We have been graced for a truly sweet surrender, if we can radically accept being radically accepted—for nothing! “Or grace would not be grace at all” (Romans 11:6)! As my father Francis put it, when the heart is pure, love responds to Love alone and has little to do with duty, obligation, requirement, or heroic anything. It is easy to surrender when we know that nothing but Love and Mercy are on the other side.
The suffering creatures of this world have a divine Being who does not judge or condemn them, or in any way stand aloof from their plight, but instead, a Being who hangs with them and flows through them, and even toward them, in their despair. How utterly different this is from all the greedy and bloodthirsty gods of most of world history! What else could save the world? What else would the human heart love and desire? Further, this God wants to love and be loved rather than be served (John 15:15). How wonderful is that?! It turns the history of religion on its head. Jesus said it of himself: “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself” (John 12:32) and “from my breast will flow fountains of living water” (7:38). It is only the “harsh and dreadful” commingling of both divine love and human tears which opens the deepest floodgates of both God and the soul. Eventually, I must believe, it will open history itself. I will sink my anchor here. To mourn for one is to mourn for all. To mourn with all is to fully participate at the very foundation of Being Itself. For some reason, which I have yet to understand, beauty hurts. Suffering opens the channel through which all of Life flows and by which all creation breathes, and I still do not know why. Yet it is somehow beautiful, even if it is a sad and tragic beauty.
One day when I was at Fort Campbell, I went into the First Sergeant’s office to say, “good morning.” The First Sergeant said, “Good morning. Hey Sir, you know your chaplain’s assistant is graduating from air assault school. His road march is on Friday.” Oh, goodie! Thanks for reminding me. I appreciate it! I left his office, but I didn’t appreciate it. It meant that on Friday at 0-dark-30, I would be out there for graduation and the final test: a 12-mile march in full field gear through gently rolling hills similar to the Alps. The custom at Fort Campbell and the 101st is that if there is one person in your section doing push-ups or a road march, you all do it. The only saving grace is that I didn’t have to wear the field gear. Oh, there is nothing I’d rather do first thing in the morning than go on a 12-mile march at 44 years old. Thank you, First Sergeant! I probably could have gotten out of it, but I sucked it up and went anyway. I was looking forward to the relaxation and being one with Mother Nature. Um…No. I would be running with children who basically had to run all the time. Why did we do it? We sacrificed to build and reinforce the bond of trust we have with our fellow soldiers…the band of brothers. Is it pleasant? Oh, heck no! But it was the right thing to do. They are works of love. The bond with your fellow soldier is that he would die for you and you for him. Works of love don’t always have to be enjoyed. Why do we perform works of love? We do them because it pleases the beloved.
Our Lord said, “If you love Me keep my Commandments.” Nowhere did our Lord say, “if you would like to” or “if it’s convenient” or “if you aren’t too busy” or “if you’re in the mood.” He never said those things. He said, “If you love Me keep my Commandments.” The Commandments are not just draconian measures that our Lord has given us to ruin our fun. The works of love teach us how to go outside of ourselves, to renounce our fallen nature, and to do something for Him. It may manifest itself in someone or through someone else. Everything we do with love; we do for Christ. Doing works of love is not always pleasant. Do you know why some people find the works of love unpleasant? Because we are too much in love with ourselves. The works of love are always focused on the beloved and not on self. The Gift of the Magi is a short love story written by O. Henry. Love is always focused on the other, and when we find the works of love inconvenient, unpleasant, or distasteful, that is the time we grow most in love by dying to ourselves and living more for our good Lord. “Father, I had a game and couldn’t come to Mass.” Really? Saint Augustine wrote that “if there is any work involved in love, the work itself is love.” And that is true. The young man who approached our good Lord was unwilling to leave everything and follow Him. Our Lord was testing him. How much do you love Me? The young man kept the Commandments and that was wonderful; however, he did not learn the lesson from them. What is the lesson from the Ten Commandments? It is total renunciation of oneself to the Beloved. That’s the lesson. Go sell everything you have. Give to the poor. Your possessions are a representation of yourself. Give everything you have into service for our good Lord to use as He sees fit. All the fruits of your talents and labors when used to support your family are works of justice and love. So don’t feel bad about that. People say you cannot earn a lot of money from the job you’ve worked at for 30 or 40 years. You can’t enjoy it because you didn’t earn it. It’s a work of justice and moral obligation to support yourself and your family and ultimately to pay taxes. Put yourself and all your talents and abilities in God’s hands. Renounce yourself and give yourself to Him. The young man did not see that. Hopefully, he eventually got it right.
You’ve heard the phrase “follow the science.” Who says that? People who want you to follow their version of “science.” You know what the science is for people recovering from any addiction? No matter how much medicine is involved, make sure they come back from Opioids, Meth, or booze, and that they don’t die from detox. That’s a big drawback. In all the twelve-step programs, what’s the key to renewal and freedom from addictions and obsessions? It begins with Step 1 which is perhaps the most important step – admitting that we are powerless. The final step is to have a spiritual awakening. There is a Seventh Step prayer…I’ll let you look that up too. It’s a prayer of total renunciation. In all the groups that started these types of programs what was the first prayer? It wasn’t the “Our Father” but the “Peace Prayer” by Saint Francis. “Lord make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” That’s a renunciation of self. Take me and use me as you will with all my talents especially where it is most helpful for people who know my faults. It’s through your faults that shows people what God has done for you and the mercy he has shown to us all. We do works of love not for ourselves because it pleases us…that’s selfishness. The Commandments aren’t legal checkmarks you have to do like driving the speed limit when the police are around. The Commandments are works of love. They teach us renunciation of self. They are only burdensome when we want what we want when we want it, or we find them to be inconvenient because we love ourselves more. They are not always convenient. They are not always pleasant. I’m sure changing diapers is not always pleasant. I’ve been in hospitals. Believe me, there are far worse smells in a hospital than in a diaper. Trust me on this one. Sometimes I leave patients’ rooms and have Skittles. Know why I have Skittles? Because I like Skittles.
We all have fallen natures. Just this morning I was here, long before you, saying my prayers. And I really wanted some coffee. I mean I REALLY wanted coffee. The coffee had already been brewed. But what was more important… my cup of coffee or my prayers? You know the answer, but darn it, I wanted some coffee. Today, the good side of my nature won, but it’s always a fight. So, when difficulties come, always remember Who the works of love are for.
Father’s Afterthoughts:
· I want to thank the Daughters of Mary for the marvelous meal they provided after the funeral Mass for Elaine Gibbs. The funeral luncheons they do is something to die for.
· When I was in the Army, I always loved those eight mile runs in the rain. It was so refreshing and cleansing. Thank you, sir. Could you make this suck any more?
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”
Francis’s long journey into God was, at each step along the way, punctuated by learning again and again another truth that St. Augustine articulates at the beginning of his Confessions: “You have made us for You and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in You.” It was a journey that involved learning to love anew the things of creation, his love constantly being purified by the overarching love of God. It was like a return to the Garden of Eden seeking again and again to restore the Paradise humans had so cavalierly destroyed. The journey forward into God is a journey backward to an original innocence we never fully recover but where a sort of semi-paradise happens when love turns into charity. This is the highest of all loves, which Christ defined as the love of God and the love of neighbor, the total love of God leading to true love of neighbor and the true love of neighbor leading to the love of God.
I want to tell you about my evil twin brother, Paul. While I was on vacation, I went to the local diner where it’s like Cheers with food, and everyone knows your name. If you are a regular, you pour your own coffee and bus your own table. The owner told me that my brother was the happiest when he could do something for someone else. That was very nice to hear.
I have good news and bad news for you today. The good news is about the latest that I have read about Covid. It’s 99.5% survivable. Now, that’s really good news! The bad news is that life is 0.0% survivable. None of us are getting out of here alive. One day the doctor is going to tell us that our birth certificate has been canceled. When I was in Gitmo, I was outside the hooch one night with Father Seamus, a Norbertine father, while he was having a cigar. This Air Force doctor walked by and said, “You know, Padre, that’s going to kill you.” Father Seamus took a drag on his cigar and said, “And what are you planning on dying of doctor?” We are called in the 5th Commandment to take all moral and prudent means to protect our health.
We are also called to prepare ourselves to meet Christ and to grow daily in holiness. This dispels the fear that the devil creates about our passing whenever that will be. Sometimes it will be like Dorothy Strube at age 96, and sometimes it will be much sooner. There was an announcement in the obituaries about a gentleman who was 46 when he passed away. We don’t know when it will happen, but constant communion with Him in this life will make us happier and make those around us happier. It will dispel the fear of transitioning from this life to the next…hopefully to heaven, if you do it right.
I read about this one man who committed murder in France and who was sentenced to death. His conversion in prison was so great and so amazing, that he was nominated for sainthood for being a servant of God. He did go to the block…the French took their heads off in those days. So, he was executed, but he was nominated for sainthood for such was his transition even in that small window. My point is this: Why wait for that small window?
We are called to grow closer to God. Drawing close to Him will provide peace for our souls. That moment of death will not be tragic. Instead, it will be a fulfillment of our love. Two hearts who love each other so tenderly will be together for all of eternity and never separated by sin. I say that to the dying. I say, “Make your peace with God and go meet your savior. You will never lose Him again.” That’s where we are all headed…to have peace so that we can become holy.
Do not let your crosses, whatever they may be or how many you may have, cause you to think you aren’t doing something right. “If I were doing it right, my crosses would be much lighter, and I wouldn’t fall so often.” All of that is “bravo sierra” from the devil. Saint Teresa of Avila said, “If this is the way you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few.” Conversely, the more crosses you seem to have, the greater the love Christ has for you. So, carry your cross, if not for yourself, for others and drawing them to salvation and away from the suffering of the world. The devil uses many things – he is the father of lies – and he may make you think you are not drawing closer to God when, in fact, you are. Be prudent about your health in all things. Also, realize that no matter how many things there are to triumph over, there will be a moment when God will call you from this life to another. And, He will ask you, “Did you love Me?”
How will you apply this message to your life? Are you taking all moral and prudent means to protect your health as we are asked to do in the 5th Commandment? Are you preparing to meet Christ by growing in holiness?
You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to 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). Sermon notes can also be found on the church Facebook page by Googling “Facebook Our Lady of the Annunciation Albemarle”
Since every thing, every person, every situation comes from the God who speaks, the whole world is Word by which we can live. We need only “taste and see how good God is.” We do this with all our senses. Through whatever we taste or touch, smell, hear, or see, God’s love can nourish us. For the one creating and redeeming Word is spelled out to us in ever new ways. God who is love, has nothing else to say in all eternity but “I love you!” And God says this in ever new ways through everything that comes into being. And we “eat it all up”; as we might say of a book, “I devoured it, cover to cover.” We assimilate this food and it becomes our life. We live in its strength. We become Word.
