedom. However, if we make even a weak resolve to struggle against temptation and sin, the Holy Spirit can rush into us and fortify that weak resolve, giving us enough strength to resist the deadly sins with greater effectiveness.
— Fr. Robert Spitzer, S.J. from his book Escape from Evil’s Darkness
