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We continue our examination of the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Fr. Mike emphasizes that sin, above all else, is an offense against God and his Church. It damages our communion with both. He also unpacks how important it is that God has extended his ability to forgive sins to his apostles and their successors. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1440-1445.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/9_YAGXuny4E
Together, with Fr. Mike, we continue our examination of the sacrament of Reconciliation and Penance. In particular, we explore the different forms of penance, such as prayer, fasting, almsgiving, as well as other things people can do that orient their hearts towards conversion. Fr. Mike emphasizes the importance of taking up our own personal cross, accepting the suffering that is given to us by the Lord to carry with him each and every day. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1434-1439.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/JMlJQTvW4bY
We continue our examination of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Fr. Mike explores that interior conversion, or conversion of the heart, is a radical reorientation of our whole life. Conversion is so much more than just going through the motions or checking off the boxes. He emphasizes that interior conversion and repentance requires an active hatred for sin. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1427-1433.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/5iBovbP21Ew
Together, with Fr. Mike, we begin the chapter on the sacraments of healing, starting with the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Fr. Mike emphasizes that Christ has given the Church the power of the Holy Spirit to continue his earthly ministry of healing and redemption with the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick. He also points out that through Reconciliation, we not only receive God’s forgiveness, but are also reconciled to the Church. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 1420-1426.
Click on link to play video: https://youtu.be/Z1yAPFE0Z4o
Lent has begun and with it our season of penance and fasting. What are you planning on giving up or adding to your spiritual life?
Today, Fr. Mike helps us understand that Lent is less like a crockpot—which you can set and forge—and more like an ongoing, iterative process that requires our continual discernment about how we are drawing closer to Jesus.
“Did I Say I Hate Fish?”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
February 18 – 19, 2023
On Wednesday, we begin the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation. It’s a “good to do” and not a “must do.” Ashes will be given only at 8:30 am and 6:30 pm. There will be no “drive-thru” ashes or “ashes to go” given. Also, you cannot drive into the parking lot, beep the horn, and expect to receive ashes. There are some places that actually do that. It’s a Sacramental just like Holy Water and not mandatory. We’d love for you to come to Mass to begin the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday there is a “black fast” for those younger than 59 (I’m 69) which means you cannot eat between meals, and you can have only one full meal for the day considering your medical circumstances of course. Nobody can eat meat on Ash Wednesday and on Holy Fridays during Lent. You don’t have to eat fish although I do. Did I tell you I that I hate fish? On Fridays, we will have Lenten dinners which will be followed by Stations of the Cross.
Lent is a season of penance, and we are supposed to do works of penance or self-punishment to atone for our sins and the sins of others. The season of Lent is not a “self-help” season. “Oh, I resolve to eat better.” You are supposed to eat well. It falls under the Fifth Commandment, so it is not a penance. You are doing your body a favor. We are supposed to do something that disciplines the will, restrains our pride, and rids ourselves of the obsession of self so that we can love better. There must be a sacrifice. For me, that would be eating fish because I hate fish! Get the theme here? I hate fish! There has to be some kind of degradation. When we sin, we tell God, “No. I’m not going to do that. No! No! No!” So, we step away from God. When we do penance, we are taking a step back toward God. Some of us may be over-achievers, like those of us who were at Fort Bragg, and have taken multiple steps away from God. Come see me. If you say, “I’m going to spend extra time in prayer.” Extra prayers take time away from our other activities. And so we begin that walk back towards God.
Now, you don’t have to say, “I’m going to give up a kidney.” The penance doesn’t have to be huge. What’s important is how much love you give it with. It’s not the size of the gift but the love with which it is given. Doing a little bit of penance with great love is very effective. What are we doing when we do penance? We are decreasing our love and fascination with ourselves, even as wonderful as I think I am, and increasing our love for God. When we love ourselves – and I especially love me – it’s hard to love others. We need to decrease self-love so that we can increase our love of God. We must love God first and then we will be able to love others. We cannot give what we do not have. Saint John the Baptist said, “He must increase, and I must decrease.” That’s exactly how we grow in the love of God. It’s awfully difficult sometimes. When I drive past a Hardee’s, I just tear up because there’s just something about the smell of bacon. Last night I had a small discomfort, but for me every discomfort is HUGE because it’s me. If you buy your lunch at work, don’t. Deprive yourself of a small meal and give that money to the poor.
This season of penance is the perfect time for us to make a good Confession. According to Church law, we are supposed to confess once a year. It’s also a good time to reach out to others who may have fallen by the wayside and bring them back to the Sacraments and to the Church to rejoin in God’s love. How do you call someone back to the Church? I’ll give you a story. This week I was doing my rounds in the Emergency Department at the VA hospital. I’m just there for the scare. When I walk by someone who is on an EKG, the machine goes crazy. Nervous? Anyway, I saw two veterans, and one of the guys was very talkative. He was coming off drugs, and he wanted to get clean. So, I talked to him for a long time. The other guy was coming off booze, but he didn’t want much to do with me. The next couple of days are not going to be pleasant at all for them. As I was talking to the nurses, I learned that the guy who was coming off the sauce has a behavioral problem. I said, “Well, he’ll get that fixed here.” The ER nurses at the VA could top any WWE steel cage match. Don’t mess with them. They don’t wear a camera; however, whatever they break the doctors can fix. So don’t worry about that.
Anyway, I was talking to the one guy, and he was upset and ashamed. One of the phrases we use in the military, not those phrases, but a good one that we use is, “We don’t shoot our wounded.” You are sick and we will take care of you until you are not. That’s exactly what we tell sinners. We don’t shoot our wounded here. The Church wants to reclaim people for Christ and keep them close to the Cross. The guy was upset so I said to him, “Here is my card. If you need someone to talk to, give me a call. A lot of counselors have not been where we’ve been.” When counselors are working with someone who has PTSD, they’ll say, “Oh, I know it must have been hard over there.” They don’t have a freaking clue because they weren’t there. But if a counselor has been there, the veterans will talk to them.
In the ten years I’ve been handing out my cards, nobody has ever called me. I’m not upset, but it’s important for me to do that. It gives people something to hang on to and to give them hope that somebody cares. We can tell people how great God has been to us and that we do not shoot our wounded although the Catholic Church tends to shoot theirs. But we will take care of you until you no longer need us. That’s what we tell people especially those who have fallen away from God because they feel guilty. Some of the guilt they feel is expressed as anger. “I don’t need this!” Then why are you so angry?
It is important for all of us to go out and search for stray and lost sheep. What are the signs of sin? Guilt, shame, fear, and remorse. The one that keeps people away is fear. Tell them that we don’t shoot our wounded. The sad part about the two veterans I met in the ER that day is that I don’t know if either of them will get clean or sober. Because they feel better for a few days, a lot of people check themselves out against medical advice and try the drugs or booze again. That’s why we must stay close and remember our frailties. As Saint Therese of Lisieux said, “When I am small, I am safe.” Instead, we think, “I’m the smartest bear in Jellystone Park. I can do this all by myself. I’m good.” However, our Lord said to be perfect. Good is not good enough.
Lent is a wonderful time for us to help ourselves to love even more. When we love more, we will be happier. Remember the apostles who had the you-know-what beat out of them in prison? They left prison and rejoiced for they were found worthy to suffer for the name. So, when we give up these small things in our lives, we should be happier. I still hate fish. . .did I tell you that? But I’m happy because I eat it for Christ and the love of others. As Saint Paul says, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for Your sake, and in my flesh, I complete what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, that is, the church” (Colossians 1:24).
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.”
Saint Cornelius’ Story
There was no pope for 14 months after the martyrdom of Saint Fabian because of the intensity of the persecution of the Church. During the interval, the Church was governed by a college of priests. Saint Cyprian, a friend of Cornelius, writes that Cornelius was elected pope “by the judgment of God and of Christ, by the testimony of most of the clergy, by the vote of the people, with the consent of aged priests and of good men.”
The greatest problem of Cornelius’s two-year term as pope had to do with the Sacrament of Penance and centered on the readmission of Christians who had denied their faith during the time of persecution. Two extremes were finally both condemned. Cyprian, primate of North Africa, appealed to the pope to confirm his stand that the relapsed could be reconciled only by the decision of the bishop.
In Rome, however, Cornelius met with the opposite view. After his election, a priest named Novatian (one of those who had governed the Church) had himself consecrated a rival bishop of Rome—one of the first antipopes. He denied that the Church had any power to reconcile not only the apostates, but also those guilty of murder, adultery, fornication, or second marriage! Cornelius had the support of most of the Church (especially of Cyprian of Africa) in condemning Novatianism, though the sect persisted for several centuries. Cornelius held a synod at Rome in 251 and ordered the “relapsed” to be restored to the Church with the usual “medicines of repentance.”
The friendship of Cornelius and Cyprian was strained for a time when one of Cyprian’s rivals made accusations about him. But the problem was cleared up.
A document from Cornelius shows the extent of organization in the Church of Rome in the mid-third century: 46 priests, seven deacons, seven subdeacons. It is estimated that the number of Christians totaled about 50,000. He died as a result of the hardships of his exile in what is now Civitavecchia.
Reflection
It seems fairly true to say that almost every possible false doctrine has been proposed at some time or other in the history of the Church. The third century saw the resolution of a problem we scarcely consider—the penance to be done before reconciliation with the Church after mortal sin. Men like Cornelius and Cyprian were God’s instruments in helping the Church find a prudent path between extremes of rigorism and laxity. They are part of the Church’s ever-living stream of tradition, ensuring the continuance of what was begun by Christ, and evaluating new experiences through the wisdom and experience of those who have gone before.
“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.”
The fourth Sunday of Lent is traditionally known by the name Laetare Sunday. This name is taken from the Introit at Mass, Laetare Jerusalem which means “Rejoice, O Jerusalem.” Laetare Sunday marks the halfway point through the Lenten season of fasting, abstinence, and penance, and because of this it is a day of joy in anticipation of the close arrival of Easter. This day corresponds with Gaudete Sunday halfway through the Advent season, where the priests wear rose-colored liturgical vestments and the altar is decorated with flowers, often roses.
//The Catholic Company//