The Gospel reading explains the great love of God for His people. Do I love Him in return?
First reading: 2 Chronicles 36:14-17, 19-23
Psalm: 137:1-6
Second reading: Ephesians 2:4-10
Gospel: St. John 2:14-21
In today’s Gospel reading, we hear one of the most beloved verses in Sacred Scripture:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”– St. John 3:16
Maybe we have heard these words so often that they are not surprising anymore, but if we stop to reflect on this verse, it is the very definition of the “Good News.” God Himself gave His Son for you and for me. God, who made Heaven and earth, loves us.
How do I respond to this love? Do I follow His commands? Do I pray often? God has given us a gift that we can never repay. But like a child who makes simple presents for his parents, we can love Him as much as we are able.
In this Gospel passage, Jesus goes on to say that some prefer the darkness to the light. As Christ is the Light of the World, some people did not–and some still do not–want His Light to expose them or their sins. As Christians, we must love the Light, love the Truth, and be transformed by the Light. Do I allow God to transform me with His Light?
For more information on how you can grow in your faith during the Lenten season, we encourage you to visit the EWTN Lent page here: ewtn.com/lent
“Jesus trembled and shuddered as He stood before the pillar, and took off His garments as quickly as He could, but His hands were bloody and swollen. The only return He made when His brutal executioners struck and abused Him was to pray for them in the most touching manner: He turned His face once toward His Mother, who was standing overcome with grief; this look quite unnerved her: she fainted, and would have fallen, had not the holy women who were there supported her. Jesus put His arms around the pillar, and when His hands were thus raised, the archers fastened them to the iron ring which was at the top of the pillar; they then dragged His arms to such a height that His feet, which were tightly bound to the base of the pillar, scarcely touched the ground. Thus was the Holy of Holies violently stretched, without a particle of clothing, on a pillar used for the punishment of criminals; and then did two furious ruffians who were thirsting for His blood begin in the most barbarous manner to scourge His sacred body from head to foot.” — Bl. Anne Cathrine Emmerich, p. 218-9
“And it is only by the observance of the first and greatest commandment that we can keep the second. The more we love God, the more we shall love man; the less we love God, the less we shall, in the true sense of the word, love man. Our love will become capricious, fitful, and unreliable—not charity, but passion. If you feel that your love for your fellowman is dying out in the fumes of selfishness, there is but one way to revive it: strive for, pray for, the love of God. As the heart turns toward its source, it will be quickened and expanded. There is no true, no lasting spirit of charity apart from the practice of religion. Therefore, we cannot keep those commandments which teach us our duty to men unless we are keeping those which teach us our duty to God.”— Fr. Basil W. Maturin, p. 160
“You Cannot Judge Someone’s Insides by Their Outside“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
February 6 – 7, 2021
Gospel: Mark 1: 29-39
A number of years ago, I was vacationing at my now dead brother’s house. My sister-in-law is very nice, and she let me stay there. Why she married my brother is a mystery to me. In my bedroom was a fireplace. This is a four bedroom house with two fireplaces, and I had one of them. I was looking around at all of their pictures…I love looking at people’s pictures. I saw a picture of my sister-in-law’s brother. He was a good looking officer dressed in his Army Class-A uniform. I asked my sister-in-law if he had ever served in Vietnam, and she said yes. Did he ever tell you anything about the ribbons on his uniform? She said no. Well, I wouldn’t expect him to, but I’ll tell you this, because I think you need to know. You might want to ask him about this top ribbon. The highest award always goes on top. That is the Distinguished Flying Cross which is usually a downgraded Medal of Honor. You should know about that. A few years later, he and I were sitting in the ICU while my brother was on his journey to Heaven. He told me about some of his travels while he was in Vietnam. I can’t tell you about them, because they are all classified, but, he did some pretty impressive things. Now, he looks like a retired old man. You just never know what people have done…about the good they have done.
When my brother was laid out in the box, he had all of these badges on his uniform. He was a fire captain and assigned to fire and rescue. I didn’t understand what the badges meant, so I asked a friend of his, Mike Scallion. Mike said, “He never told you?” No. “Well, these are for the people he saved… he saved a lot of lives.” But, my brother never told us. People would come up and ask him to loan them money. He’d say, “Sure!” To my brother, it was a gift. He never loaned money. You never know the good things people have done. I still hear stories about my brother when I go home.
Conversely, you never know about the crosses people were given to carry by our good Lord. There are the crosses we bear from birth that God gives us all. Some change throughout our lives and come with age. There are the crosses we have because of our sins which we have acquired on our own. There are also the crosses that other people have given us. Perhaps we didn’t have perfect parents. I see a lot of those crosses in the Gated Community I visit. People with those crosses have a harder shot at life than most of us. You never know the crosses people are called to carry. But, they have made their choices, and their crosses are mostly because they avoid God and choose to do evil. The habit and attraction of sin carries its own cross. Finally, there are the crosses we bear for our family, friends, and others.
Now, when you leave here, you will probably encounter people who will irk the living you-know-what out of you. Somehow, they find a way to stumble across our path. They may cut us off in traffic. They may take our buggy in Harris teeter or Walmart. They’ll do something, and you may want to go charismatic on them. We might do that to people too, believe it or not, some of you might irk other people…I don’t know. My First-Sergeant had a very effective counselling technique. He was charismatic and laid hands on people. We used to call it “wall-to-wall counselling,” and it usually solved the problem in one short session. If it’s not strangers that irk us, it’s our family. Those are the ones who can irk us the most. My cousin calls me and always wants to Face-Time. The last time he called me, I was hearing confessions when all of a sudden the theme from the “Godfather” starts playing – that’s my ring tone. My phone showed that it was Jim, and he wanted to FaceTime. Hey Cuz – I don’t do Face-Time. Learn it. God allows people in our lives for a number of reasons, not just to irk us, but to teach us patience.
You obviously want to be holy, because you are here. But, being here is only a part of becoming holy. You have to go out and practice what you receive here. All of those rosaries do no good if we don’t use them. All the great Catholic books in the world and all the crucifixes do no good if we don’t put them into practice. It’s nice when people say, “Father, that was a great sermon.” Thanks. Take a copy of the sermon notes; I’ll even autograph it for you. But it does no good unless you put the message into practice. So, God sends people into our lives to remind us to pray for others and to help them carry their crosses. He puts these people in our lives to help us learn patience along with suffering. We don’t know what crosses people are carrying. We all would like for people to be considerate and compassionate toward us, but how can we be considerate and compassionate toward them? By praying for them and helping them carry their crosses, whatever those crosses are. They may be helping to carry someone else’s cross…you never know. You cannot judge someone’s insides by their outside.
I ask patients how they are doing. Some will say, “Fine!” But, you are in Hospice care. Do you know what fine means? I think we need to talk. I wouldn’t be putting in menu orders for tomorrow if I were you. We don’t know what’s going on inside of people. But, if they are like us, and yes, they are all like us, some better…some worse, but generally, we are all the same. We can help them carry their crosses. If they are irksome and obnoxious to us, it may be because you have called upon them when they were struggling or having a bad day, or maybe they had just gotten some bad news. There are all sorts of reasons, culpable and inculpable, but we are called to pray for them all. By doing so, you are helping them carry their cross. Even if we do something nice for them, and they don’t thank us…boy, that ticks you off, doesn’t it? You do something nice for someone, and they don’t thank you? Oh, baby! I need a thank you note for that dinner or that Christmas gift! But, be thankful to have been found worthy to suffer for Him. Say, “Thank you, Jesus for allowing me to suffer for the sake of your name.”
Father’s Afterthoughts…
Alcohol is very good for COVID, but only if used externally
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.”
It is with a heart full of sadness that I stand before you to talk about the unspeakable crimes of child abuse that occurred over the past 70 years and that were recently discovered in Pennsylvania. The heart of Jesus is breaking, because the stench of satan has entered His Church, and the damage done is untold. As a hospital chaplain, I have seen a lot of “yuck,” but these crimes are sickening on a whole new level and like nothing else.
Please pray for those who are victims. Also, pray for the bishops who are culpably ignorant, complacent, and moral weaklings. Excessive ambition led to their failure to protect the most innocent among their parishioners. There’s an old saying that applies here: You gain esteem by doing esteemable acts.
I recently met an older priest for breakfast. He served at West Point during the Vietnam War and buried many of his cadets. He felt compelled to join the military and later served in Vietnam. Why? It was the right thing to do and it is a fine example of an esteemable act.
In contrast, there are overly ambitious bishops scrambling right now to cover their asses. They have lost sight of their true calling.
Bishops:
• Have you been to hospice to comfort the dying?
• Have you had to tell a family that their loved one has died?
• Have you visited the sick and cared for their souls?
I think we know the answers to these questions; and that is why the most honored title in the Catholic Church is “Father.” You see Christ in us as we serve His Church.
In 1977, when I entered the seminary in Boston and studied for the diocese, it was at St. John’s and not at St. Mary’s which was known as the “Pink Parish.” St. Mary’s was also known for its granola or fruits and flakes even though every seminarian had to take and pass a psychiatric exam.
Some priests are innocent of the charges, and some cannot defend themselves because they have died. Those who are guilty of these horrific crimes should never see the light of day even though the Statute of Limitations has passed.
In reparation, let us pray for the victims. We also need to pray for the Bishops who failed to do the right thing. Finally, we should pray for those guilty of abusing the most innocent among us.
What we cannot do is to let this shake our faith. Remember, the only face of Christ your neighbor may ever see is in you.
As we read Exodus 29, Leviticus 21, and Psalm 119:121-176, Fr. Mike points out how God calls broken and imperfect men to his holy priesthood, and asks each of us to say a special prayer for priests today.
