Tag: Saint John the Baptist

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Sermon Notes – “In the Quietness, God Lets Us Know He Hears Us” – December 15, 2024

“In the Quietness, God Lets Us Know He Hears Us”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

December 14-15, 2024

Gospel: Luke 3:10-18   

Today Holy Mother Church celebrates the 3rd Sunday of Advent.  I hope and pray to be here for the 4th and final Sunday of Advent.  At 71 years of age, I have more time behind me than I probably have ahead of me.   My chaplain friends ask me if I’m ready for Christmas.  Yeah.  How do you get ready for Christmas?  Saint John the Baptist told us how, as he prepared Israel for the coming of the Savior, he said, “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight His paths”(Luke 3: 1-6).   

We pass this law and that law so that we can get everybody straightened out and decide how they will live.  Our Lord did not mean that.  He meant us.   We are great at prescribing for other people, but not for ourselves.  We must make straight the paths of the Lord in our own hearts, and He tells us exactly how to do it.  If you have two coats, give one to someone who is cold.  If you have more than enough food, give some to a person who is hungry.  Soldiers should not bully anyone (we never do).  Tax collectors should not take any more than they should.  He tells us how to prepare our souls for the coming of Christ.  Live a moral life.  Living a moral life burns away the stain of sin and prepares our souls to be at peace when our Savior comes, whether it’s in Holy Communion, at our death, at His 2nd coming, or at the commemoration of His incarnation coming on December 25th.   

There are a lot of books on prayer.  “Say these prayers, and everything will be all right.”  No.   I had this one secretary at the VA who said, “I said this prayer, and I claimed that miracle.”  Really?  Do you think that God told the parents who have children in St. Jude’s that if they didn’t pray correctly, He would let their children die?  No.  Prayer is an act of love.  Why do we do acts of love?  For the sake of the Beloved, not for ourselves.

Now, He never says that by doing all these things, you will feel better.  You may not.  He also didn’t say that when you pray you would levitate.  He said, “Pray. Stay with Me for a while.”  He didn’t say you would be happy all the time and doing the happy dance.  Sometimes we can be weak and terrified, so when someone gets sick on pea soup, we panic: “Oh, my God!  It’s satan!”  No, it’s just bad pea soup.   

Living a moral life is very noble.  You all are here, so I know you are trying to live moral lives.  Sometimes it’s not fun, is it?  For example, on doctor’s orders, I have to eat fish twice a week.  It’s part of the Fourth Commandment, so I have to obey it.   Do you know how I feel about the thought of eating fish?  Nauseous.  I hate fish but I have to eat it.  It’s a work of love.  I’m not saying love of self wouldn’t expand my lifespan, but I trust in Almighty God who has given physicians medical knowledge and wisdom.  Doing acts of love does not always feel good.  Occasionally, every now and again, once in a while, our Lord will favor us with His consolation.  In the military, we call that an “atta boy.”  It can be disappointing because I like being told I’m doing a great job.  I have been a priest for 40 years, and I’m still not a monsignor.  That’s really crushing!  I’m a Very Reverend, but that’s just an honorary title.  I wish that were true. 

When you pray through your works of charity, you may feel like, “Hey, God.  I’m doing all this stuff and getting nothing in return.”  Yes, you are.  You are growing away from self-love and toward your love for Him.  You are preparing your soul for Christ.  You are doing a great job, so do not be disappointed.  That’s a great temptation of the devil.  You may be disappointed because you are not getting atta-boys or atta-girls.  But every now and then, God will let us know as He did Elijah in the cave.  Don’t look for a huge and momentous event; that scares people.  But in the quietness, God lets us know He hears us and that we are safe in the palm of His hand.  Our Lord said, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in Heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11-12).   So, when we do all these acts of love and do not get anything back from our Lord, that is when we are growing more and more in love with Him.

So, how do we prepare for Christmas?  We do as we are told.  

How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________ 

You can read all of Father Fitzgibbons’ sermons by going to AnnunciationCatholicAlbemarle.com, clicking on “Blog” then “Categories” and then “Sermon Notes.”  On a cell phone: click on “Blog” and then “Menu.”  Scroll to the bottom and click on “Categories.”  Sermon Notes are also available on the Church’s Facebook page at OLA.Catholic.Church.  Click on “Groups” and then “Sermon Notes.

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Sermon Notes – September 1, 2024 – “Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”

“Stop Rearranging the Deck Chairs on the Titanic”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

September 1, 2024

Gospel:  Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

I’m a part-time hospital chaplain, so I deal with a lot of sick people.  Sometimes I come across patients in the emergency room who are hooked up to a banana bag.  That’s a yellow IV bag shaped like a banana.  I’ll say, “Coming off the booze, are we?”  And they’ll say, “How did you know?”  This is not my first rodeo.  From the drugs and alcohol, they smell like burnt cork.  People who are addicted and in the hospital are not at all happy.  I always ask them, “Have you had enough?  As much fun as this is, you are not going to be enjoying the next three days.  No matter how much stuff they give you, I guarantee it’s not going to be pleasant.”  Some will actually say, “Father, I don’t want to do this anymore.  How do I stop?”  That’s a great question, and I can give you an answer.  You have to change one thing.  “Oh, what’s that, Father?”  Everything. 

We are all addicted to something – alcohol, drugs, pizza, fish–no, cucumbers-probably not, chocolate cake, and sin – that’s why we are all here.  The first thing you have to do is change yourself.  “Do you mean I have to make new friends?”  Did I say that?  “Well, I was living in a really bad place, so I moved here.”  But you are still overdoing it with drinking, drugs, and pizza – if that’s even possible.  However, that’s a theological question I’ll work out later.  But you’re still doing it; the geographical cure isn’t working.  You have to change.  Saint John the Baptist said, “I must decrease; He must increase” (John 3:30).   “Well, I’ll move and get some new friends.”  That won’t work because you haven’t changed.  No, you’ll just move to another place and befriend the same type of people.  You are just substituting places and people.  You haven’t changed anything.  The change cannot happen by simply rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  The change must be in you.  Recovery happens when you establish a relationship with God.  We all have to change if we want to grow closer to Christ.  We must die to self by renouncing our opinions and ideas.  It’s a long, slow process, but it always works.  I’ve never known it to fail.  We have to listen to our Teacher and do what our Lord asks us to do. 

I think the Church is gravely, almost culpable, of spiritual malpractice because they do not tell people about the means for salvation.   Some of you may remember Monsignor Showfety.   He used to fill in for me when I did Reserve duty.   He once told me, “We need to make reconciliation rooms so people can talk to you face to face.”  No, that ain’t happening.  I don’t like them that much.  The Church spent a lot of money on them, and finally, Rome said “no” to reconciliation rooms.   The confessional is there for the protection of the priest and not the comfort of the penitent.  We deal with spiritual granola – fruits, flakes, and nuts.  That’s why there must be an impenetrable screen between the priest and the penitent.  That’s the rule.  “Oh, but if we had Mass on Saturday and Sunday nights, we’d have more people.”  Mass attendance has been going down.  “If we had Mass in all the languages of the world, we’d have more people.”  Uh no.   “Well, the Mass on Sundays at 12:15 is in Spanish, so I don’t go.”  Really?  It’s not in Spanish.  “What do you mean, Father?”  It’s in Spanglish.  I don’t speak Spanish, alright?  They tell me I speak Spanish with a French accent.  My second language is French, okay?  “Well, if we translated the Bible generally, people wouldn’t be offended by sexist words, and we’d have a lot more people.”   Well, the English language is sexist, and the translations, especially the new ones, are horrible.  They are not Scripture.  The transliteration is horrible.   If you want a non-sexist language, go back to the original Latin or Greek.  They are better translations and are absolutely correct. 

We try to change everything except what we are supposed to change – ourselves by using the tools God gave us.  “I don’t want any medical tests; they are degrading.”  Being degraded or winding up in Hartsell’s Funeral Home – it’s your choice.  I once had a patient in hospice who was dying of Colon Cancer.   He was from this area.  So, we were talking, and the guy said, “This is my own fault.”  I said, “Really?”  He said, “I didn’t follow directions. The doctor told me to go home and do certain things and then come back to see him.”  Well, he never did, and as a result, he cut his life shorter than was necessary.  By the way, if you are going for a colonoscopy, I don’t care how cute you think you are from that angle; you aren’t.  I’ve been doing hospital work for 40 years; nobody is that cute.  If you’ve got a body part I haven’t seen, I’ll pay you for the privilege of seeing it.  Nobody is that cute.  “But I don’t like it.”  What would you rather have – a little shame or a dirt nap?  What’s your choice?   

Instead of changing the Sacraments that our good Lord gave us, we can use them to change ourselves.  Otherwise, we are just rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.  “Oh, if we just had (whatever),  things would be great!”  Really?  How has that been working out for the last 60 years?  Not well.  My parish growing up, which doesn’t exist anymore, is now a Catholic high school.  We had Mass in Latin, so I had to learn Latin to serve the Mass.  When we began doing Mass in English, it was really difficult.  Know why?  Our priest was French Canadian, and we had no idea what he was saying. “The Lord be with you, eh.”   Let’s use the faith to change us instead of commenting about it like a sports commentator.  “I don’t like this.”  You are just looking for reasons not to do it.  The real reason is we don’t want to.  Do you know which of the vows I took when I was ordained are the hardest?   Both obedience and chastity are difficult, but obedience is the most difficult.  The interior sins are the hardest part of spiritual life, but we must trust Him that everything will work out okay.  He must increase, and we must decrease.  And that’s hard.  We have to change ourselves.  Don’t worry about anything else.  “Oh, it’s really bad out there.”  Not really.  There are tons of good people and good things out there.  I see it all the time.  Once we change our perspective, the outside will change too.  We have to change instead of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.   

Father’s Reflections . . .

On Monday, September 2, our church will officially turn 90 years old.  Catholic churches are not dedicated; they are consecrated.  During the Mass at the consecration of the church, the bishop anoints the four walls of the church with sacred chrism.  Theoretically, those walls should be marked with candles, but in our case, the priests before me did not do that.  So, I put the candles where I thought they should be.  Only two days of the year are they lit – the day the church was consecrated, September 2, and on our feast day – Our Lady’s Annunciation, the patroness of this parish.  Just a bit of trivia about our history.

How will you apply this message to your life?  ____________________________________          

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Sermon Notes – September 4, 2022 – “Three Points”

“Three Points”

Father Peter Fitzgibbons

 September 3 – 4, 2022

Gospel:  Luke 14:25-33

Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and He turned and addressed them, “If anyone
comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.  Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.  Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion?  Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’  Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops?  But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms.  In the same way, anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be My disciple.”

In our preaching course at seminary, we were told that we should have at least three major points in our sermons, or what they call “homilies” these days.  My first point is that if a man cannot renounce all of his possession, he cannot be Christ’s disciple.  What is our greatest possession?  Ourselves.  When we renounce ourselves, instead of just living for self, we live for God.  Our greatest purpose is to live in this world and to love and serve Him and reign with Him in the next.  So, all of this “stuff” we have from our hard work, efforts, and studies, we can enjoy because it is a principle of self-ownership and fulfillment. We are supposed to enjoy our possessions especially on Sunday according to Church tradition.   But we should use the stuff that God has given us for our own work.  What work?  The works of justice.  First of all, providing for ourselves, providing for our families, and providing for those in need.  We have an obligation to give to others that which is above and beyond our needs.

The second point is that this past week the Church marked the martyrdom of Saint John the Baptist.  Saint Bede the Venerable wrote about the martyrdom and said that Herod did not want John to deny Christ.  He just wanted John to stop talking about the reign of God which would have been the same as denying Christ.   Now, if you haven’t noticed, the World wants us to do that too.  It does not want the Church to proclaim the truth.  Some may say, “Well it’s  not the most loving thing to do.”  Well, it is because our Savior said it.  Are you saying that our Savior didn’t tell us what the most loving thing to do is?   We are to proclaim the truth and live the truth.  We cannot stop proclaiming the truth, otherwise we would be denying our Faith.   

Remember, last week I told you last about Saint Francis who said to preach the Gospel, whether in-season or out-of-season, convenient or inconvenient, and to use words if necessary.  You are constantly preaching by your good works because people will see them.  And as Peter said, He will see your good works and give praise and thanks to the Father.  This is the evangelization we are all called to do.   Sometimes when we do, we will get a rather harsh reaction from people.  This has happened to me several times.   People will say, “Are you a Catholic priest?”  Yeah. . . I’m not Johnny Cash with a funny collar.  Others say, “I used to be Catholic.”  Really?  They don’t know how insulting that is.  In response, I’ll say, “Well, I still am.. . what happened to you?”  I don’t take that garbage from anybody.  Apparently, they don’t know my background.  My next question to them is one that I’m not expecting an answer to because they aren’t going to give me one.  But I ask them, “What have you done or what has been done to you?”  They hurt from their sins or what has been done to them.    

When I’m sick, eventually I will go to the doctor.  Or the people around me will make me go to the doctor like what happened when I got Covid.  But people are angry at and afraid of the source of all healing, and they rebel against it.   They run from the One who can bring peace to their soul which is Jesus Christ.  It is not a bad thing if we have sinned. . .yes, it’s not the best thing, and we’d rather not have sin, but the worse thing is to stay away from the Savior who can heal it.  He will heal and fulfill our souls and give us peace no matter what we have done or what has been done to us.  He can bring peace to a troubled soul.  Usually, people are happy to hear the message – even non-Catholics because they can see that scandal is from the sins they have committed and the sins of others committed against them.  But if Catholics are poor teachers, they may drive them away from the source of all love and healing.

The third and final point is that I heard this week about mothers taking their kids to school and leading them by the hand.  Some of the kids were going very much against their will, because school is strange and disturbing to them, and they would rather be at home.   It made me think of another situation in which a woman was hastening to another place.  One night I was at the house of a woman who had cancer and who was rapidly leaving this world.  I gave her the Last Rites, and she said, “Father, I say my rosary all the time.”  And I said to her, “That’s wonderful.  Keep it up as long as you can.  And you know what will happen?  Soon, the Blessed Mother will come take you by the hand and lead you to her Son.”

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”