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Sermon Notes – Help Those in Need

“Help Those Who Cannot Help Themselves“

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

November 7-8, 2020

Scripture: Matthew 25: 1-13

The definition of death is that point when the soul leaves the body. We give the Sacraments only to the living. I have anointed people who have clinically died…I’m not a doctor, but I’ve seen a lot. I can anoint unless rigor mortis has set in which happens within two hours of death, but if your head is over here and your body is over there, death occurs a little sooner. After death, a soul goes immediately to God in what the Catechism tells us is the Particular Judgement. When people die, they all see God; some people stay for a cup of coffee, and others get to stay longer. If a soul is found to be in a perfect State of Grace, it goes immediately to Heaven. But, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news for some is that they don’t go to Heaven. They are separated from God forever, because they chose not to respond to His love. So, anybody in hell is a self-made man or women. They chose to be there. Even at the point of death, instead of saying “I’m sorry,” which would have given them the hope of salvation in Purgatory, they chose to separate themselves from God. “Oh, God sends people to hell.” No, He doesn’t. We send ourselves. There is good news for those who aren’t found to be in a perfect State of Grace, but are free from mortal sin. They have stains left from penances they haven’t done or sins they have not repented of. These souls will go to Purgatory where, like in the parable, they will clean their Baptismal Robes.

Some of you may have heard of the fires of purgatory. Do you know what they are? They aren’t real fires, because you won’t have a body. It is the fire of an absolute longing that cannot be filled and the pain of separation. In Purgatory, our hearts are purified and our Baptismal Robes cleaned so that we can enter the place of the perfect. At our Particular Judgement, we will see God as He is, and our hearts will be filled and rejoice. We will see the fullness of God and fall in love with His light. Our souls will becomes so full and so happy, but, then God says, “Not now.” We’ve seen perfection, yet we have to wait. You see, unless you are perfect, you cannot abide in the place of the perfect. So, you go away for a while.

The souls in Purgatory are being cleansed of venial sin. They are what the Church calls the Church Suffering, because they are going through deprivation. Is it actual physical pain? Well, since they don’t have a body, it can’t be physical pain. It will be like waiting for that apple pie your mother makes; “Not yet…in a little while.” My mother’s definition of “a little while” is a lot different from mine…I’ll tell you that right now! But, you have to wait for the pie. That intense longing, that deprivation of the fullness of life and joy is a great part of the suffering. When you are deprived of the presence and closeness of your beloved even though you are so close is excruciating. At hospitals and nursing homes, they sometimes have a drive-by so that the families of patients can see them, but they cannot touch them; they can talk to them from about ten feet away. Now, you have a sense of purgatory.

The souls in Purgatory see the hope of their salvation with the eyes of their soul, yet, they cannot do anything to help themselves. They are the Church Suffering, because they are, well, suffering. We, as part of the Church, can do something for them. We can offer them our prayers, our sacrifices, our anxieties, and the grace we

receive in the Sacraments. The greatest prayer of all is offered for the departed…the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass…the prayer of Christ. You cannot pray better than that. This is our faith, and this is what gives us hope. If you go to the Catacombs in Rome, and this is something non-Catholics may not know because they may not know the history of the Church, you will find in the Catacombs a Latin inscription that means “pray for me.” In the earliest days of the Church we prayed for the dead. We’ve done it from the beginning.

The saints in heaven help us and we, by virtue of our Baptism, are called to pray for the souls in Purgatory. By doing so, we can help them quickly clean their Baptismal Robes. “You get that spot over there and I’ll get the spot over here.” That way their Baptismal Robes are cleaned, and they can enter Heaven as quickly as possible.

We can gain for them a plenary indulgence, and when it has been completed, whoof…off they go…they’re in Heaven. Information about earning a plenary indulgence is on the Church’s Facebook page or you could just Google it. Throughout the month of November, you can get one a day, but you have to come to Confession…that’s part of it. I recommend you get one for yourself first … just in case. We don’t know the day or the hour, so get yours first and then help someone else. Like on an airplane when the oxygen masks drop down, you put one on first and then help others. So, get a plenary indulgence for yourself first, and then get one or as many as you want for someone else. This is how we show our love. This is how we fulfill the mission we assume by virtue of our Baptism

Think of all the anxiety we experience, whether it’s from the election, the pandemic, or new stop signs. Any anxiety whatsoever can be offered up to help someone else gain their salvation. This is how we can imitate Christ. Through our suffering, prayers, sacrifice, and mortification, we can show our unselfish, Christ-like love. This is what we do during the month of November and at every Mass throughout the world, every day. We offer up our prayers for the intentions upon the altar and for all those we hold dear in our hearts. We pray for the members of the Church who need our prayers the most and who cannot help themselves.

How will you apply this message to your life? Will you earn at least two indulgences this month…one for yourself and one for someone else?

Father’s Afterthoughts...I want to be the last guy in Purgatory, because I know I will still have my salvation. I want to be the guy who turns out the lights…I’m good with that, because I know I’m going to Heaven. I’m sure I won’t enjoy the process, but I will know that my salvation is assured.